I am considering purchasing a WB/TB weanling, but I am concerned about hind leg conformation. I can’t tell if this colt is cow hocked (serious conformation flaw for long term soundness) or if his entire hind leg is rotated out which can be an athletic attribute for a jumping horse.
Looking for additional opinions on conformation.
Thanks!
Cow hocks and “entire leg rotated out” don’t go together.
Cow hocks are when the hocks are closer together than the fetlocks, which is also not the same thing as just having base-narrow hind legs. Cow hocks mean the cannon bone angles inward from the ground up, and can only be seen from the rear.
A picture would help. A hind leg that is rotated out isn’t an attribute. The hind leg needs to be inwardly rotated a little, so the stifle can clear the barrel on the forward movement of the leg. This means a slight toeing out behind is good.
JB thank you for the clear explanation…based on the attached photos I’m guessing he’s actually cow-hocked (hocks closer than fetlocks?)
Conformation changes considerably as they grow. All foals are turned out somewhat in front and behind, and their legs turn in as they grown and their frame widens. This is more obvious on front limbs. A foal who is perfectly straight when viewed from the front is likely to be toed in when fully grown. Most foals have hocks that appear much closer together than a grown horse. Look at the angle of the hock, how open it is from the side and how it ties into the stifle.
What is more important is limb symmetry. If both hind limbs are the same then I would not be concerned, if one turns out significantly more than the other this might be a reason to look more closely.
I would not call him cow-hocked just from those pictures. He looks to a a very narrow-sided horse at the moment, and he’s not standing square, which is what you need to see the confo from behind.
He also looks young enough in those pics that you can’t totally trust apparent leg deviations of this type. A growth phase can have them very wonky in the use and carriage of their body, and walking around with the hind legs posturally splayed a bit (resulting in a cow-hocked look), can appear and disappear overnight.
That just looks like normal baby legs to me. Unless something is really wrong I’d be looking more at his parents hind end conformation than him at this age.
All these pictures are terrible, you can’t judge anything from them.
You can’t fix genetic cow hocks. TBH I don’t see cow hocks in this foal.
There are basic functional conformation aspects that don’t ever change once a foal finishes unfolding, no matter his growth stage, but none can be determined in any of these pictures because of his stance, and just the poor setup.
People who look at lots of foals know with some degree of certainty when leg deviations need more help than just time.
What is this colt’s breeding? Are the owners not able to get good pictures of him? Can they not get some decent video of him at liberty, w/t/c?
Conformation is set once they finish unfolding. Growth phases are different. I know that sounds like it’s not, but there really are differences between things like being sickle-hocked (conformation set in stone), and the chest-narrow, toed-out growth phase of the young horse.
Even the hind leg look of a very young horse is not what it will be in the adult. Foals who will end up with great hind leg conformation have some degree of camped out look, because those leg bones are nearly adult length, with a small body on top. I guarantee if a foal has "normal’ looking hind legs - hock lines up right below the point of the butt, vertical cannon bone - he’s going to have too-straight legs as an adult.
I agree with looking for symmetry in many areas, then you have to look at what that symmetry actually is.
Colt is by Rio’s Blueprint (Rio Grande) out of Quest For Lime (TB).
I’m more concerned with where that foals foreleg comes out if it’s shoulder. I would like to see that coming out further forward, closer to the chest. Maybe that’s how it’s standing, but that’s a no from me.
Nothing about the pillar of support - where the front legs are in relation to the withers - can be judged from any of these pics. In the only side view, he’s standing downhill with his head in the air. That skews everything to the negative.
Fwiw, I don’t see anything about that weanling’s conformation that would be a red flag for me. Just normal baby stuff.
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