Mini with "Knocked knees" Fixable?

[Lil Eowyn]

Hello everyone!

I haven't posted here all summer-- I'm back... and with another miniature horse!

Yesterday I bought a new mini =) He is 2 years old and his name is Kyle. But his toes are slightly turned out and his knees are touching... Here is a picture:

To me it looks knock kneed..The owner said he gets trimmed every 6 weeks and his feet look good to me...I read that they may grow out of it...but when his mother was pregnant with him, she was neglected for the first 10 months of pregnancy and starved. Then the lady I bought Kyle from had rescued the mother and nursed her back to health during the last month of pregnancy. The vet said the foal (Kyle) was healthy and the mothers milk was good, but I still think that time of being in his mother while she was starved would have some affect on Kyle. Do you think that could be a reason he is knock kneed and will he grow out of it or can it be fixed? Thanks!

Amy

 

[jess - bentley]

He is very cute!

I think he might grow out of it or at least it will be better as he matures. His chest will get wider too and that will help. As long as he is sound and comfortable I wouldn't worry to much about it.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

What a nice face! Is he a pony (over 36")?

I think a good excercise program will help him. But some excercise is not best suited to certain conformations. The picture seems to show a hind problem also. I would not lunge, but rather work him straight. Poles would be good, but not jumping.

Temperament goes a long way to enjoying a horse; as important as conformation, imo.

 

[Debby - LB]

Welcome back Amy!! and congratulations on your new little guy, what a pretty kind face he has!

Unless this is genetic (maybe his sire and/or dam were also knock kneed) I tend to think that his care after he was born would be more to blame.

I say that because if he had obvious angular deformities at birth and didn't get the proper nourishment and leg and hoof care before his growth plates closed then I would not assume this was caused in utero. There are foals with angular limb deformities born from well fed and cared for mares, just like there are perfectly straight and healthy foals that come from severely neglected mares.

It's hard to tell even when I lightened your photo but it looks like his hooves are not level. Is there any way you can take some more photos on a flat surface so we can see how he is standing?

Also in this photo is he standing relaxed with his off rear cocked or is he cowhocked as well?

 

[Lil Eowyn]

Thank you for your help! Here's one more pic I have of him, but I'll take more when we pick him up (he's not home yet). In this picture he is stepping forward with one foot so you can't really tell they're knock kneed..

 

[Minimor]

A neglected, malnourished mare will often put everything she has into her pregnancy the foal inside her will get all the nutrients she has available, even though it means she has nothing left for herself. There have been cases where the foal was born perfectly healthy but the mare was left with serious mineral deficiencies. So, I agree with Debby that it is more likely that it is either a genetic conformation fault, or it is a result of whatever care the foal got (or didnt get) after birth. Foals are born with angular limb deformities even with a well fed mare; that is often the result of a long legged baby without enough room inside the marethose foals usually straighten up in the first few weeks after birth. Mineral imbalances in weanlings and yearlings can cause a horse to go crooked on its legs even if it were born with straight legs.

In the case of your new Mini, he looks to be very narrow; his legs are very close together from top to bottom, and the knees do knock inward. I don't know if he has been properly fed since weaning, or if he is thin now? He may be perfectly well fed and is just a narrow youngsterIm thinking that as he matures more his chest will still widen some, which will put his legs further apart (I once bought a very narrow 3 year old gelding and by the time he was 5 he had decent width to his chest). I am not confident that his legs will straighten up though. He may get a bit straighter if his growth plates have not closed; if they have closed then I'm afraid this is how he will stay. Do check his trimming to make sure that his hoofs are trimmed level; if he is longer on the outside than on the inside then that may very well be causing his knees to collapse inward. Pick up the foot, hold the leg by the cannon bone and let the hoof hang unsupported, and look at it straight from above. The inside and outside of the hoof should look to be the same length. I have seen some very bad trims even from farriers that shouldnt be doing bad trims, so its always best to check, especially when you are seeing some crookedness in the legs.

In any case the little guy looks like a really sweet little cutie. I look forward to seeing more pix when you get him home! Congrats on getting him.

 

[Lil Eowyn]

Thank you!

 

[drmatthewtaylor]

Horses generally are 95% grown by their actual 2nd birthday. Unless this was a very late foal, then I would assume him to have little or no growth left to straighten those knees. If this would have been caught prior to growth being finished then surgery can be done to help with this condition.

Trimming the feet correctly will not improve the situation, but doing a poor job or not trimming can make it worse.

Good Luck,

Dr. Taylor

 

[Marty]

He's quite narrow chested so you have a 50/50 chance that it's his conformation or growth related. Give him time and lots of care, worm him, vaccinate him, feed him up good, and love & enjoy him. He's an adorable cutie pie no matter what!

 

[targetsmom]

We bought a young mini with legs like this that everyone said would straighten and they never did. But she turned into a lovely little all-around mini and great driving horse. When viewed from the front her legs looked very knock-kneed, but from the side they looked fine and did not affect her movement. Have fun with him!

 

[Lil Eowyn]

Thank you for your time everyone. My brother wants to show him next year--do you think he'll have a chance in showing at halter with his legs like this or will he be docked points?

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Not in halter, no, but that is no reason not to try- the year after that you will be able to start performance classes and even driving, so look ahead.

 

[MyMiniGal]

This is sort of like me, with Halo. She has an underbite, so can't really show halter, but I did think I could someday, in a trail class or jumping, if we get to all of that. I thought we would be out of the driving ones, too, due to her underbite. But that may not be the case? I can only do open shows too. Something to think about and ahead to. Thank you, Rabbitfizz for bringing up thinking ahead and striving for it.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Could your brother show in Showmanship? Your new horse appears to have a very good personality for that discipline.