I have a question???

[sixshooterfarm]

Hi guys, I am probably going to be asking you guys a lot of questions. I have a stallion who is 28" tall, well before i bought him he was running on 60 acres with 20 other stallions. Well his hock on his left side is popping, he shows no pain whatso ever, it wasent like that when i bought him, but since he has slowed down with excersise for the winter it seems to be popping, almost like locked knee cap but he is not stuck, he can move it just fine its just when he walks and his leg gets extended, when he goes to bring it forward it pops, I am starting to give him some glucosamine support in his food, I am propbabaly going to start wrapping it during the day and unwrapping durring the night when he is not doing much. Do you guys have any good ideas of what it could be and what i should do??? Any comments are appreciated!!!

 

[Leeana]

It sounds like he has a stiffle ...but them are usually in the hip area.

How old is he, if he is older then i would say that its somewhat normal if he is in his older 20's.

Its probaly nothing to worry about though, Rocky's would pop when we trotted him because he would turn it the wrong way ...kind of like your finger when you pull it.

Leeana

I dont know though, ask some other people ..im no vet

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Just above the hock is the usual place to see patella problems, and it sounds as if your chap is developing this. Do not wrap it, and I think the Glucosimine will do little good either, although it is worth a try. I am assuming he is what yearling?? Two?? It will get better or it will not, there is not a lot you can do. I have heard people say they grow out of it or exercise will help, but I have not found either to be true. If it gets worse rather than better he can be operated on. Of course, he should be gelded, as the predisposition to the problem is hereditary. I would get your Vet to take a look, see if s/he thinks X-rays are in order and go from there. I think it has more to do with his age than the fact that he is no longer rushing around.

 

[Annetta]

It often helps to shorten the toes on the hind feet--not over-shortened, but don't let the hind feet (toes especially) get long. I've known a number of horses that were popping & then when their feet were trimmed so that the toes were shorter the popping stopped. If you do a search on here of "popping hocks" you should find a couple of old threads on the subject.

I had a young (2 year old) gelding that was popping on one hock for awhile, but he did outgrow it. He's 3 1/2 now & I haven't heard that hock make any noise in over a year now.

I can't say about your horse, but in many horses the snapping noise does originate in the hock; I've watched several horses that do this, and in some of them I could see the hock joint almost catch, then as it makes the snapping noise I could see the snap as something in the hock moved...didn't seem painful for the horses at all, but it did look like it should be uncomfortable. In other of the horses I didn't see that snap in the hock--those horses looked more like the ligament allowed the hock joint to move too far forward, then it would kind of settle back into place. In those I can't honestly say if the noise was actually in the hock (owner said it was) or in the stifle joint. In some cases (not all) I'd see that the snapping hocks went hand in hand with a weak/straight stifle.

I do know that many judges don't count a horse down for having popping hocks, and many trainers and buyers don't seem concerned by the trait; I know someone that's had a couple horses with the trait & when he mentioned it to prospective buyers, they couldn't seem to care less. That kind of surprises me; I personally prefer that my horses not have this trait, regardless if they are halter or harness horses. I always have to wonder how long a horse will stay sound if he's got this unusual catch in his hocks, but there are a number of people that say they've got horses that have done this for years & even with a lot of driving haven't had any soundness issues.

Edited to add; I doubt that there is any benefit in wrapping your horse's hock(s). The glucosamine won't hurt and may even help; do try shortening his hind toes a bit though, and see if that makes a difference.

 

[wwminis]

It often helps to shorten the toes on the hind feet--not over-shortened, but don't let the hind feet (toes especially) get long.  I've known a number of horses that were popping & then when their feet were trimmed so that the toes were shorter the popping stopped.  If you do a search on here of "popping hocks" you should find a couple of old threads on the subject.
I had a young (2 year old) gelding that was popping on one hock for awhile, but he did outgrow it.  He's 3 1/2 now & I haven't heard that hock make any noise in over a year now.

I can't say about your horse, but in many horses the snapping noise does originate in the hock; I've watched several horses that do this, and in some of them I could see the hock joint almost catch, then as it makes the snapping noise I could see the snap as something in the hock moved...didn't seem painful for the horses at all, but it did look like it should be uncomfortable.  In other of the horses I didn't see that snap in the hock--those horses looked more like the ligament allowed the hock joint to move too far forward, then it would kind of settle back into place.  In those I can't honestly say if the noise was actually in the hock (owner said it was) or in the stifle joint.  In some cases (not all) I'd see that the snapping hocks went hand in hand with a weak/straight stifle.

I do know that many judges don't count a horse down for having popping hocks, and many trainers and buyers don't seem concerned by the trait; I know someone that's had a couple horses with the trait & when he mentioned it to prospective buyers, they couldn't seem to care less.  That kind of surprises me; I personally prefer that my horses not have this trait, regardless if they are halter or harness horses.  I always have to wonder how long a horse will stay sound if he's got this unusual catch in his hocks, but there are a number of people that say they've got horses that have done this for years & even with a lot of driving haven't had any soundness issues.

Edited to add; I doubt that there is any benefit in wrapping your horse's hock(s).  The glucosamine won't hurt and may even help; do try shortening his hind toes a bit though, and see if that makes a difference.

