I was considering going to see an OTTB but I only have one picture of him, and something keeps bringing me back to his pasterns…
How long are they supposed to be in relation to the rest of the leg? What is considered low? He’s got pretty short cannon bones.
His pasterns look to be about 45 degrees when standing, when he’s trotting they flex quite a lot but I can’t really tell if that is conformation or just normal flexion.
I’ve only heard of pasterns being an issue if they’re long or upright. But I wouldn’t read too much into conformation in a photo. I don’t think you can tell much from a still photo. It’s like reading tea leaves. Better to go with your gut based on the video.
DSLD can run in certain TB lines including Mr Prospector, Grey Dawn II and others. It can skip generations.
Horrible systemic disease.
Normally pasterns can be around 45-50 degrees. If you are concerned have a Vet exam including ultrasound of the suspensory ligaments.
I think that many OTTB seem to have deceptively long pasterns due to shoeing practices at the track. A longer toe—a popular trend at the track—is going to make a pastern appear longer, too.
Oh, I meant conformationally—is DSLD related to conformation? I know a lot can go wrong with pasterns, ring bone, for instance
We really need a picture.
length alone isn’t a defining criteria. Longer but more upright is loads better than longer but too sloped.
50-75% of the cannon bone length is considered “fine”, but even then, that’s relative to the cannon bone length. I would not want pasterns to be 70% the length of cannon bones too long long to begin with.
pasterns can be a reasonable length, but if the suspensory apparatus is weaker, it makes for “soft” pasterns that flex too much
He doesnt have Mr Prospector or Grey Dawn for 5+ generations and I didn’t look any further back. Native Dancer is 4 gens back and I dont recognize any others.
I dont want to post the picture cause it’s not my picture or my horse…he’s also standing camped out behind with his front legs out in front of him. I think its also at a angle, his hind feet are slightly closer to the camera so it’s hard to judge.
His fronts are definitely 45 degrees, his hinds may be a bit more upright. His hinds also look shorter at first glance, but when I draw lines on it it seems like I may just be tricking my eyes.
They look somewhere between 50 and 75% of the length, im guessing 65%-70% or so. His cannon bones are quite short.
Actually, I have a question too: do you judge the length of the front and hind separately? His Hocks are slightly higher than his knees…would I judge the length of the hind ones from the fetlock to his hock?
What job would you want this horse to do? I don’t like the downhill confirmation you describe regardless of the pasterns (short front cannons, relatively higher set hocks and longer rear cannons) for a h/j or dressage job.
here’s a random conformation picture
Very good conformation, low enough hocks that are still higher than the knees. You really wouldn’t want hocks level with or lower than knees as that would be some pretty long front cannons. Can you compare this to what you’re seeing?
45* as the most angled you want them, but most people are not very good judging angles other than “it’s not 70* but it’s also not 30*”, and easily see 50* and call it 45-ish. That 5* makes a big difference when it comes to pastern angles
Hind pasterns are almost always shorter and more upright than fronts and yes, judge them separately
That’s not downhill confo, that’s good functional confo 
Vivaldi, one of the top Dressage stallions
Contucci, hard to beat in the Dressage world
Hunters:
Palladio
Vallado is a top Derby stallion
Yes, hocks can be too high, but that’s different from being properly higher than knees on good front leg conformation
Hes not super downhill…his withers are above his croup and his elbow is slightly lower than his stifle. It would be for low dressage and maybe low jumping a few years down the line.
Thanks JB, I looked and the middle of his knee joint is in line with the lower part of his hock. His hocks aren’t crazy high up. It’s similar to the pictures you showed!
Those are old methods of determining up/down hill. A horse can be wither high and be functionally downhill, or be butt-high and functionally uphill (though less uphill than a wither level/high horse)
Every horse can do that, and every horse will benefit from proper flatwork at any level
I’m not trying to judge his conformation for potential, I’m just trying to make sure that it won’t cause soundness issues down the line. I was originally looking at the other horses the seller had, but she sent me a video of her riding him and he’s a cute mover. I’ll probably try him when I go out to see the other horses.
But judging conformation “for potential” is valid even if you’re looking at a lower level pleasure horse Good luck!
Sorry when I read “very short” front cannons, long sloping front pasterns and an upright hind leg on a TB, these examples are nowhere near what I was picturing, having known some very functionally downhill TBs fitting the description…which type couldn’t articulate the joints in the hind legs enough to have an easy time with that kind of job.
His hind leg isn’t super upright, just that his hock is slightly higher than his knees. The hind pastern might be slightly more upright than the fronts but it looks a good length and the angle doesn’t bother me.
His fronts are about 45 degrees which someone in the thread said is normal? It’s just paired with short cannon bones, they look a bit long.
edit:I just measured it using a square I drew in paint…they are actually more upright than 45 degrees, probably closer to 50.
If I saw him standing more correctly I might not have noticed it.
He is only 4 years old and very leggy, so I’m also wondering if he might be developing.
that’s exactly why I suggested doing an actual measurement I’ll take longer pasterns that are 50* (with an appropriate 50* foot), over longer pasterns that are a common 45*
Since he’s just 4, he’s going to add bone, and that lack of even just a little extra bone can make pasterns look longer than the really are A 6" stick looks longer than a 6" log
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