Yeah, that’s the million dollar question. But he is so kind and so game that if he only holds up for a few years, that’s plenty.
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I see what you mean. If it were completely symmetrical left/right, I don’t think you would be rung out for unsoundness. However, since it is asymmetric, that suggests (correctly it not), that he’s sort of favoring it.
However, the legs are never fully straight in the trot or canter, so if it doesn’t affect those gaits, you’re probably OK.
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Well, then give him lots of time at the walk to get fit, and give it a whirl! Can’t hurt to try.
Before you plan your first show, have a trusted and honest friend give you an unbiased opinion as to whether or not he’s sound, that way you aren’t disappointed with an unexpected result.
I had a horse that had much worse “over at the knee” issues. When you stood him up straight and square, he looked as though he was preparing to kneel down. He’d been a hunter and wouldn’t stay sound (duh) so I actually got him for free. I spent a year teaching him some basic dressage and yes, carry your (our) weight on your fabulous hind end. He learned that, got real relief from knee pain and I got him fairly quickly to 4th level and was schooling p/p with him. Unfortunately, the poor conformation was his end, as he was playing around (17 years old at this point) in his pasture and did something - stepped down wrong? on a rock? in a hole? I’ll never know - and shattered his right front knee. I had to put him down and have never quite gotten over losing him. He was one in a million. My point though, is that dressage is the best thing for a horse with this conformation. As long as you keep working with him to get his hind legs stronger and stronger, the crooked front legs will eventually be a non issue for you both. Good luck!
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I’m sorry that you lost such a special horse in a horrific way. But this is the kind of story I was hoping to hear!!
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Watching the video, the first thing I notice is that his feet are landing toe first. What shape are his hooves in? Buck knees like this can be caused by poor farrier work.
My own mare had poor farrier work prior to getting her and I’ve watched her whole front end conformation (very subtly) improve as her hooves improved. Her knees (which are naturally a little bucked) have straightened slightly, and she doesn’t have the same tendency to stand slightly camped under as she did when I first bought her. Now I do see her everyday and I have an interest in conformation, so I doubt anyone else would be able to see the difference, but I definitely saw a change as her hooves transitioned from long toe and low heel with large sections broken off to, well, nice hooves. I’d credit the change to a really good farrier and a hoof supplement with all the usual suspects – biotin, vitamin E, selenium, magnesium, etc.
From what I’ve read sometimes horses take the weight off their heels and it makes them have buck knees (or, at least, worse buck knees). Correcting the hoof won’t make it go away 100%, but it can help, especially with the toe first landing.
Hard work and injuries can do it too of course, that’s why you sometimes see the extreme buck knees on elderly horses who have had a lifetime of work, or ones that were used very hard when they were young.
Luckily buck knees are a much better fault than calf knees. Plus he looks like an absolute sweetie, I would not have guessed he was just transitioning to arena work!! He looks like a seasoned pro lesson horse!
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So this horse is 9, he raced 87 times, his last start was in December, and I’ve had him a little under 6 weeks. So “used heavily in his youth” certainly applies here. I’m hopeful that getting him up off his forehand is going to make him a lot more comfortable up front and maybe free up his joints too. But 9 years of work from track farriers and 9 years of doing high impact work way down on the forehand will do some damage. His shoes were pulled around Christmas, (not by me, and I wish that hadn’t happened) but I assure you I have the best farrier in the world who has every certification you can imagine in the US and the UK. He says the biggest issue is his feet are too small and the part that’s going to take the longest. (Or at least that’s how I understood it, he has worked for me for years and I’ve never had any kind of foot issues with my horses, so I trust him completely. One lost shoe and one abscess in 6 years!!) So we haven’t had time for significant improvements to occur in his feet because those changes need to be careful and methodical which means slow. I notice differences already, but we still have a long way to go. He has a lumpy fetlock that already shrunk up a bit, despite the vet saying it was totally calcified and wouldn’t change 
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For sure. I figured if he was fresh off the track he’d had very little time with you to fix his hooves.
I’ve had my mare for over a year and and we’re still working on making her hooves perfect. They’re nice to look at but need more concavity in the sole. It’s a frustratingly long process.
Just wanted to let you know that the hooves can be a partial culprit. Hopefully you see improvements over the coming months!
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Nevermind- zombie thread. My bad!
Well, I for one am wondering how this horse is doing almost a year later. @Can_tFindMyWhip, please give us an update if you don’t mind.
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I haven’t competed him any because of work and personal things conflicting with show dates, but ole Patrick is doing wonderful despite his cankles and his knees. I have ridden in in front of some clinicians that certainly gawked at him when we got in the ring, but 20 minutes later once we’ve gotten going they totally understand why I’m bothering with this horse. His feet are still tiny and weird, but they’ve improved greatly.
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Good update. Nice horse. I bet with the angles fixed up front he moves totally different now. OATK is usually a non-issue once feet are addressed. 
Hopefully work slows down and you can get him out and about this year.
I’m glad to see the update, too, and that the horse is happy and doing well. There are many “less than perfect” horses and sadly, not all of them find someone who believes in them.
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i happily provide a forever home to some less-than-lovely horses. About 3/4s of my herd (17horses, 2 mules) is not rideable. When more of my cattle and more of my sheep age out and die i will have room for more. Horses are more expensive, but more …heart fulfilling.
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This is true, and I really ought to get him out more because of it. About a month after I started this thread, I took him camping for a few days with some friends and he acted like a deadhead trail horse, so his temperament is everything I hoped for and more. He is a barn favorite and people stop me all the time to tell me how sweet he is. And for everything he lacks in fanciness he makes up for in effort, so I preach to anyone who will listen about buying for the brain before anything else.
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The thread is alive again- ask your question!
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