Hock appearing to be catching/sticking in canter...

[Juni141]

I have never seen this before and wanted to get some advice please...

I lunged my mare this morning and in canter on the left rein she looked like her off side hock was catching/sticking, couldn't work out if the hock was the source or whether it was coming from hip/stifle and hock was the result. I thought she looked a tiny bit short in trot but when I asked someone on the yard to watch her trot up straight and on both reins they thought she was completely sound. But definitely something odd in canter, less pronounced on right rein.

She is coming back into more work after a very gentle winter of not doing much- schooling a couple of times a week/lunging/occasional hack. She was shod a month ago, her back was done two weeks ago and the physio (who is amazing) said she was sound as a pound then. She is out, coming in every couple of days for the day to stand off the grass and so she is in for me to work when I finish work. Hasn't got enough grass or any indicators for it to be laminitis.

Spoken to the vet this morning and she said to give her the benefit of the doubt for a couple of days and lunge her again on Monday to see how she is and if not improved she will come out then.

Just wondered if anybody could shed any light on this? Has anybody seen anything similar?

Thank you.

 

[Primitive Pony]

I'm not sure if the movement you describe would be the same or not, but my horse has had problems with canter - not really pushing through with the hindleg so that under saddle it feels 'lumpy' for want of a better word.

Completely sound in walk and trot, worked with it with physio for some time and thought we had sorted it out, but with a lamness work-up, he turned out to have inflammation of the sacroiliac joint and some slight hind suspensory damage - has just had a steroid injection and shockwave treatment.

Not wishing to be alarmist, of course - may not be relevant, but perhaps worth bearing in mind as both of these seem to cause no problems in walk/trot but show in canter.

 

[gemma6677]

Just wondering if your horses action in canter was like a hitch? Just wondering as the sacroiliac is the next area we're going to look at in my horse who is sound in walk and trot and unsound in canter.

 

[Birker2020]

I have never seen this before and wanted to get some advice please...

I lunged my mare this morning and in canter on the left rein she looked like her off side hock was catching/sticking, couldn't work out if the hock was the source or whether it was coming from hip/stifle and hock was the result. I thought she looked a tiny bit short in trot but when I asked someone on the yard to watch her trot up straight and on both reins they thought she was completely sound. But definitely something odd in canter, less pronounced on right rein.

She is coming back into more work after a very gentle winter of not doing much- schooling a couple of times a week/lunging/occasional hack. She was shod a month ago, her back was done two weeks ago and the physio (who is amazing) said she was sound as a pound then. She is out, coming in every couple of days for the day to stand off the grass and so she is in for me to work when I finish work. Hasn't got enough grass or any indicators for it to be laminitis.

Spoken to the vet this morning and she said to give her the benefit of the doubt for a couple of days and lunge her again on Monday to see how she is and if not improved she will come out then.

Just wondered if anybody could shed any light on this? Has anybody seen anything similar?

Thank you.

At a guess I'd say it could be spavin. The horses hock appears to stick because it seizes up. Its caused by arthritis and is treated with joint injections, steroids/HA, tildren or ethanol /surgical fusion. Most horses go on to lead a useful working life and often go back to the same level they were at before but with some thought given to the type of surfaces they are worked on.