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Sickle Hocked or Not

5K views 16 replies 9 participants last post by  mom2pride 
#1 ·
Here is a picture of her kinda squared (Note: this was the 2nd day after she got her, her feet are now done.)



And here is a picture of how she stands out in the pasture, she does this alot, she likes to crouch and turn on her hindquarters when she turns.



And here is another one of her in the pasture, where she looks slightly sickle hocked.



Now if she is sickle hocked, what does this mean for running barrels and breeding?

Thanks!
Krys
 
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#4 · (Edited)
I can have her checked out but with how free she moves when she is running around the pasture I feel it would be unlikely to be pain.

She lived the last 3.5 years on a hill, dont know if that matters. She really never got to be on level ground, and she was never ridden.

Here is a not so good picture of her from the back. If you need a better one I can try to get one after its done raining. (And yes the black leg is a little swollen by the fetlock, she injured herself and had 6 stitches, she just got off stall rest)

 
#8 ·
Its been 4 weeks since she was trimmed, and the pasture pictures I took a couple days ago. She did injure her left back leg, she punctured it pretty good and had to have stitches, it is swollen, but she has not been lame from it at all. I will have her looked at but she has yet to show pain when moving, playing or being groomed or anything.
 
#9 ·
I do see it in the third and fourth pics, but it's very very slight. She seems fairly straight from behind, so I don't really think this will be a hinderance to general riding. However, barrel racing might be an issue, as it places a lot of pressure on the hocks, plus twists and turns. Any degree of a sickle hock will weaken the hock and lower hind a little, and if you put pressure on it, you might end up with injuries.

I would say proceed slowly and see what happens. It's really not so bad as to have a serious affect on her training. And personally, I wouldn't breed from a horse that has conformation problems in the legs, however minor. Just my opinion :)
 
#11 ·
From what I have been reading, she may look slighlty sickle hocked due to her feet being done improperly?? Could this be true? It says they tend to stand under themselves also (like in the 3rd picture of her), to relieve tension on the tendons/ligaments.

She has long toe and not much heel in back. Which we are slowly correcting as we dont want her to become sore.
 
#15 ·
Just wanted to update: My farrier did her feet again, but this time a bit more aggressively, she was sore for a few days, but is now standing better, and moving more correctly (landing on heels instead of toe). Now I can see that she most likely isn't sickle hocked, if she is, it is minimal. Will post some updated pics as soon as I can find my battery charger...lol.
 
#17 ·
I see a slight sickle hock there, especially from the pic in the pasture...you can tell she's somewhat strung out behind, just by her stance. It's not so drastic, though that she wouldn't be able to perform...she just may never reach 'high levels' of barrel racing...but then again, who knows?
 
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