Where would padding inhibit a limb's movement the least in a quadruped creature?

Of the six limbs of classic dragons, the forelegs always stuck out like a sore thumb. They're dead weight in flight, etc... However, since in my setting you can find any sort of armament, short of a mini-nuke, they can't rely on primarily gliding flight in combat and are forced into ambush tactics on the ground.

That requires strong enough limbs, that are also well protected. Horses use every trick available for power magnification and energy recovery, but also have vulnerable legs.

Since dragons have just as much common with them as with dinosaurs, azhdarchid pterosaurs, and boring flamethrowers, I guess we could make those legs more sturdy looking with a new tissue I came up with: padding.

Padding still has some unanswered question, but it consists of alternating layers of closed-cell and open-cell foam made of a high tensile-strength, high-stiffness material. Its density is pretty low.

Where and how should this padding be placed to avoid hindering the front leg's range of motion?

Note:

Here are the previous questions, for context:

Could a living creature produce graphene?
Dragon forelimb placement
Rowing dragon, could it work?
Would these structural reinforcements improve dragon wings?

posted over 5 years ago

Mephistopheles‭

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