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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 399
 
| Can someone fill me in on some signs of sore hocks? I know the cross firing and refusing the gate but what are some of the other signs? |
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 Living within my means
Posts: 5128
Location: Randolph, Utah | EmtRoper - 2014-09-02 11:24 AM
Can someone fill me in on some signs of sore hocks? I know the cross firing and refusing the gate but what are some of the other signs?
My mare gets sore in her back when her hocks get sore. |
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  Queen Boobie 2
Posts: 7521
 
| Not wanting to back up. Reluctance to get in trailer. My mare will get her front end in and then pause to decide which back leg she will step in with. Standing with their back legs 'parked out' ... Just a few I have run across |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 330
| Kicking out with a hind foot at the lope (and/or bucking) <-- this was a BIG one for my mare
Alternate resting of a hind leg, more than normal, or only resting one hind leg
Reluctance to pick up the correct lead all together
Farrier may notice stiffness while doing the hind feet
Sore back
From someone watching on the ground: short strided in the back/not tracking up, if you isolate the front end from your eye and only watch the back end, the gait can look like there is a "hitch" in it.
Dragging hind toes and/or tripping a lot in the back (which can also be a sign of stifle issues in addition to hocks)
Edited by SuckerForHorses 2014-09-02 1:01 PM
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Hungarian Midget Woman
Location: Midwest | Mine will not want to give you his hind feet when you go to pick them out, or he will pick up his foot but pull it up under him. |
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| All these are good--I have noticed mine don't want to move over for the second barrel even though they easily do in slow work, and feel like they have a hump in their back when pushing out of the barrel for a couple strides. However, these can also be signs of different physical problems--you kind of just have to know your horse. Or just take them to a good vet periodically and have them checked. |
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 pressure dripper
Posts: 8699
Location: the end of the rainbow | jenagarwood - 2014-09-02 12:52 PM
All these are good--I have noticed mine don't want to move over for the second barrel even though they easily do in slow work, and feel like they have a hump in their back when pushing out of the barrel for a couple strides. However, these can also be signs of different physical problems--you kind of just have to know your horse. Or just take them to a good vet periodically and have them checked.
usually a horse that bunny hops around or off a barrel is generally sore in the hocks. By bunny hop I mean back feet/legs are close together instead of spread out/ separated like they should be. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 974
Location: USA | willrodeo4food - 2014-09-02 3:27 PM jenagarwood - 2014-09-02 12:52 PM All these are good--I have noticed mine don't want to move over for the second barrel even though they easily do in slow work, and feel like they have a hump in their back when pushing out of the barrel for a couple strides. However, these can also be signs of different physical problems--you kind of just have to know your horse. Or just take them to a good vet periodically and have them checked. usually a horse that bunny hops around or off a barrel is generally sore in the hocks. By bunny hop I mean back feet/legs are close together instead of spread out/ separated like they should be.
^^^^ this ^^^^^ |
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The Resident Destroyer of Liberal Logic
Location: PNW | willrodeo4food - 2014-09-02 3:27 PM
jenagarwood - 2014-09-02 12:52 PM
All these are good--I have noticed mine don't want to move over for the second barrel even though they easily do in slow work, and feel like they have a hump in their back when pushing out of the barrel for a couple strides. However, these can also be signs of different physical problems--you kind of just have to know your horse. Or just take them to a good vet periodically and have them checked.
usually a horse that bunny hops around or off a barrel is generally sore in the hocks. By bunny hop I mean back feet/legs are close together instead of spread out/ separated like they should be.
This is what my gelding does around time for his injections. He also gets INCREDIBLY front-endy. |
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 ND Sweetheart
Posts: 3471
Location: In My Own Dream Land | I have a 5 yr old I just recently acquired. She bunny hops around her barrels. I haven't taken her to the vet, but am wondering if her hocks aren't fusing? Is 5 too early to be dealing with this?
