Most horses stand with their front legs scissored apart when they are eating off the ground. Raven alternates between legs, but Tonka always stands with his right leg back and his left leg forward, probably because the heels of his right hoof are quite high. When Tonka first arrived his scissor stance was very wide and he often had to shuffle his legs back and forth to get into it. Over the past two months his stance has been getting narrower, and in recent weeks I have actually seen him graze with his legs straight under him (I think of this as the equine equivalent of being about to touch your toes without bending your knees). I'm not sure what it means, but I think it's a good sign.
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Hiya DP!
Thanks so much for making me happy with your "following" my weirdo Blog! I noticed that I too am on your "Team Members" list...,I love it, this is so very much fun!
We have this new horse Vinnie at the stable..thouhg he is 8, he has to do the "foal stanc" to even reach the ground. His neck apparently, is NOT as long as his legs!He is quite tall..over 17 hands.
I will notice which leg is the front scissor next time.
Sorry, need spell check!
His legs are so sturdy, and his hooves look really good!!
Huh. You're absolutely right, most horses do stand scissored; I just never really noticed it before.
I wonder if Tonka's stance is self-perpetuating? Like his right heel is (was) higher because he often had his right leg back so the heel wasn't weight bearing so it grew longer so it was more comfortable to stand that way?
That's something that good regular trimming would definitely help, and it sounds like he's been getting exactly that!
(Also, your word verification for comments is always 8-9 letters, while mine is almost always 6. Weird!)
I have team members? News to me! Glad to give AHS a smile, though. I love your weirdo blog.
Yes, Mister T does have sturdy legs jointed together by knobbly knees. His hooves are very thick and very solid -- just messed up on the inside.
And yes, Funder -- it is definitely self-perpetuating. The right coffin bone is more severely rotated, so maybe he started leaving it behind where it would take less of his weight (though more on the toes)? Who knows. The heels are definitely better than there were, but Christina says they will always be higher than those on the left.
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