Healthy horses rarely stand for any length of time with their front limbs crossed. It is a vulnerable stance for a horse and when placed in this stance, they usually quickly right themselves. This response is a reflex that relies on long nerve tracts that run through the spinal cord to the brain and back to the muscles that control posture. This observation is commonly associated with a neurologic deficit or spinal cord injury.

Although spinal injury more commonly causes problems in the hind limbs than the front limbs, in severe cases of spinal cord damage, a horse may stand with their front limbs crossed, and will not right themselves if the front limbs are manually crossed. In these cases, the problem is worse in hind limbs.

There is also a fairly rare stereotypical (compulsive behavior seen in confined horses) behavior in which a horse intentionally crosses either the fore or hind limbs, without any detectable neurologic deficit. I have seen a few horses that crossed the hind limbs and at least one that crossed the forelimbs. As with many stereotypical behaviors, it seems to intensify when the horse is anxious or distressed. Horses experiencing girth pain will sometimes stand with their limbs crossed, especially when the girth is being tightened.