Thanks. |
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 Don't Wanna Make This Awkward
Posts: 3106
Location: Texas | Some get blisters on their hocks, from laying down and trying to get back up. Not wanting to lope circles is also a big thing. |
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 Not Afraid to Work
Posts: 4717
| JcNhEmI - 2014-09-02 12:29 PM
EmtRoper - 2014-09-02 11:24 AM
Can someone fill me in on some signs of sore hocks? I know the cross firing and refusing the gate but what are some of the other signs?
My mare gets sore in her back when her hocks get sore.
A friend of mines horse who was injected showed increased back pain (this particular horse was already dealing with kissing spine). |
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 Heeler Hoarder
Posts: 2067
| tThompson - 2014-09-03 6:47 PM
I have a 5 yr old I just recently acquired. She bunny hops around her barrels. I haven't taken her to the vet, but am wondering if her hocks aren't fusing? Is 5 too early to be dealing with this?
Thanks.
No my mare was a 4yo and dealing with major hock problems |
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ND Sweetheart
Posts: 3471
Location: In My Own Dream Land | Tn_Barrelracer - 2014-09-03 7:22 PM tThompson - 2014-09-03 6:47 PM I have a 5 yr old I just recently acquired. She bunny hops around her barrels. I haven't taken her to the vet, but am wondering if her hocks aren't fusing? Is 5 too early to be dealing with this?
Thanks. No my mare was a 4yo and dealing with major hock problems
What did you do to help her? Injections, time off? |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| tThompson - 2014-09-03 7:48 PM
Tn_Barrelracer - 2014-09-03 7:22 PM tThompson - 2014-09-03 6:47 PM I have a 5 yr old I just recently acquired. She bunny hops around her barrels. I haven't taken her to the vet, but am wondering if her hocks aren't fusing? Is 5 too early to be dealing with this?
Thanks. No my mare was a 4yo and dealing with major hock problems
Most horses will not fuse completely on their own,
There are pros and cons with injections, always a chance of infection, generally will work for a period of time and as the horse ages the duration or length of time between injections decreases.
I personally don't inject hocks, I go straight to laser fusion especially if they are young then I don't ever have to worry about the hocks again. |
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 Veteran
Posts: 164
| Adequan has been a miracle worker for my gelding with really bad hocks. He's lame without it. |
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 Experienced Mouse Trapper
Posts: 3106
Location: North Dakota | The one horse we have will start refusing the gate and be a little back sore, the other will buck when running barrels will show no change when roping!-depends on the horse and their attitude. I will inject mine and then they are on pentosan. The one that refuses the gate has definite arthritic changes in the hock (he hung it in a fence a couple years back) pentosan is supposed to help wash that arthritis from the joint. I'm curious to get some radiographs to see if there is any improvement. I do know I was told the injections would last 3-6 months and I was well past a year and half before I thought he needed injecting again. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 928
Location: Bigfoot Country | BEWARE!!! My horse had all these symptoms mentioned. Got hocks injected and she was better....for a while. Turned out to be suspensories. They can get very sore and they HAVE THE SAME SYMPTOMS as hocks. If you go get hocks injected and they only get better for a short time, get suspensories ultrasounded. |
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Hungarian Midget Woman
Location: Midwest | nuevocowgirl - 2014-09-04 12:20 PM BEWARE!!! My horse had all these symptoms mentioned. Got hocks injected and she was better....for a while. Turned out to be suspensories. They can get very sore and they HAVE THE SAME SYMPTOMS as hocks. If you go get hocks injected and they only get better for a short time, get suspensories ultrasounded.
I would get radiographs done of the hocks too before injecting...JMO |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 682
Location: Northwest | nuevocowgirl - 2014-09-04 10:20 AM
BEWARE!!! My horse had all these symptoms mentioned. Got hocks injected and she was better....for a while. Turned out to be suspensories. They can get very sore and they HAVE THE SAME SYMPTOMS as hocks. If you go get hocks injected and they only get better for a short time, get suspensories ultrasounded.
This happened to me too. Vet was torn between the problem being hocks or suspensory; we injected hocks. Mare was amazing for 1 1/2 weeks and then was as bad as ever. Taught me a good lesson in not jumping to conclusions but having a VERY thorough vet check. |
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