Resting a HindLeg - Indication of Unsoundness

[lightlee]

Often noticed that one horse in particular at the barn always rests his right hind leg. Sometimes he will rest his left more often then not he is resting his right. Can this be potential of a hock or stifle issue?

[twofatponies]

My mare tends to rest her left hind more I think - I think she's just got bad posture that way. :D

If the horse is sore in the hind leg you'll see it in their movement, no? or if it really hurts they hold it up in a pained looking way, not that "sleeping in the sun" kind of way.

[mvp]

The short answer is yes, IMO: A horse who habitually cocks one of his hind legs like that is telling you something hurts in a low-grade way. Of course you won't be able to tell where it hurts. In addition (and to make things worse for him hanging on to whatever soundness he has), he'll begin to lose postural muscle on that side.

I watched my gelding choose to stand this way for a couple of years, mentioned it to my vet, and found nothing obvious in his hocks or stifles. He finally got really sore and was found to have some appreciable arthritis in his pastern joint. I'm not sure we could have done anything to prevent this, but in retrospect, I now am convinced that I saw it two years ago.

The moral of the story is, pay attention to little things before they become big things; and behavior counts as a "little thing" with meaning.

[ex-racer owner]

My horse has some sort of thing going on with his left hind leg. Basically, its like a reverse locked stifle. He would stand with his weight shifted onto his right hind leg and would have his left propped up on his toe. While in this position, his leg would lock. He physically wasn't able to put the left hind back down. I would have to walk him out of it and he was head bobbing lame for about a minute, then he would walk out of it and be okay. I don't even want to think about the money I spent trying to get a diagnosis. I had 5 different vets out, multiple traditional and digital x-rays done, the leg ultrasounded from top to bottom, nerve blocked, and no one can say exactly what they think is wrong. Oh, I also had the hock injected (known changes there, but nothing new) and the stifle was injected also this summer. None of that improved the situation. I also had accupuncture done, but the benefits only lasted about 2 weeks. Anyhow, had the vet back out for a recheck last Saturday and my horse got "stuck" so she was finally able to see what I was talking about. She now thinks he has a "loose" stifle and started him on Estrone, which I saw a big change in him overall. More pep and energy and no getting "stuck". She did have to come back Tuesday to blister the stifle and he is now back in work, after being lightly ridden or not ridden at all this summer. I still worry when I see him shift his weight, but so far, so good!

By the way, it was really difficult to even get him to stand square, he always was shifting his weight around when at rest. Also, like MVP mentioned, he does have discernable muscle loss in his left hindquarter.

[twofatponies]

Now you're making me paranoid!

[LuvMyTB]

Now you're making me paranoid!

Jesus--no kidding! Me too!

My OTTB rarely stands square....he is always resting one hind leg or the other, even when I am riding (although he will halt square--will rest a leg if we stand for a length of time).

I honestly have never given it much thought--he is pretty fit, sound behind, hind feet are fine, front are being worked on to correct angles--I figured it was just a little quirk he has. He is pretty darn lazy by nature, too.

Now I am freaking out that something's wrong with him. He is a bit arthritic in the hocks--I think he flexed like a .5 on one and a 1 on the other during the PPE--but nothing you wouldn't expect from a horse that raced for 7 years.

Yikes. At least the chiro is coming out in 2 weeks.

[Simkie]

Yes, especially if the resting leg is up under the body. Absolutely.

A sound horse generally stands evenly weighting all legs and square.

[jaimebaker]

What? So, that must mean every foal I've ever been around was lame? Every single horse I've ever met, rests their hinds legs. Are you all talking about a particular stance or something? If a horse was resting a back leg in an odd way, I might be concerned. But just because they are resting a hind leg, I certainly don't think they are unsound.

[twofatponies]

Yes, especially if the resting leg is up under the body. Absolutely.

A sound horse generally stands evenly weighting all legs and square.

I'd only add that my observation is that horses resting (ie napping in the shed, napping under a tree, dozing in the sun, falling asleep in the cross ties) rarely are standing square. They usually rest a hind leg. I think it's normal sleeping behavior. But I would again distinguish that from a horse that is "holding the hind leg up" at all times, or snatching it off the ground at every opportunity.

[jaimebaker]

I'd only add that my observation is that horses resting (ie napping in the shed, napping under a tree, dozing in the sun, falling asleep in the cross ties) rarely are standing square. They usually rest a hind leg. I think it's normal sleeping behavior. But I would again distinguish that from a horse that is "holding the hind leg up" at all times, or snatching it off the ground at every opportunity.

That's been my observation and what I meant by my post:) It's just a relaxed position to me.

[Fharoah]

Well I sure hope not, my gelding rests one hind leg or the other all the time. I asked my lameness specialist if he was sound behind and he said yes his hocks and stiffles and everything was fine. It would be sad if I had just put him through major surgery for his right front if he were sore behind.

[Simkie]

I'd only add that my observation is that horses resting (ie napping in the shed, napping under a tree, dozing in the sun, falling asleep in the cross ties) rarely are standing square. They usually rest a hind leg. I think it's normal sleeping behavior. But I would again distinguish that from a horse that is "holding the hind leg up" at all times, or snatching it off the ground at every opportunity.

Napping is a bit different, as they have to engage that stay apparatus to stay up. But I would still be concerned if I saw a horse resting the same leg consistently while napping.

But when a horse consistently rests a hind and/or consistently brings that hind up under the body then yes--that limb probably hurts.

It's always interesting to go look through the CANTER pics. When I see two shots of the same horse with the same hind unweighted or stepped forward, it's definitely a red flag to me.

