# Improvement, but how much will she straighten?



## Ace80908 (Apr 21, 2011)

So Ivy is my project I got in June, starved and terribly neglected with slipper feet and hugely overgrown feet that made her splay out...she was so narrow it was startling.

This was her then, and now. She is improving, I am just concerned that she isn't straightening out the right front, she still wants to toe that out quite a bit. I am hoping as she continues to thicken that leg will straighten, we trim her to the foot and my farrier is coming back out next week. She will never be a halter horse, and she moves nicely, but would like to not be offensive in showmanship.

She is two years old. A Feb 2010 filly. 14.3 at the whithers, 15 hands at the hip. 

First two pics are the day she came home, last one is today and the first video is her in the barn for a confo video and the second video is today bringing Ivy and Whiskey in to clean Whiskey's sarcoid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZLnM_giKyE


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ky3Xinfj3JQ

How much do you think she will straighten out? I am hoping she still has quite a bit of growing to do now that she has groceries and proper care.

Here is her breeding...

Big Time Nice Ice Paint

Thanks in advance for your opinions...


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## Elana (Jan 28, 2011)

Looked at all this. Good points are her low hocks but she is very bow legged behind.. and sickle hocked (from the videos too). A horse needs to tow out behind. This may improve a little age as she matures and her body gets wider over all. 

The turned out front leg is hers. She will always have it and, in fact, she toes out with both fronts. I noticed when she trotted in from the field she actually moves her front feet close and her knees a bit outward so you may need to keep an eye on her for interfering. 

Her shoulder is quite correct and her neck is nicely placed. She is still narrow.. but again she needs to grow up. She is also butt high and build down hill. At two this does not really get a lot better in most instances.. however she was not healthy when you got her and that may change. I had a starved coming 3 year old.. I mean REALLY starved.. the grew 7 inches in a year with decent feed and good care. 

Over all I like her.. and especially her attitude. A bit young to ride IMO but it looks like you aren't really working her yet. Best to get her used to being sat on young and not actually begin work until she is 3 or more. 

Nice horse.


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## Ace80908 (Apr 21, 2011)

Thanks Elana - you are exactly right - I am not riding her yet - just sitting on her and guiding at the walk a few times a month - she has lots of catching up to do and I am more than willing to give her all the time she needs... I hope to get her comfortable with all three gaits under saddle this year and ride next summer. I just want her to be comfortable with me up there 

All my horses have come up at least a hand from their 2 year old year to their 4, and I am really hoping she'll make 15.3 - she string tests 15.3 but with her past there just isn't any way to know but wait... 

When I brought her home I had to corral her in a stall to touch her, but she has figured out people are not evil, and though she can regress and be reactive, she wants to be a sweet girl. Hoping for a show prospect with her, so if she toes a little on both fronts I would prefer that to one seemingly straight and one REALLY toeing out... really wish she would have had the proper care from the beginning... 

thanks for your critique...


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

I don't have anything to add regarding her confo or prospects, but she sure is cute and you have a good way with her. I can see her appeal


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## oh vair oh (Mar 27, 2012)

Does her farrier correctively trim her? Lily toes out in front, though not to that extreme. We have the farrier leave the inside a little longer than the outside so she is forced to pronate inward. We did this with my former gelding, who at 4 years old had a terrible "wing" to his trot. By the time he was 6 he traveled completely straight, and might have before that, we just noticed it distinctly when he was 6. 

Again, she has really nice WP breeding and it was a shame that they neglected her and put her in this position to be corrected. I would allow her some more time to mature up. I would say with come corrective shoeing, you could very much minimize the problem by the time she's 3 or 4.


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## Ace80908 (Apr 21, 2011)

My farrier is a natural balance guy - he didn't want to force her legs to go straight, thinking it would put pressure on her joints from the pasterns up and cause damage. He said to trim to her foot and see how much she would straighten as her body widened. I'll talk to him when he comes out next week... we may need to shorten the time between trims as well...

It truly boggles my mind how they let her go so completely, Oh Vair Oh - I love her breeding and will be very interested to see what she can produce when she is mature and ready... but would very much like to get her in the ring before then.


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## FlyGap (Sep 25, 2011)

Just wanted to tell you, I think she's a good looking little mare, way to go and great work!


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## Elana (Jan 28, 2011)

I never did any corrective trimming or shoes on a horse over 9 months old. If the problem was needed to be solved Periosteal Stripping could have been done (this was for a serious deviation that could cost a foal its life IMO) when she was very young. 

I really do not like corrective trimming for the reason your farrier states and only have used it to prevent things like interfering and so forth in a horse over 9 months old. 

Most foals will wear their feet so they are shorter on the inside as they try to get a very short neck to stretch down to feed such as grass.. and spread their front legs to do so. If you trim the outsides to keep the feet level.. they will usually re-wear them uneven within a couple of days. I found that if it was a serious problem on a very valuable horse, little plates on the front feet could be put on. Most of the time, if the parents toe out as adults, so go the offspring. Most of the turn starts up high.. in the neighborhood of the elbow.. not at the foot anyway. 

In this horse she is very narrow. Her elbows go in.. so her toes point out. As she fills out and builds a chest and some width this may change.

Correcting at the foot can make the FOOT straight but the rest of the leg still wants to rotate and the joints do pay the price.

BTW I should add that her bow legs behind may also improve as she matures and gains weight. Straight front pointing hind feet..lead to being bow legged at the hock. Horses need to toe out a little behind because the back leg is spiral construction and the stifle needs to clear the belly.


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