What Are Cow Hocks Doing On Horses?
Cow hock is a term used to describe a particular formation or conformation of the hindquarters of a horse. The hock is the joint that is between the cannon bone and the gaskin on the hind leg, it is the point at which the leg bends towards the back before it drops straight down to the fetlock. The hock is roughly equivalent to a human elbow in that it bends forward rather than backwards like our knees do. The term cow hock simply means that the horse’s hocks turn in towards each other rather than staying parallel. If you look at a cow you will notice that their hocks turn in, hence the name. Many breeders prefer a horse to be very slightly cow hocked, especially in gaited breeds where it adds a somewhat rolling movement to the hindquarters. Most horses will have a slight turning in at the point of the hock, which will cause no soundness problems nor will it affect the horse’s performance in any way. In moderate to extreme cases of a horse being cow hocked the turning in at the hocks ca
