The stay apparatus (SA) is a woefully neglected aspect of the horse's physiology. Ask even specialist vets about the stay apparatus and they are likely to describe the arrangements in the hind leg. I have even heard an equine vet state there is no such thing as a forelimb SA. When asked if he had any comment about a racehorse which was standing like a goat on a rock he said that was how the horse liked to stand.
Put simply - if a horse cannot engage its fore and hind limb SA, it is in trouble. The form that trouble takes, how bad it is and when it strikes are all dependent on the individual horse but trouble there will be.
Whether the trouble will be attributed to a failure of the SA is another matter and therein lies the BIG issue for me.
A horse which falls down when sedated, a horse which buckles at the knees when it doses off, a horse which persistently stumbles, or which buckles when one leg is lifted off the ground - all are likely to be suffering from muscular weakness / discomfort originating in a inability to engage the SA optimally. And the origin of that is very likely to be in the hoof. Even if it hasn't originated in the hoof, chances are the hoof will be a major part of the problem.
The horse is a prey animal; its defence is flight. It has evolved the incredible evolutionary advantage of long light weight limbs which grant speed and conserve energy. It also evolved the ability to rest mostly upright, which gives it a standing start. It achieves this feat by placing its limbs in a certain arrangement that utilises body weight, tendinous muscle, ligaments and fascia to hold the skeleton in balance - thereby allowing the bulk of skeletal muscle to fully relax without the animal falling in a heap.
Skeletal muscle is, for the most part, about movement; muscles act across joints to move the limbs. Muscle is not efficient at carrying direct persistent load. You can try this yourself by standing up and leaning forward as far as you can without falling over. See how long you can stay like that. Or lift your shoulders up towards your ears - and hold them there. Stress posture is used by some unpleasant humans because it is a very effective form of torture that doesn't leave visble scars.
The horse that is unable to fully relax the bulk of its skeletal muscle whilst upright cannot have healthy muscle. Asking it to then carry the load of a rider and tack and perform athletically is going to cause harm - of some sort, to some degree, at some point.
If horse owners and riders don't know this, there is some excuse. If they do know and they persist - there is no excuse.
Finally, to that vast array of professionals out there who make their living out of horses, if you don't understand this, may I respectfully suggest you take up golf.
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