I just took a 3yr old off the track two weeks ago, he has the best disposition and lovely movement but his right front turns out…thoughts/opinions? Do you think it could affect his potential to be an eventer? Anyone have an eventer with goofy legs? I’d post a picture but can’t figure out how to??
As a farrier, and from a soundness standpoint, I’d much rather have a horse that toes out than one that toes in. Though I have seen/shod some upper level jumpers and Eventers with pretty funky legs and feet.
Toe-ing out is pretty common in thoroughbreds, and thus by extension in eventers. 
It does make them more prone to hit themselves. But mild toeing out or toeing wouldn’t bother me. A 3 year old might improve some (probably not 100%, but a bit) as it fills out, too.
I haven’t seen to outers hit themselves. Toe-inners yes, but not toe outers. Also, many moderate toes-out can be addressed somewhat with propery shoeing. If the horse is just off the track, I would seriously consider property shoeing to help a bit. I know it does with my horse, not an OTTB, but a TB cross, and his left foot turn out and paddling is almost non-existent when he is propertly trimmed and shod.
Um, it’s thought generally that the toed-out horses “dish” inwards towards the opposite leg, and the toed-in horses “paddle/wing out” outwards. So, if one was inclined to interfere, it would be the toed-out. I have found this to be true in the several crooked legged horses in my life, and there are multiple pages with illustrations showing it you want to google “dishing horse legs”.
That said, just make sure the horse lands heel first, toe last, and doesn’t impact the ground on one side of the foot before the other. In other words, balanced…not “corrected”. You want the load to be evenly distributed on landing. The way the horse moves through their body makes a big difference. Catty, supple horses who don’t pound the ground are, in my opinion, less like likely to have problems from being crooked. I would prefer that the crookedness is symmetrical, though.
I have noticed more issues in horses whose deviation from straight starts lower in the limb, while the ones who are crooked from high up seem to have had fewer problems, but that’s just my anecdotal experience. Tweaking a foot to look straight is asking for trouble.
I agree with arlosmine, more soundness problems with toes out vs toes in. Perfectly straight legs don’t always mean a horse is or will stay sound. As long as it isn’t facing backwards I think you might be okay 
And shoe to the conformation, don’t screw up the leg by making the hoof picture perfect.
The older I get the more I realize that it’s not perfect conformation that counts, it’s a well balanced horse that has an attentive rider.
I have experienced the opposite - more problems with a horse than toes in than toes out. What really makes a difference is the mechanical motion of their legs. I owned this horse for 7 years (took him off the track as a 3 year old). He hasn’t missed a season in 12 years and has competed up through Prelim with two different riders. This is not a very good video, but you can see where he still moved very straight. He never interfered.
How bad is it, and how does the horse move? Also, is he clean-legged or does he have splints or other jewelry there? If it’s severe or he has stiffness in the knee or fetlock and other jewelry, I would probably pass. If it’s mild or he’s clean-legged, generally a little bit of toe-ing out doesn’t bother me. I prefer that to toed-in, but I’ve evented both without an issue. Also, some 3 y/os are still weedy and can look like they’re toed-out somewhat because the breadth hasn’t developed in the chest, so get a second opinion if you’re not sure. I would want radiographs of the joints in that leg but that’s probably not a bad idea anyway coming off the track.
I’m in agreement that it wouldn’t bother me, as long as it’s not extreme. And I’m another that would prefer toeing out over toeing in.
[QUOTE=Risuena;8197352]
I’m in agreement that it wouldn’t bother me, as long as it’s not extreme. And I’m another that would prefer toeing out over toeing in.[/QUOTE]
Same as this. Some of the soundest horses I’ve known toed out a bit. It’s pretty common, and shouldn’t be a big deal unless it’s to a large degree.
