Sore Hocks or Bad Riding?
I was told by this very knowledgeable horse trainer (Les Vogt) that if a horse is dropping out of frame all of the time (like drastically dropping it’s shoulder in a canter all of the time), it is possible that the horse could have sore hocks. Les says that it can be hard for a horse to be that out of frame, and it could be pain that is causing the problem. I was told about an easy test you could do with your horse to see if it may have sore hocks. I won’t go into the “how” to do it. If you follow this link and watch, about half way through it you’ll see Les demonstrate how the hock test is done. Leo (horse), Jim (owner), and I (fledgling reiner) tried out the hock test first thing Saturday morning and Leo passed. Wheeeeew! So it turns out, that his lean is not the result of pain, but more the result of a faulty rider. Before we did the test though, I did a little online research and found out that sore hocks are not uncommon in the world of performance horses. This is a good article I found on the topic:
Sore hocks: To inject or not to inject? by Michael Scott, DVM
Les mentioned one more issue that could be causing the problem, so I skipped ahead in my training book a little and read about how to cue a horse in a canter. One of the things that I wasn’t doing in circles at a canter was using my inside leg. I was so preoccupied with everything else that I completely forgot about my legs. I tried it out today and yesterday and it works like a charm.
