Stiff hock but not lame

[midnight2025]

My mare is not lame but one of her back hocks doesn’t really bend correctly it appears stiff but only when riding. Vet says she sound and has no issues . She has done these before I got her. she has a scar so I was thinking it might have been a old injury with her previous owners. Anyone got any ideas.

 

[be positive]

I do not see how if one hock doesn't bend properly and is clearly stiff when the horse is moving it can be considered to be sound, she may not be in pain or even discomfort but she cannot be moving evenly so must be mechanically lame, it could be painless scar tissue restricting movement which the vet should have been able to feel when he examined her.

I have an older pony here at livery that is sometimes a little stiff/ lame in one hind for a very short while at the start of exercise but he always loosens up and becomes completely level, if he was to remain the same and not work happily through it then we would get xrays done to see what was going on and to find out the best treatment route to take, for now he is on a joint supplement and moving better than ever.

 

[DabDab]

I do not see how if one hock doesn't bend properly and is clearly stiff when the horse is moving it can be considered to be sound, she may not be in pain or even discomfort but she cannot be moving evenly so must be mechanically lame, it could be painless scar tissue restricting movement which the vet should have been able to feel when he examined her.

I have an older pony here at livery that is sometimes a little stiff/ lame in one hind for a very short while at the start of exercise but he always loosens up and becomes completely level, if he was to remain the same and not work happily through it then we would get xrays done to see what was going on and to find out the best treatment route to take, for now he is on a joint supplement and moving better than ever.

Ditto this. If a horse has a noticeably stiff hock then by definition it is not sound. Doesn't mean that it is necessarily in pain or incapable of doing some level of work, but if you think that there is discomfort there, even if only when riding then further vet investigation is really the only way forward if you want to keep riding.