Stable Eyes
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Conformation Clinic Part IV
One of my favorite horse pictures is of Secretariat coming down the home stretch of the Kentucky Derby. In the photo he is not stretched out in his stride, but gathered together as the hind legs are about to hit the ground and send him flying forward. As we discussed last month, the conformation of his shoulder and front quarters will help him to stretch out and cover as much ground as possible; but it is the hindquarters that will propel him forward. In the photo you see the hindquarters bulging out much wider than his sides and the muscles rippling. You can almost feel the power coming from them. Then I notice the how the hind legs extend well in front of the horse’s girth and think of all that power being transferred through those slender legs. Incredible! Quarter horses are known for their plump, pear shaped rumps, while thoroughbreds tend to have more prominent bone along the croup (from just above the hip to the dock of the tail). We discussed the proper length and slope of the croup in part 2 of our conformation clinic when we looked at the horse’s entire top line. Because of the massive muscle structure in the hindquarters, conditioning of the horse will have a major impact on its appearance. A horse that is properly conditioned will have a firm roundness to the hindquarters. One that is very poorly conditioned, severely underweight, very old, or suffering from a muscle degenerating disease, such as Cushings, will be flat, soft or even sunken in on either side of the croup. A horse that is grossly overweight will have a crease down the center of his croup where the fat accumulates on either side of the bone. Looking for our imaginary lines once again to guide us, draw a line from the hip bone back to the furthest point on the horse’s buttocks. Then drop another line straight down from that point to the ground. If the horse has correct conformation in the hind legs the line will fall on the back of the hock (the joint in the middle of the leg) and down the back of the cannon bone. As with the front legs, the hind legs may be “Camped Under,” (the leg is in front of this line) or, “Camped Out” (the line falls in the middle or in front of the leg). There are four joints in the hindquarters. The hip joint is on the top, then the stifle joint where the leg meets the body, the hock joint, and the ankle or fetlock joint. The independent movement of each joint as well as their orchestrated movement in the stride is fascinating to study. It takes a well trained eye to be able to decipher the exact location of lameness in the hind legs. Of these four joints, it is very often the hock joint that is the most stressed. There are two conformational flaws that produce greater stress to the hock joint, and four conditions that you should be aware of. The conformational flaw referred to as “Sickle Hocked” means that the imaginary line drawn down from the horse’s buttocks hits on the back of the hock correctly, but from the hock down the leg is angled up under the horse. In horses that are bred to perform quick stops and turns such as reining, roping and cutting horses, a mild degree of “sickle hocked” is not uncommon. “Cow Hocked,” is a conformational flaw that can be seen by standing directly behind the horse. The hocks on this type of horse turn inward. Unsoundnesses and blemishes of the hock include “Capped Hock,” “Thoroughpin,” “Bog Spavin,” and “Bone Spavin.” Of these, bone spavin is the most serious and the only true unsoundness of the 4, though temporary lameness may accompany the other conditions. Bone spavins are most closely linked to the stress caused by the conformational flaws of being cow hocked or sickle hocked. Another contributing factor is how hard the horse is worked. It is most common in horses that are ridden hard at a gallop. Bone spavins are a result of damage to the cartilage around the hock which progresses to degenerative arthritis. If it has been present for a long time, you will see a bony enlargement on the inside of the leg just below the actual hock joint. This enlargement is called a “Jack.” Bone spavins are sometimes referred to as “Jack Spavins” as well. The degenerative process begins long before the spavin appears. If a horse shows signs of lameness when he is first brought out to work, then becomes sound during the workout and the lameness returns again later on, x-rays should be taken of the horse’s hocks. Getting x-rays is always a good pre-purchase safeguard because conditions of the hock such as OCD (which will be discussed in another article) do not always have a conformational predisposition. Capped hocks, bog spavins and thoroughpins are all types of swelling in the hock joint that can usually be treated successfully, putting them in the category of blemishes. A capped hock is a swelling on the knobby exterior part of the hock on the very back of the leg. It is usually caused by repeated blows. A similar condition may exist on the elbow in the front leg (where the leg meets the body on the back of the front leg.) A thoroughpin is a swelling inside the hock joint. Sometimes you can push the thoroughpin from one side to the other. A bog spavin can be distinguished from a thoroughpin by the fact that there are actually three areas of swelling. The swellings will occur on either side and on the front of the hock joint. The area between the stifle and hock is called the, “Gaskin.” It should be relatively long in comparison to the cannon bone and show good muscle development. A horse with poor muscle tone in this area is referred to as, “weak in the gaskin.” Another common swelling in the hind legs that does not affect the horse’s performance can be found further down the leg, in and above the fetlock joint. It is referred to as, “Wind Puffs.” Sometimes it is also referred to as, “Wind Galls.” It is usually found in horses that have been on a strenuous training program that is abruptly stopped. It is also found in horses that are confined to stalls for long periods of time. As you look at the hind legs of the horse, make note of the same correctness you looked for in the front legs of the horse. Stand behind the horse and look to see that his back legs follow straight down along your imaginary line dropped from the buttocks on either side. “Narrow behind,” is a common conformational flaw which describes a horse whose back legs are too close together. From the side view, you should also look for the same 45 degree angle in the slope of the pastern and check to see that the horse’s toes point straight forward. Next month we will talk about the hoof. Yes, a whole issue dedicated to the amazingly complex, highly under rated hoof and the many conformational flaws and diseases that can affect it. As the saying goes, “No feet, no legs, no horse.” Till then…Happy Riding! |
