Cow hocked

[jennwarr84]

Cow hocked, can corrective trimming correct this? My in-laws yearling filly has the locking stifles and is cow hocked, you think those 2 things are related?

 

[Ashley]

I dont know if they are related or not. However if she is a true cowhock and not just a growth spurt thing you wont change it. Also you cant change a locking stifle either. Both of these together defantly make a horse not a breeding horse.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Locking stifles can be helped by corrective trimming so don't overlook it's importance, but Ashley is right that it won't make it go away. You can trim a cow-hocked horse so that they are forced to stand straight but you will ruin their legs in no time flat. The angles of their bones are permanent and twisting them will only stretch tendons and cause tremendous pain.

That said, sometimes cow hocks are simply part of a growth stage and she may come out of it. Same with locking stifles. Or another possibility is that because her stifles lock she has learned to stand in such a way that she appears cow-hocked. Locking stifles are not comfortable and often cause them to learn to move incorrectly to try and alleviate it. My Kody does that, and when I can trick him (or train him) into moving correctly instead of trying to compensate for his stifles he has much less problem. One other possibility is that she has an underlying conformation issue in her hip that is related to both the cow hocks AND the locking stifles. We'd have to see her to offer a better guess.

I would definitely not breed this mare though. There are too many problem-free horses out there to risk passing on problems like these.

Leia

 

[jennwarr84]

She is a year old. She's a late May baby. My in-laws own the horse, they aren't horse people, I have tried to explain her condition. They don't understand. They think that since she is standing and eating then she is healthy. I am not for certain I will be able to convince them to no breeding. They purchased the filly without any help. Seems they bought only a pet. She's a real sweet filly. Maybe it's just the growth spurt. But she's pretty close behind. Her hocks almost touch each other.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

That's a tough situation you've got there, I think it's great that you're concerned for the filly and doing what you can. Cow hocks aren't about how close the hocks are, it's all about the angles. A horse is cow hocked if when they stand naturally with their feet below their hip the hocks point towards each other and the toes point out. There are varying degrees of extremity and it likely won't effect the horse's usefulness or health unless it is horribly horribly bad and paired with a weak hip too. Even then it will simply predispose her to joint problems.

Leia

 

[Flyte200]

My mini is cow hocked to and i gelded him and just have him as a pet but trimmng wont correct it!!!

But he is fine able to gallop around and everything :bgrin :bgrin

Hope this has helped!!! :bgrin

 

[mistyrose]

You can however make a horse look cowhocked by trimming it wrong! My deal of a $5.00 a horse farrier managed to do it in a young horse. The horse went back to being correct after two trimmings by the more expensive guy.

 

[showmofffarm]

You also might want to look at what she is being fed. Lack of proper nutrition can also cause a horse to go cow hocked...

 

[Miniv]

Locking stifles and being cow hocked are two different issues. But both can be caused and resolved by one thing..... GROWTH.

Both conditions can be caused by either genetics OR growth issues. Each needs to addressed seperately.

Locking stifles, if genetic, can be resolved with a simple surgical procedure BUT the horse should NEVER be used for breeding. PERIOD. The horse can go on to lead a great life as cart/performance horse or a pet.

Sometimes a stifle problem can be a result of an enormous growth spurt. If it happens it's usually in their yearling year and very short lived. With proper nutrition and excersize the horse works it out and it never occurs again.

Cow-hocks can also be genetic. And again, if so, the horse should NOT be used for breeding. The problem can be corrected -- but only to a point -- with farrier work. A genetically cow-hocked horse is often used very well in driving cart and other performance activities.

Cow-hocks in a weanling AND in a very refined yearling can also be a nutrional and/or a weight issue. Once the young horse builds muscle and/or is given good groceries, the legs straighten on their own.....with or without corrective farrier work.....(occasionally corrective trimming can be detrimental in these cases.)

MA

 

[jennwarr84]

We have a farrier coming out today to do our full sizes, we are going to see if he has experience in minis. Her diet is Nutrenas Safe Choice with some alfalfa pellets, and her hay is Alicia Bermuda. I noticed where a lot of people feed complete feeds. What would be the best thing for her?

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Nutrena Safe Choice IS a complete feed. That's what my mini gets.