Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

> Pigeon toes -6
I was looking at one of the top horses in the U.S.A...a horse that had
won National top 100 mile award, traveled internationally, etc. etc. and
commented that I was surprised his rider had chosen a horse that was
pigeon toed and given him a chance. The horse's toes just turned in a
bit. An endurance vet replied, "A lot of the best ones end up that
way...I don' t know if they are when they start or not".  Got me
thinking. You know how a guy who gets really buff in the shoulders' arms
sort of start to hang out farther from his body. I wondered if a horse
that really develops a lot of shoulder muscling ends up with his legs
pushed out just a bit at the top and begins to toe in a bit at the base.
Just a thought. Don't know how bad a fault it is if a horse *starts out*
pigeon toed, but I can say I look at it differently on the experienced
ones now.

I think we become leary of any fault that we've been "bittten" by. I'm
very wary of weak loins since I've had a couple of friends with otherwise
great horses that got sore backs and had weak loins. Kaboot's got a
pretty long back but a strong loin and never had a sore back.

Talked to a friend who turned a horse down the other day because its feet
had thin walls. That's a huge deal but guess what? We just bought a horse
and I didn't even check that because I've never had an Arab with thin
walls and didn't think about it.

Right now I'm really into "good shoulders" and a neck with a nice "S" to
it...and have always been partial to a good chest. Do not care for really
short straight necks...seems like those horses just can't get you up a
hill. An extremely rump high horse is a big turn off for me.  And for
breeding...how's about breeding the horses that stay sound? Seems like
all the breeders I talk to take the horses that go lame young and retire
them to breeding while the people that have a wonderfully sound horse
never want to take it out of their riding string long enough to breed it.
:-(

Angie

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Of course things aren't perfect,  perfect doesn't exist on this earth.
Doesn't mean we won't go on trying to get better at what we do. Besides, if
everything was perfect today, what would you do tomorrow? Slamming each
other doesn't get anything done.
~  Dot Wiggins

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