And this is something I learned from my very sharp vet.

[coloredhorse]

It depends. Is this a new thing? If so, then it is possible that the horse is a bit sore in the leg that is rested more often.

However, like us, horses have postural preferences. If you have a horse that has always tended to rest one hind more often than the other, it is likely that s/he just tends to stand that way when napping or just relaxing/"slouching."

[lauriep]

Yes, especially if the resting leg is up under the body. Absolutely.

A sound horse generally stands evenly weighting all legs and square.

No they don't! I have yet to see a horse of ANY age who stands w/out resting a leg a majority of the time.

OP, it may or may not mean something. Be observant for other signs of a problem. If there are none, then he just prefers resting a leg because he prefers it. If there are other subtle signs of a problem, then investigate further. But don't be paranoid.

[grayarabpony]

I haven't seen a horse rest a leg way under the body, but have heard of horses putting weight on a back leg more under the body than is normal if they are sore. Can't remember how my horses looked standing when they were sore, as pain seemed to make them more antsy if anything, although the pony wouldn't walk any faster than a crawl. If the horse is snoozing and cocking a leg I wouldn't worry about it.

[slc2]

Usually resting a hind leg is not a sign of a medical condition, pain or a problem. It is just something horses do. Some tend to do it more with one hind leg than another, but to assume that this means there is a lameness is incorrect. It may, it may not. If that is the only symptom, it is very unlikely to be lameness. It is most of the time an ordinary behavior horses do when resting.

[3Spots]

Horses have a certain sided-ness to them, as well. For instance, the high/low hoof conformation is sometimes attributed to foals always extending the same leg forward while grazing. Just their habit, but not an indication of unsoundness.

Just one more observation to have in our arsenal of horse lameness evaluation!

[mvp]

No, don't be paranoid. Yes, know your horse.

Mine previously stood square while in cross ties. At some point, I found myself noticing that he wasn't square and asking him to step back up onto his cocked LH.

Yes, it looked just like a dozing horse. It wasn't the position that made me notice, but the fact that he chose to do it more and more often and chose the same leg. When I could appreciate a new difference between the left and right sides of his back, I knew he was making a decision that was unusual for him, and probably a way to deal with pain.

Again, this horse was not appreciably lame until a couple of years after the onset of his new slouch. I suppose I could have gotten up in my vet's grill earlier, but like most of you, I didn't consider this symptom one that warranted a lameness work up.

So just pay attention to *your horse*, that's all.

[twofatponies]

I'd certainly agree that if there was a change in the behavior, that would be something to look into.

[akor]

I amm 100% behind the posts that say a change would be the trigger. But, just the action? No.

I have a mare that rests a hind leg nearly ALL the time and has done so since she was at least 2 (that's when I met her...she is now 12). There is a difference, when she was young she actually left it go so far that she was resting on her feltlock, now it's just a cocked hoof.

THe horse has had a work up a time or two and nothing in the hind.

So, I honestly worry MORE if she doesn't rest - thinking there is some reason for her to need to evenly weight her feet.

You just have to know the horse.

[JSwan]

You just have to know the horse.


When napping or relaxing my horses will often cock a hind leg - but no pattern. If a horse rested a certain leg often I'd be concerned.

Oddly enough - I have one horse whose only symptom of colic is that he will shift his weight on his hind legs when resting.

That's it. Shift back and forth every few minutes - and a slight pinch to his nostrils maybe. If you didn't know the horse - it would be easy to overlook.

[ex-racer owner]

As per my earlier post, regarding the hind leg becoming "stuck", this just started this spring after he began work under saddle again after 3 months off recuperating from surgery to remove a bone chip in left knee. My horse always had his weight shifted to one hind leg or the other, long before this issue started. It was just when he stood like that for so long, usually after working, that the leg would get "stuck". I didn't mean to scare anyone! :) I was kind of wondering if anyone had ever had their horse do that, too, which is why I mentioned it.

I did like the suggestion about being leary of seeing the same horse in sale pics standing with weight on the same leg in multiple pics....

[EqTrainer]

I worry more about a horse who refuses to be squared up and weight all four feet.

Trimming, you really get some clues about what leg a horse doesn't want to weight.

I don't consider resting a foot or leg, even habitually, to be a sign of lameness - unless the horse clearly dislikes or refused to change that posture.

Horses just don't naturally put the same amount of weight on each foot anyway... the ones who do, are less crooked and hollow then their counterparts and are worth more $$$, for the most part. A huge part of good riding is redistributing how the horse loads.

[frisky]

Very often, your first clue for a coming lameness will be seen in how your horse weights a resting leg. The horse might not even be diagnosable as lame, but will, in my experience, have early signs of discomfort. Mostly, it's easier to keep an eye out for changes.

It also might be easier to compare this to front leg lameness where the horse points the foot/toe. My horse used to point one particular foot. Then I changed the shoeing and she no longer points that foot. Wasn't ever lame that I could tell. There is a big toe pointer at my barn and I'm sure there's something going on. His feet don't look balanced or comfortable to me either, but what can you do.

[lightlee]

For many years, my horse has rested his left hind leg and for now, he is currently sound. However, I have often wondered if it would be beneficial to have x-rays done of that hock to be certain that nothing is going on. It would least offer me piece of mind.

[li'l bit]

Before I had the chiropractor do a session on my gelding, rarely did he stand square. After her treatment, he always squares up, whether at rest or while being handled. I don't know what she did that fixed it, but it was money well spent. ( and it has been 5 or 6 years ago that he had the treatment )