# 9 yo Appy Gelding - Crossing Front Legs?



## luvmyperch

This boy went up yesterday and I have a super soft spot for Appys. He looks really cute, but he seems to be crossing his front legs in the video. I've never seen a horse do this to this extent before (and he doesn't seem to knock his ankles). Does anyone know what kind of problems, if any, this might lead to??

I'm A People Horse WHO Loves TO Work


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## luvmyperch

A little over 3 minutes into the video, there is a nice shot of him walking directly towards the camera where you can really see him crossing over.


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## ChevyPrincess

Hmm, he has a nice broad chest... would he do that because his joint swivels instead of up and down?

When he firsts start loping, it looks like his hind end is hesitaiting and his front end is working harder...

He does seem to have difficulty or hesitation walking forward like though where you see him coming to the camera as you said, anyone else see that? or similiar things?


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## Wallaby

Lacey does that sorta walk too. My farrier calls it "the supermodel walk," hahaha. It might be becuase of the broad chest because Lacey has one too... I've been with Lacey almost a year and a half and we haven't had any issues related to that. She does hit herself every once (like one really small nick every few months) in a while but I'm not sure if the two are related. 

He just looks lazy to me and his rider isn't anticipating where he's going to be lazy and catching him before it visibly shows, so he looks worse than he is. 

I don't really see anything about him that looks absolutely horrible, I mean, he doesn't look super enthusiastic but that can be easily fixed.

I see what you mean about the canter, ChevyPrincess. I think that was pretty much him kinda running into the canter from the rear...Lacey does a similar move on the lunge line sometimes. It does look weird though...

I'm no expert but he looks cute! He might be a little overpriced but I really don't know. =)


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## blush

When I first started watching the video, I really liked him. He looks like a chill guy who has nice-ish movement and is pretty flashy. :] 

However, as soon as he trotted and cantered I began to dislike him. He seems really behind the leg with no impulsion comming from behind. Now that flaw can be from the rider, but as soon as he cantered it looks like he is just built kinda funky. He runs on his forehand and like ChevyPrincess said, his back end is "hestitating." If you really like this guy, I would ask for a confo shot of him to see what his proportions are. I can see he is already downhill, but not sure to what extent. If he is extremely downhill, that will explain why he is so on the forehand and his back end is trailing behind. Now since he is 9 years old, I'm pretty sure he's done growing so if he is downhill, there is no chance he'll even out. 
About his leg crossing, I know of some horses who do that and can go around the ring/jump/whatever just fine. However, they do have soundness issues and tend to break down earlier in life because thier joints are not meant to hold up when they cross thier front legs. Imagine you walking like that horse 24/7. Your hips would hurt and no doubt you would have painful consequences from walking that way. 

I personally would pass this guy up, he just isn't built nicely enough to keep sound 100% or give you a nice enough ride. If you are prepared to deal with soundness issues/pain issues due to him crossing his legs, then I'd look next at his confo. If you can look past both his leg crossing and funky build, then he seems like quite the nice guy. He seems like he has a great personality and try to him. Unfortunately to me, the cons outweigh the pros and I'd keep looking. :]


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## Wallaby

^^^Lacey does it and she's perfectly sound after being severely overweight for most of her life at age 24. She's not a typical 24 year old (she looks about 15 or younger in the summer) but I thought I'd mention that. =)

I agree though that confo pictures would be good.


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## MN Tigerstripes

Confo pics would probably pinpoint what his issue is. It could be laziness or the way he is built. At the very least it's going to cause some interesting wear on his feet.


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## AlmagroN

i dont know much about riding and all that. but i dont like the way he moves. 

also, i just wanted to point out that he looks miserable. and at the end while shes trying to show his confo, look at his attitude towards her. how he reacts to her. he doesnt want her touching him. he seems a little headshy almost, or just very cautious of her. i dont like that..... and im not saying its the horses fault... im just saying, i dont like when horses react to people by being very nervous and pulling back quickly.. makes me wonder whats going on...


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## luvmyperch

Agreed. Something just looks "off" in the video. He's definately running around on the forehand.


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## Alwaysbehind

I think he is cute as I have a soft spot for appaloosas too. But he does not track up well and seems to be very down hill. (I admit, I did not see the whole video so I did not see the confo shots people are speaking of, I am going by how he moves.)


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## mom2pride

He's long backed, and down hill built, and I don't care for the way he travels-most likely directly linked to the long topline and down hill stance. He appears lazy, and that could be due to the way he has to travel; he may be sore, or just not supple enough. The extent that he crosses his legs wasn't helped by the small circle. 

I would pass.


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## reining girl

IM gonna agree, you should pass. There is just something that is not good about him.


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## kevinshorses

He's not tracking correctly on the front. I wouldn't buy him but that's up to you. The rider didn't seem to be riding very well. Every stride at the canter her butt was leaving the saddle. He might have a jackhammer canter but more likely he has a poor rider which could account for the problems with impulsion and collection. The front feet are the biggest issue for me.


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## QHDragon

My QH gelding did that. I looked like he was walking and trotting on a tight-rope, and would often trip because he would get his legs "tangled." He was also built very downhill and had a broad chest with a leg at each corner. 

This horse's color is really nice, and he looks huge! But he does have that movement that a lot of horses who are built downhill do, where he just kind of pulling himself forward with his front and his back end is just coming along because it is attached.


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## farmpony84

I like him.


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## speedy da fish

he moves awkwardly :S head down and slow, lazy pace i dont think the leg cossing is the main problem


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## farmpony84

kevinshorses said:


> He's not tracking correctly on the front. I wouldn't buy him but that's up to you. The rider didn't seem to be riding very well. Every stride at the canter her butt was leaving the saddle. He might have a jackhammer canter but more likely he has a poor rider which could account for the problems with impulsion and collection. The front feet are the biggest issue for me.


I think she was riding forward seat hunt, their butts aren't quite in the saddle at the canter.


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## farmpony84

sorry for all the posts. To me he looks like he was maybe trained APHA style (more like AQHA) and maybe even western pleasure and then was turned into a hunt horse... but I'm geussing.


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