[Buttermilk]

  I assume horses lock their knees when they take a standing snooze too.

  No they don't, they have three legs slightly flexed and one rear leg bent at the ankle joint.  They swap legs regularly while still napping  It's funny to watch them when you stay absolutely quiet

Horses also have a locking stay mechanism in the stifle which means when it is locked it stays locked, until the horse deliberately unlocks it.  Young horses and those in very poor condition can suffer from a stay mechanism that stays locked on starting to move, so that the leg does not come forward with the step.

[Fleecewife]

I've wondered about joining a yoga class.  I've assumed I'm too creaky with a worsening hip, but I just might look into that 

Find a class and teacher that's "old crock" friendly.  I can't stress enough how much help yoga has been to me - flexibility, muscle tone, core strength, balance, and also my emotional wellbeing.  I am so lucky that we have a wonderful teacher within the community.  Two of us old crocks do one class with her and she has another pair of younger / less-crockies before us.

There are lots of yoga teachers doing online sessions now, you may be able to find something suitable for your "age and stage" .  If not, shout - I could ask our teacher if she might do one.  I do know she has produced some CDs of some of the more basic and gentle movements, which would quite possibly be suitable.

I did a google search and was amazed at how many yoga classes there are in my area, including in the next village.  However, I flatly refuse to appear in public in a lycra leotard    In our local school gym, which is open to the public after school, there is an extraordinary number of exercise classes of absolutely every type you can imagine, or even not imagine.  I found one called 'Body Balance', which is made of a mix of elements from yoga, thai chi and pilates.  So then I searched on youtube and found hour long videos by various people on that.  I think that's the way for me.  Although we are now no longer officially having to shield, I find myself very nervous about mixing again, especially somewhere like an exercise class - a lot of heavy breathing in an enclosed space -  so continuing as an anchorite in my cell will do me just fine. I also have an adverse reaction to exercise types, oozing fitness and bonhomie.

The upside is that I can already stand on one leg, as long as it's the left one, for over a minute, while waving my arms and the other leg around in a variety of ballet positions.  Standing on the other leg, the gammy one, is not quite so successful, but the orthopaedic nurse in me tells me when to stop trying.  That same orthopaedic nurse tells me which muscle groups to exercise gently, and the dodgy heart tells me when to stop. So I'm very self contained and meantime I'll watch on youtube and keep practicing 

[SallyintNorth]

Great!       Have fun - in private