cow hocks and showing????

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crystalrocks

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Hi, I'm not sure if I have posted the picture correctly and the quality is poor, but, my question is, will this horse having cow hocks affect him when it comes to showing? He is only 3 years old and we would like to do some showing with him from next year and also dressage.
Thanks
 
There's nothing to stop you going out and showing anyway. Many horses that do showing are less than perfect, but it's whether the judge likes the overall picture of your horse over any other.
It's still good experience for you and the horse. I've been working with horses for many years and have learnt so much showing this season!

good luck

x
 
Our pony is slightly cow hocked. I asked my farrier what he thought and he seemed to think he could trim his feet in a way that would make Beau stand straighter and make it less noticeable.

We haven't tried yet though, mostly because this is the pony who refuses to be bitted (there's another thread on this) and I want to address this first.

So there may be some hope. Ask your farrier and see what he says.
 
scrunchie said:
Our pony is slightly cow hocked. I asked my farrier what he thought and he seemed to think he could trim his feet in a way that would make Beau stand straighter and make it less noticeable.

We haven't tried yet though, mostly because this is the pony who refuses to be bitted (there's another thread on this) and I want to address this first.

So there may be some hope. Ask your farrier and see what he says.
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I feel that shoeing an adult horse to correct cow hocks or pigeon toed would result in strain being put on othe joints in the leg. Imagine that your normal stance was with your feet pointing out to abnormal degree (if your bone structure made you do this) & someone forced you to stand differently, it would make your hips & knees ache. I think you would be storing up trouble for yourself. Also showing is not cheap so why spend the money on it knowing you have a problem. Have fun doing something else that your horse may excel at, jumping, dressage etc. instead of being second best showing.
 
POLLDARK said:
I feel that shoeing an adult horse to correct cow hocks or pigeon toed would result in strain being put on othe joints in the leg. Imagine that your normal stance was with your feet pointing out to abnormal degree (if your bone structure made you do this) & someone forced you to stand differently, it would make your hips & knees ache. I think you would be storing up trouble for yourself. Also showing is not cheap so why spend the money on it knowing you have a problem. Have fun doing something else that your horse may excel at, jumping, dressage etc. instead of being second best showing.
Click to expand...

Hmm. Hadn't thought about that.

Showing isn't that big a deal for me. Our pony is here to have fun with the kids. I've never been to a show in my life, it's just that people always comment on how pretty he is and that we should show him. It was only the farrier that picked up on the fact that his hocks turn slightly in/toes slightly out and he thought he could correct it.

Maybe we'll just try showing without messing about with him and see how it goes.
 
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