Scanning the conformation of the forehand, you should look for a big shoulder, a long forearm and a short cannon. The knee and ankle should be large and bony, without mushiness or filling. The knees should face clearly forward, not be put on the leg column with an outward or inward twist. Viewed from the front of the horse a vertical line dropped from the top of the center of the forearm should pass through the center of the knee, ankle and pastern, and end up at the center of the toe. Knees that turn either in or out are likely to cause some degree of uneven breakover and faulty flight path of the legs.
Ankles present the same problem if they are crooked.
Base narrow or base wide legs are structurally faulty. Offset knees are fairly common in Arabs, but they usually do not pose too great a problem, especially if the condition is not extreme. Calf knees are also common in Arabs, and this, unfortunately, is more likely to cause trouble somewhere down the road. Pasterns that are extremely sloping place an undue amount of pressure on the supporting superficial flexor tendon and suspensory apparatus. The master principle to keep in mind when considering conformation is that the front legs act as support columns and must absorb, with as little trauma as possible, the impact of landing.