water/fluid on hocks!?!?

When should I worry about fluid on my AQHA, 15 year old gelding's hocks?? I was told by a respected farrier that regular excerise should be done and that is what I do. I just wanted to know if any of you had experiences with this and how you treat/treated it and the outcome?? Thanks to all who answer!!!

I'm not a vet or a farrier or anything like that, but if I not mistaken, that would be similar to someone, a human, having fluid in your knee.

I had the problem often, my knee would swell and feel hot and uncomfortable, but I never really felt any pain. I had my knee drained by a doctor once and the other times it worked its way out through exercise.

I believe the same principle would apply to the horse. Since your farrier said regular exercise was in order, I would follow through with that. Work him on he lunge line and then feel for any tenderness. If he's not sore or tender after-words, I'm sure it'd be okay to ride him and work him under the saddle than on the ground if that's your preferred method.

Sounds like something a vet should be consulted about. It could be so many things and you wouldn't want to cause more damage.

I am with Vidaloco, you need to have a vet out.
A hock is not like a knee and is fact 2 joints with multiple small bones and ligaments and tendons. Swellings in that area could be from damage to the joint or from damage to the soft tissue and the treatments for those two types of injuries are very different. And even if you are in a situation where exercise is recommended, lunging is a poor choice as it puts lots of strain on the hocks going in circles.

A farrier, while being good at dealing with certain things on the feet hasn't had an education in diagnosing or treating medical conditions and there is much more to diagnosing leg issues than just a "looks like" otherwise we wouldn't have to do x-rays or ultrasounds etc.

I agree that a vet is definitely the best option. It could well be just a fluid build-up from inexercise which horses get more prone to with age. It can also occur if horses are kept stabled on hard floors for long periods of time with limited movement.
On the other hand it could be the start of a nasty orthopaedic condition which is definitely better seen to sooner rather than later.

Sounds like a capped hock. I would call the vet and excersise him.