|
|
Discussion on Missouri fox trotter toed out
|
| Author |
Message |
Member:
Quatro
|
Posted on Wednesday, Sep 13, 2006 - 10:13 pm:
I have a client who came tonight and said they are looking for a good home for a 6 year old well broke missouri fox trotter. We are not interested but my neighbor is looking for a friend for their horse.
What does it meant when they are toed out, and is this a problem that would be a vet bill that I would not want to even tell my neighbor about the horse?
They are just wanting to find him a good home. No charge, they have ridden him in parades etc.
thanks
suz
|
Member:
Hwood
|
Posted on Wednesday, Sep 13, 2006 - 10:31 pm:
When a horse toes out, Susan, it can create more chance for the front feet to interfere and swing in and hit the opposite front leg. Toe-ing IN is better as far as interference goes. Neither is ideal as the stess on the joints is uneven and can cause more age-related and stress-related injuries.
On the other hand, I have often wondered if toe-ing out is an accepted characteristic of TWH and MFT horses. Over the past few years, I have met many TWH and MFT, and most of them toe out. For those of you who are TWH and MFT enthusiasts, can you tell us if toe-ing out is a fault or is it an accepted characteristic of those two breeds?
|
Member:
Canter
|
Posted on Thursday, Sep 14, 2006 - 7:31 am:
I would think any future problems would also depend on how much the horse is toeing out. Young girl at my barn has a nice paint that she works pretty hard for barrel racing and high school equestian team. I think his toeing out looks terrible, but it hasn't interferred with his performance- they are consistently top performers and he is completely sound. However, he is a relatively young horse, and as Holly says, time will tell whether or not the stress on his legs leads to eventual problems.
|
Member:
Erika
|
Posted on Thursday, Sep 14, 2006 - 8:01 am:
I, too, have seen a lot of perfectly sound horses that toe out. I would imagine that these people are not going for Olympic level moves, right? Chances are, if the horse has been sound, he will continue to be sound if used at the same level, don't you think?
|
New Member:
Czarina
|
Posted on Friday, Sep 15, 2006 - 10:46 am:
I have two horses that toe out in the back. One is 25 years old and has been total sound her whole life. She has been shown halter, western, jumping and dressage with no leg problems. She is still being ridden and is in great shape. Her daughter is 17 and also toes out in the back. The daughter has been shown as a jumper and is currently doing dressage. With these two horses I have had not problem related to the toeing out.
|
Member:
Hwood
|
Posted on Friday, Sep 15, 2006 - 11:13 am:
Welcome to HA, Kendra.
Toeing out in the back, from what I understand, can be a desirable trait for some performance horses . . . keeps them from interfering back to front when they are really moving out and/or maneuvering. I don't keep up with Halter Judging, but I know that it used to be undesireable to have a horse toe-out in the back for halter conformation. Judges looked for toes forward and hocks evenly spaced when a straight line was DrOpped from the hip. As long as the horses' hocks aren't touching or they don't interfere with their back legs, then it's not a problem.
Toeing out in the front, though, can be a problem (conformationally and performance-wise) toeing-out horses often swing their legs in on the forward step, and can interfere with the other front leg and end up with bruises to the fetlocks and cannons.
I really would like to know if anyone else has noticed a propensity for toeing out in the TWH and MFT breeds. I have mostly seen flat-shod or natural trim horses since I'm not around the shows for either breed, and I have noticed that many, many of them have very upright hooves that toe out. Is it the preferred conformation for correct gaiting of those breeds?
|
Member:
Quatro
|
Posted on Friday, Sep 15, 2006 - 11:26 am:
Hi Holly, and all, thanks for all of your input. I told the neighbor about the horse, and will let her research from now on. Apparently she said she had ridden him in parades, barrel raced him etc. I know, after my problems with Levi, I am going to try to find the most healthy sound horse on the planet, when I am ready for another.
Will let you know
suz
|
New Member:
Czarina
|
Posted on Friday, Sep 15, 2006 - 11:36 am:
Holly,
True on the halter showing but I was able to teach my mare to stand square for the halter judging and in dressage both were taught to stop square. I will ask a friend who has owned some TWH and MFT breeds what she knows.
|
Member:
Tuckern
|
Posted on Saturday, Sep 16, 2006 - 12:47 am:
My mare is cow-hocked, so her hind toes point out somewhat. I don't know if that's the same thing that Hollywood is talking about?
Here is a picture of her. It shows how her toes point out, but it's not just her hooves/feet that turn out, everything from the hock down turns out slightly.
I have not had any problems with her legs at all, and I've heard from many people, like Holly Wood, that cowhocked horses, are very good at some disciplines, because of the non-interference issue, and because they seem to be able to get back over their hocks better.
Nicole
|
Member:
Hwood
|
Posted on Saturday, Sep 16, 2006 - 1:16 am:
A sweet, kind face, Nicole . . . It's hard to tell from the photo about her hocks. I think it would show better if her legs were more together, although her left hind really seems to point out to the left, doesn't it?
Nicole, I have put my own children, without helmets, on horses before, and I never thought twice about helmets for over 25 years . . . until I almost died of a head injury caused by a horse. Please . . . let the little ones ride all they want, but please have helmets on their precious skulls . . . all it takes is one spook from a plastic bag blowing out of a trash can, or a gunshot, or a racing dog or cat, whatever . . . and the unexpected can happen. Helmets aren't a failsafe way to avoid injury, but they sure can prevent many of the head injuries suffered from falls. (I only tell you this 'cause I care . . . I love kids and I know how awful I'd feel if anything happened to one of them around my horses, so I can only imagine what you might feel like if a friend's child or one of your own children got injured in a fall from a horse. Heads have a habit of hitting the ground first.)
|
Member:
Tuckern
|
Posted on Saturday, Sep 16, 2006 - 2:27 am:
Thank you for your concern Holly Wood. It didn't cross my mind before posting it, but I'm sure I'm now going to get alot of bad comments for it, so I'll apologize up front.
There are two adults just out of the picture, that was helping with the kids, and, truly, I trust this horse with anyone. I know that absolutely NO horse is bomb-proof, and every horse has a breaking point, but I know this horse inside and out, and trust her. And we've done ALOT of desensitization with plastic bags, paper, trash cans, gunshots, dogs and cats and birds, cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and the list can go on. This horse is trained to plant all four feet when she's unsure about anything, and that training has been put into use on the trail a couple of times, so I know it works.
Again, I know that no horse is "bomb-proof" 100% of the time, that's not what I'm trying so say.
Thanks again for caring, it's truly appreciated.
Nicole
PS Sorry for changing the topic of the discussion, Susan.
|
Member:
Quatro
|
Posted on Saturday, Sep 16, 2006 - 10:49 am:
No problem, like conversations, one subject
weaves into another. I find them all very interesting.
Have not heard anything on the horse yet.
suz
|
|
|
