Popping Hocks on New Mini

[Joannr24]

I bought a 3 week old mini last week. I can't take him home until he's weaned but the breeder had another adorable, yet neglected, palomino mini. I said he was adorable even though he was wild and jumping like a pogo stick in his stall. She said oh I don't like him, he's a gelding and useless to me. So if you want him you can have him. Even though I only planned on one mini I felt this guy may not have a great future so I took him. The first day I went to interact with him he would not even let me touch him. Well the next day I sat in his stall with shredded carrots and ignored him. He didn't ignore me and as soon as he found out I had finger nails that could scratch his itchy withers we were instant friends. The day I picked him up they warned me he would rear and buck on the lead line. He walked like a pro. Then they said be careful putting him in the trailer he won't like it. He hopped right in. This mini has turned out in 48 hours to be the sweetest guy in the whole world. He got his shots yesterday and was perfect. He got trimmed yesterday and was perfect. He hadn't been trimmed in probably a year. He is three years old.

Here is the clincher. I noticed when I got him out for a walk on Friday that his hocks pop when he is on soft footing. It is definitely his hocks and not his stifles. It is really apparent and loud on soft footing. You can see his hocks snapping with each step. I had the vet look at him yesterday and she said she has never seen this before. She said to keep an eye on him and we'd check back in a month. Her theory was that eventually this would cause severe arthritis but she didn't know if it would be in a year or ten years.

There seems to be no information on this on the internet. Has anyone seen this in mini's? Tomorrow I am going to call our big equine hospital in Phoenix to see if they are familiar with this. He is the sweetest mini so if there is something I can do to fix it I would be all for it. I am hoping now that he has a good hoof trim it will help. In his prior home, he literally had only come out of his stall two times in the last year. He was totally neglected.

I am chuckling to myself too because there is no such thing as a free horse : )

Any information would be appreciated.

Thanks,

joAnn

 

[Carolyn R]

Bless you for taking him. Unfortunately that is the area affected when conversing about locking/popping stifles.

It could be short term and due to the drastic change in hoof angles due to poor to no hoof care in the past, or it could be the start to stifle issues and may stay the same or worsen with time.

If it is not related to the sudden change in hoof angles and does not resolve, there is surgery that can correct the issue. At this point I would have a vet check him but I would also sit back and evaluate the issue. I don't know if a selenium suppliment would help, maybe some others can chime in/share their experiences and point you in the correct direction.

reread, realized this was prior to the trim, sounds like it could be a combo of poor hoof care and the start of locking stifles.

 

[Joannr24]

Bless you for taking him. Unfortunately that is the area affected when conversing about locking/popping stifles.

It could be short term and due to the drastic change in hoof angles due to poor to no hoof care in the past, or it could be the start to stifle issues and may stay the same or worsen with time.

If it is not related to the sudden change in hoof angles and does not resolve, there is surgery that can correct the issue. At this point I would have a vet check him but I would also sit back and evaluate the issue. I don't know if a selenium suppliment would help, maybe some others can chime in/share their experiences and point you in the correct direction.

reread, realized this was prior to the trim, sounds like a combo of poor hoof care and the start of locking stifles.

Hi,

Thank you so much for your response. I don't want to offend but it is not his stifles. The vet made this very clear. It is his hocks. It is audibly and visibly apparent. That is why it is so surprising to the vet.

 

[barnbum]

Sometimes horses pop there when going through a growth spurt--but he'd be past that. I'm wondering how it will be once he gets some exercise--free roaming time--and a good trim.

I had one filly who popped like that now and then, and her tiny hooves were kept trimmed short and it stopped it. I also put her on M..forgot--is it MSM? For joints. As long as she was on it, she didn't pop. Maybe Julie can add more to this, since she owns the filly now.

I asked the vet and farrier about it and neither seemed overly concerned because it didn't bother her a bit. They could never hear it because it was so seldom an issue.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

If he's been stuck in a stall for literally a year, especially at such a young age, it'd be a miracle if he DIDN'T have locking stifles!

I suppose the same type of tendon laxity that causes that condition could be causing problems in his hocks in a different way.

I think I'd stick with the usual first steps for any hind end problem and avoid small circles, pivoting, tight turns, etc. and give him as much turnout time as possible if the vet doesn't think that would hurt him. I know normally stall rest is appropriate for many injuries but in this case it clearly hasn't helped!

Feed him up, keep him trimmed and take him for walks (again, if it isn't bothering him) and see how he does! He has had far from optimum conditions and simply returning to good nutrition and a more natural life style may resolve this on its own. If it doesn't you can do more research and consider taking him to a larger hospital. Joint supplements are also a good idea.

