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Horse leg problem

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elizabeth.conder:
Hi everyone,

I don’t post a lot but I do read everything that is posted and visit multiple times a day. I really enjoy this forum. I have a question about my little stallion. He is a two year old and I’ve had him for about a year. He comes from driving lines and so my intention was to train him to drive and keep him as a herdsire. Last winter we went through a very rough time as I tried to get him to behave and finally over the summer he has really started listening. Then I realized something was going on with his hind end. I knew he was a little cowhocked. But suddenly his Hicks were basically touching. I tried several different things but it didn’t help. I then had to go away for college and thankfully found a place to board my minis. I have a farrier working on him and I had a chiropractor out today to work on him. Apparently he was pretty out of line. I was just curious if any of y’all have had something like this happen? And what else can I do?

Chanda:
If they didn't offer suggestions as to how it happened, I'll venture a guess he was playing to hard and hurt himself.
Sounds like he'll probably come right with adjustment and good farrier care.  Cow hocked is some what common in driving horses, as long as it's mild it not a bad thing, as it seems to help them drive up under themselves and move out.    I'll venture a guess that hill work and low cavaletti's would be helpful just like they are with stifle issues, as they strengthen the hind end.
Also good balanced diet to be sure he gets all he needs to build strong bone and muscle.

dcwolcott:
TOTALLY agree!  I know of tons of successful driving horses (Champions and more) that are cow hocked. Lots of times, this is what turns them from a Halter show horse to a career driving horse in show homes.

I'm also a fan of taking him backwards over low cavaletti's as it further strengthens the hip and leg muscles.  Good diet, and it sounds like between the good farrier care and the chiropractor, he may do just fine, and turn into a good driving horse for you.

I'm also thinking he probably hurt himself, if this wasn't evident before.  If he was a little cow-hocked before, and you say he came from driving lines, then this is probably his perfect inheritance and may have been a trait he inherited.

In YOUR future, if you want to show in other than driving, you may have to decide on a different stallion, to keep those perfect legs and be successful in halter, etc.  But for now, look at your mares with a critical eye, and see if they have straight legs for halter, or if you may need to pursue using a different stallion for them.  You can always do an "outside" breeding for a stud fee, which is certainly cheaper than purchasing another stallion for that goal.

Keep us posted!  We're excited to hear how he comes along!

elizabeth.conder:
I definitely will let y’all know if the chiropractor helps it. If not I plan on gelding him. Don’t know where I’ll go after that. I might look at buying a different stallion or just using an outside stallion. One of my mates is halter bred and one is more driving I think. My other little mare I might just train as a therapy mini.

Ryan:
I agree with both responses and would be definitely trying some hill work and cavalettis.

The only thing I wanted to add was that he is still very young, so he is still growing.

Keep us posted on how he is going .

Ryan

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