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[SIZE=14pt]I agree with this 100%[/SIZE]

Bill

 

[Charlotte]

Ditto Annetta and Bill

When you shorten the hind toes you might consider squaring them off a bit....rather than a more rounded front to the toe....to speed breakover.

It seems to me that hind leg issues are more common in stallions.......I think sometimes their hormones take over for their brains and they are more likely to do stuff that hurts those hind legs....fighting with other male horses, breeding mares ect.... all of which can be hard on the hind leg joints. I have known of stallions to hyperextend the stifle joint when breeding a taller mare and suddenly begin to show some stifle issues (popping) where none existed before)

Charlotte

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

Well my first suggestion is to have a vet come and look at it. It is easy for everyone to guess what it might be from a description but the first thing i would do is have him looked at

 

[sixshooterfarm]

I definetly agree 100% with annetta! It sounds exactly like what he is going through. It is not painful to him at all he runs around bucks and kicks and no problem whatso ever, it just pops, sometimes it looks like it is going to catch and get stuck there but it hasent. I have seen both of his parents and even is grandfather and they do not have any problems with their hocks or stifles, he was running loose on 60 acres will 12 other stallions, I have a feeling he waws being a "stallion" and letting hormones take over lol and probably hurt himself, or they were playing and maybe got kicked. I am giving him the glucosamine because is is only 5 and i dont want anything to get worse, or maybe i am using it as a procautionary, treatment. anyways, my thought on wrapping, is if it is poping, my thought is, it is like it is poping in and out of a joint wich in most cases will start to break down that natural padding between the joints, if I wrapp, and keep it from popping it will keep it from breaking down. I may just be a doofus but please correct me if i am way out of feild here. Like i said i am going to be asking you guys alot of questions so i can do this right!!! thanks guys you all are great and i really appreciate all of your guy's input!!

 

[Nicole-DownUnder]

Hmmmmm, is it the hock or stifle????

If it's his stifle, and you say it sounds like a 'popping' noise, it sounds VERY much like stifle lock or lock stifle, which is the same thing, depends where you come from, lol. If this is the case, I would certainly geld him. It won't get better with time or exercise, and will more likely need surgery at some stage. Like Rabbitsfizz, I agree that it is hereditary and he is likely pass it on to his foals, and you'd be lucky if they didn't get it.

As for the hocks, i'd say the noise you would hear would sound more like 'clicking' and not 'popping'.

In any case, definitely get the vet out, as they will be able to confirm exactly what it is.

Good luck

Nicole

 

[Mini Brook Farm]

I confer with the others and would get a professional opinion. I wouldn't wrap it....too loose it will fall off....too tight you're in big trouble.

 

[Marty]

I think you are assuming way too much on your own here and yes, I do think you are way out in left field on this.

I think you should not be assuming anything and you should have this looked at and X rayed by your vet, a good vet.

I also don't think you should be feeding him glucosamine without a good reason. I don't think you have a good reason at the moment. Why bother to medicate something when you have no diagnosis? Doesn't make any sense to me. Not down on glucosamine and I do use it, but you have to watch what you are putting into your animals and be guided by your vet.

OK, so this is a pet peeve of mine: If you go into a store or search your catalogs for supplements, you are bound to convince yourself that your hose is in great need of many of them. Why? I don't know, but that is how the marketers have zoomed us aboard their wellness wagon. Before long, you will find yourself with so many supplements and bling blings in your horse's feed dish, that he does not need, he will end up with more crap than grain. An ounce of this, a tablespoon of that, a handful of this, and how about some of that over there.....and opps, I just ran out of money. So I am just saying, treat the problem, but you have to know what the problem is for sure first. Don't assume. Assume nothing.

If this horse has been kicked or injured, you may be going backwards instead of forwards by presuming things. If this is a stifle locking situation, then that has to be addressed accordingly but right now, you do not know what you do have there at all.

Also, wrapping a hock is tricky. You have to know how to do a proper figure 8 in that area and if you don't, just like wrapping anything else, you will cause more harm than good, and no, wrapping is not going to be holding anything in place for you. No wrapping is better than wrapping wrong or for no reason.

A vet is in order, not just any vet, a good vet that has much experience and expertise in joints and also is well versed in miniature horses.

I wish you much luck and hope for success.

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

I am with marty please dont wrap a hock for no reason and talk to your vet first have him check the horse and show you how and if he wants it wrapped a hock is a very tricky place to wrap to begin with and wrapping anything if not done very close to perfection (not a lot of leeway there for mistakes at all in wrapping) can cause more damage then what you started with.

 

[Sandee]

I think you are assuming way too much on your own here and yes, I do think you are way out in left field on this.
I think you should not be assuming anything and you should have this looked at and X rayed by your vet, a good vet.

A vet is in order, not just any vet, a good vet that has much experience and expertise in  joints and also is well versed in miniature horses.

I wish you much  luck and hope for success.

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There's the rub - a good experienced vet and a mini at that! I'm still wondering where they are. I had a problem with my quarterhorse mare. One vet x-rayed and gave shots for hock. When that didn't work (and yes we gave it time) another good exerienced vet x-rayed and pronounced it stifle problems and injected for that. Still didn't solve the problem. Just time and easy turnout took care of her. Both vets admitted that stifle and hock problems are a guessing game at best.