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Additionally, swimming encourages the horse to maintain a hollow, inverted position with the head up, back dropped, and legs kicking out behind it. It is therefore less suitable for riding horses that are expected to develop the strength to carry the back up with an engaged hind end, and may also be associated with back or stifle problems. [106]
In cow-hocked horses, the hind hocks are too close together and point toward each other, with the feet too widely apart. It is a fairly common defect, and if the metatarsal bones are vertical, may not always cause lameness. A combination of cow- and sickle-hocks poses a greater risk. [1]
The front and hind legs on one side of the horse appear to land in front of the other set of front and hind legs when the horse travels. On a curve, a horse is generally asked to lead with the inside legs, though there are exceptions to the general rule, such as the counter canter. [1]: 126 See also lead change. 2.
Shivers, or equine shivering, is a rare, progressive neuromuscular disorder of horses. It is characterized by muscle tremors, difficulty holding up the hind limbs, and an unusual gait when the horse is asked to move backwards. Shivers is poorly understood and no effective treatment is available at this time.
The horse is evaluated in motion, usually at the walk and trot, but occasionally also in the canter. The walk is often the best gait to evaluate foot placement. [10] The trot is generally the best gait to localize the lameness to a particular leg, because it is a symmetrical gait where the front half of the horse and the back half move in ...
With this conformation, the horse can pull the hind legs further under the body, so there is a longer hind end stride, but the animal may not move in synchrony with the front. This will create an inefficient gait, as the hind end is forced to slow down to let the front end catch up, or the horse may take high steps behind, giving a flashy ...
It can involve one or both hind legs of the horse. It is a spasmodic contraction of the lateral extensor tendons of the hind legs. An example of bilateral stringhalt in a horse: the hocks are spasmodically and rapidly flexed with the feet held high before quick placement back on the ground. The condition is more evident during turning and backing.
This horse, being built "downhill," will find it harder to shift the weight to the hind end. A horse's "motor" is located in his hindquarters, and a horse that is heavy on the forehand (weight primarily on the forehand) is not able to properly move forward with impulsion. For good impulsion, a horse must either be balanced or have most of its ...