Successful racehorses with offset knees?...

Mood Swings · Postby **Mood Swings** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 4:57 pm

I was hoping some of you could share stories about successful racehorses you have owned or know of that are offset. We all know there have been some superb "steals" at sales over the years of horses that were not deemed to be good enough because of blemishes, whether they are chip related or conformational. I currently own a horse that I see something special in. He is a regional bred yearling but I've been a fan since he was neonate. Of course he is offset :roll:

I am prepared to keep him and race him at this point as I am realistic when it comes to sales yearlings. I appreciate any stories. Thanks

barnchick · Postby **barnchick** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 5:37 pm

Offset and o/o a non winner to boot. 'Stuck in traffic', has won close to 600k. Sold as a yearling for about 10k, privately as part of a group. Fun horse.

ASB · Postby **ASB** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 6:36 pm

Street Cry has some dodgy knees and lots of his get do as well.

Derby2004 · Postby **Derby2004** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 7:05 pm

Tapit

tbrace · Postby **tbrace** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 10:05 pm

We have owned several that have done fine. No huge winners, but very fun horses, with many wins.

Offset, yes.

Back at knee, NO.

Tappiano · Postby **Tappiano** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 4:19 am

Derby2004 wrote:Tapit

His is extreme..

Nobiz is slightly offset in his left knee.

Cree · Postby **Cree** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 9:01 am

My gelding is off-set and pigeon toed, and he ran 77 times, retired sound.

FOS · Postby **FOS** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 1:44 pm

hi Mood Swings...hi tbrace

tbrace wrote:
Mood Swings wrote:I was hoping some of you could share stories about successful racehorses you have owned or know of that are offset.We have owned several that have done fine.

No huge winners, but very fun horses, with many wins.

Offset, yes.

Back at knee, NO.

By spelling yes in lower case re Offset (your word), and the word NO in caps re Back at knee (your words)...is that intended to mean Offset is okay, Back at knee is not?

Whatever...there are a slew of thoroughbreds that have raced successfully with offset knees AND/OR knees that are back. And that's nothing new. Example: deceased Gainesway stallion Riverman (who by the way was quite a successful racehorse) was arguably one of the most offset (and I'm talking significantly offset) I've ever seen. He was ALSO significantly back at the knee.

Seems reasonable (to my way of thinking anyway) to submit that there is a significant number/percentage of successful racehorses that are offset and/or back at the knee. For starters you might want to take a look at the former champion racehorse, and current successful racehorse sire Lemon Drop Kid, in the flesh. Hmmm.

Seems to me that selecting the best conformed horses is the relatively easy part. As for selecting the best runners to be...now that's another matter all together. To each his/her own.

I'd be quite surprised if offset is not there to be seen (to some extent) in the majority of thoroughbreds.

Oh well.

Respectfully

tbrace · Postby **tbrace** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 2:43 pm

Right you are. I would rather own 10 horses offest at the knee than one who is back at the knee.

Many trainers will say the same, I believe.

zinn21 · Postby **zinn21** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 3:03 pm

I had a couple that were offset and they both popped splints.

Mood Swings · Postby **Mood Swings** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 6:35 pm

Thanks for the replies thus far. I didn't know that Tapit was offset. That's encouraging!

Here is a profile pic of my colt and another of his knees. My apologies as I didn't realize when I took the photo that he had fogged up the lens on my camera :oops:

barnchick · Postby **barnchick** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 8:32 pm

Thanks for the pics. I was going to ask, but thought it a little pushy. The knee shot is foggy, but the soft footing distorts more. Because it is a head on (nicely done) it doesn't allow for the turn out of the toe. Although the bedding may be the problem. Make sure you judge his knees by the front of the leg, not the front of the horse. It may be worse or better than it looks. What I would want to see is him move, some of my slight offsets, moved well, and a few 'slightly offs' paddle like a rabid rowboat, or an unbalanced washing machine. Standing doesn't tell the tale. He's a tidy package, and may move pretty smoothly. Are you going to share his sire and dam?

tbrace · Postby **tbrace** » Mon Mar 21, 2011 5:04 am

Actually, standing can tell a lot about the knee conformation, and only running tells how he will hold up.

This is a nice colt, but two things would be of concern. One is the angle (steep) of his neck coming out of his shoulder, which will place a lot of pressure on the shins and ankles.

The other are his knees, which are offset quite a bit.

Neither of these means he won't run, just that the odds of keeping him sound are not as high as with a horse without those issues, all else being the same.

Good luck with him. He is well bodied and leggy - always a good combination.

Nessa · Postby **Nessa** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 6:06 pm

Easy Goer was offset in his left and clubfooted on that side to boot, but he did alright as a runner.