Stiff hind end and clicking hocks

Charlie Bucket

Charlie Bucket

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Hi everyone, been offline for a while, hope you and your four legged friends are happy and healthy :)

My 6 year old gelding has always been a bit 'clicky' in his hocks. We have been supplementing him with Sunflower oil in his feed now for about 12 months, to no avail (advised by instructor). If anything I would say the clicking is very gradually becoming worse.

Also recently I have noticed whilst lunging that he is quite stiff/tense in his back end. Especially in his off-hind. To start with I put it down to the cold weather as he would loosen up, flex and track up after 10 minutes or so.

I lunged him tonight for the first time in around 3 weeks (have been unable to exercise him because of the damn snow!) and noticed he was a lot stiffer/tenser than usual. To the point of his back end looking almost 'hunched'. (He urinated when back in the stable - could he just have been holding it in?)

I had the chiro to him at the beginning of March, she tweaked a couple of minor things but said all in all he was in good shape. He is also regularly seen my a EMRT specialist who has never found any significant problems. Tack is fitted professionally.

Any ideas? Is it a vet job? See how he goes with the warmer weather? Supplement such as Superflex rather than, or alongside the oil?

Sorry for the long post, I would really appreciate your thoughts and/or advice. I am a super worrier and just want my boy to be happy and healthy.

:)
 
This is exactly how one of my mares was. Started off clicky hock/hip area. As the weather got colder she was noticeably stiff in her offside hind and moving slower until she warmed up. She was also hunched up. Riding her just didn't feel right as it had done. She started to get what appeared to be girths doing up the saddle. Consulted my vet as I knew there was something wrong. After lots of tests and 3 days in equine hospital she's diagnosed with arthritis in the one hock and needing physiotherapy because she has been holding herself incorrectly to compensate/alleviate the pain from her hock. We haven't had her very long (end of september last year) when we got her apart from her being overweight and unfit everything seemed fine, as soon as the weather changed and it started getting cold and damp she started stiffening up. Call the vet.
 
Thanks for your replies.

It's interesting you said that your mare became 'girthy', I have also noticed this in my boy.

I will get him checked out by the vet. Thanks again :)
 
One of mine had a clicking hock, aged 6. It turned out to be arthritis in upper hock and he was retired at age 8. He has OCD though diagnosed by MRI as all xrays etc were clear, so not an injury. We tried all the injections, (steroids, tildren, IRAP etc) and every joint supplement but nothing worked. The other hock started clicking when he was 9 and he is 11 now.

He wasnt lame at all - took 2 yrs and 5 vets to diagnose him. He only really showed the lameness when he was 8 (only lightly hacked) and he was fully retired by 9.
 
My girl had injection into her hock and so far two sessions of physio but needing a lot more I think. Two weeks after the injection and with in hand walking daily she flexioned without showing any lameness and vet said he could not believe it was the same horse there was such an improvement. If that had verb the first time he'd seen her he would have passed her as sound he said. Her lameness at the first check wasn't that clear to the untrained eye. I knew there was something wrong but was still "is she/isn't she lame?" She was however cow hocked. Had we had her longer and known her better I think I would have picked up some signs earlier. For instance she would flex/set her neck when ridden. I thought at first it was because she was looking around a new area and surroundings then trying me out if she didn't want to do what I wanted her to. On reflection she was trying to our herself into a more comfortable position to alleviate pain. It was a lot easier to see the problem when I put her in the lunge.
 
The one thing that has stopped my horses clicky hocks is cosequin; cortaflex and superflex did nothing. She does have arthritis in her hocks so as others have already suggested I would get the vet.
 
get a vet check to diagnose

my daughters horse is arthritic in her hocks and she has had oil, cortaflex and cider vinegar for a couple of yrs, i have found the cider vinegar to have been the most effective in this time but recently have started feeding micronised linseed for weight gain and she is moving much more freely with her back end, i have stopped the oil (its high in ml) and the cortaflex and not seen any change for the worse. she is 15hh and fed 1 mug m linseed per day.

i have also put my rising 6yr old on it for weight gain and coat conditioning
 
Our shetland has the same thing and he's only 5. We've noticed it for the last couple of years. Have mentioned it many times to the vet who says he will grow out of it. We have him on a joint supp and oil and it doesn't appear to of made any difference. He isn't in any work and is just a field ornament.
 
Ask the vet to do a full blood test, check all the levels. One of mine has metabolic issues, and when he's on a "down" period he is like this, clicky and stiff, and also girthy. (Still haven't got to the bottom of it, but bloods were interesting.) A change of diet helped mine. Joint supplements did nothing.
 
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