May I say meanwhile that this is a wonderful example of people who simply don't understand or care about a horse deciding he's "bad?" I mean honestly. He's so much better off with you!

Leia

 

[rockin r]

When we first bought Dillion home, I believe he was 5-6 months old. He also had that "Popping/Clicking" in his back hocks. Never was from his stifle. Had the vet look at him, same, popping hocks. Farrier was coming the next weekend to trim so I had him look at him. He heard him coming as the popping was soo loud! Yep Hocks. Said his feet were angled off and his toes were to long. I guess in essence, the hoof could not roll over normally when he walked because of the long toes. He brought out a degree type looking compass thingy, angled all of his feet, took off the excess toes. Within about 7-10 days the Popping/Clicking was gone! And it has never returned...He is now a 9 yo.

Good Luck with your guy....Sounds like you have gotten some good advice on the other posts..

 

[Riverdance]

I have had a 3 year old who has just about never been in a stall. His hocks popped only when he walked. Never seemed to bother him. My vet said that as long as he does not seem to be hurting, just leave it. When he trotted, there was never any popping and after a vet check, was told that I should not worry about it.

I too do not want to be rude, but it has nothing to do with any stifle problems. Also, when a horse does have stifle problems, exercising is the answer to help get them out of it. Stall rest is a no no.

 

[Carolyn R]

No offense taken at all.

Hopefully it is just due to poor horse husbandry skills and lack of turnout, and will correct over time.

I am sure he is in much better hands now, lucky boy.

 

[A Little Blessing]

I own the mini that barnbum was referring to. Her popping hocks have never been an issue for her. She is actually at driving training right now and I told her trainer about the popping hocks. I did occasionally hear them, like you said, on the softer ground, but little Blessing doesn't seem to notice! Her trainer said that she has not heard them clicking or popping and she has been under harness now since August with no issues at all.

I have a finger and ankle that crack on their own accord and though I know it is a bit different, I liken the popping to my cracking, noisy but not bothersome at all!

 

[Joannr24]

Great News!!!! The popping is gone! The farrier trimmed him on saturday. He's been a little tender footed due to all the hoof he had to remove. Today though he went in our indoor with soft footing and ran like a wild man!!! He even has flying lead changes. We were all listening for popping and there was none. I am so excited. Hopefully he will be just fine. Thank you for all your advice.

 

[wildoak]

Sounds like a big improvement in the quality of his life!

Glad to hear he's not popping now, good hoof trimming and correcting his angles probably have a lot to do with it. I'd second the suggestion to put him on a joint supplement anyway since he's been inactive for so long and is apt to go through some delayed growth and condition changes now. Might just be some good insurance for him.. Congratulations, hope you continue to enjoy your new diamond in the rough.

Jan

 

[midnight star stables]

I was just wondering, how many feel this is a common trait among the minis? I can think of half a dozen who "pop" that are not related.

Thoughts?

 

[Minimor]

Popping hocks are related to the stifle, even though the sound is clearly in the hock--it's something to do with the ligament that runs down from stifle to hock...but it's not something I can explain offhand. I said something about it to a horse vet here awhile back & he said that the problem that causes popping hocks does originate in the stifle, but a lot of people don't believe that.

Good news is, popping hocks are NOT the same as locking stifle. It seems that popping hocks do not cause the horse pain, though I've seen one that would sometimes hesitate in his stride when whatever it is in the hock took a brief instant to pop free & allow the leg to continue it's forward movement.

There is no point in doing surgery on the stifle as long as the stifle itself isn't actually locking up--at least not from what I've seen of it. I now do some hoof trimming for other Mini owners and I trim a couple of horses that will start popping in the hocks if their toes get too long. As long as these horses are trimmed regularly so that their toes don't get long, they do not pop. Others have told me that it is the same with their horses that have popping hocks.

In the past I've been told that many judges do not mark horses down for having popping hocks. I'd personally feel funny about showing one that was making obvious popping noises, but some people do show them & they do okay.

How common is this condition in Minis? I would say that actual locking stifle problems are too common in Minis, and popping hocks even more common. There are a lot of Minis with weak hindquarter conformation, particularly in the stifle area, and thin, straight stifles are what contributes to locking stifle...and that same conformation will be what contributes to the popping hocks, though those horses that pop and never lock most likely don't have stifle conformation that is extremely poor--just not as good as the ideal.

 

[wizard]

Would it be possible to get vidio clips of the popping.I have a vet who knows nothing about the breed

And my minihorse x now is having a problem with lameness ..He to me has had popping hocks since I got him

as yearling. Now hes lame bad and vet cant tell me whats going on