Hockiness in Andalusians

Hockiness in Andalusians is one of my pet peeves. Hockiness means the hocks (or heel of the hind leg) come up behind the haunches instead of driving underneath. It can be very noticeable in young foals when their body is small and their legs look huge.

Some breeders mistakenly advertise hockiness as “movement”. It IS movement, but movement in the wrong direction. A foal that is extremely hocky is showing a false movement. Instead of DRIVING, they are hocking! Hockiness usually goes along with a weak connection through the loin.

A foal that doesn’t use his back end may have a subtle dip through his back in the loin area. This dip allows him to naturally “hollow” his back.

Because of the hollowing, he can’t lower his hindquarters to drive up underneath.

Some hockiness can be trained out by the use of side-reins and a surcingle which teaches the horse to lower his hind end, develop his topline, and drive from behind. (General opinion from an older article, not veterinary advice.) It is better, though, if the horse is “born with a topline”.

Hockiness doesn’t occur in just horses. It occurs in dogs and even deer.

Cattle tend to be hocky.

Hockiness is most confusing when it is combined with a long sloping shoulder and good front-end movement. Confusing, because people get carried away looking at the front end of the horse where the neck and head is. A hocky horse with good front-end movement will have a lot of ground covering movement. However, the “parallelogram” or equal angles of front and hind leg action will be absent. That is because the hind legs are moving up and behind or pushing behind the vertical and the front legs are reaching out in front or ahead of the vertical.

All is not lost with a hocky horse, however. Hockiness adds to showiness. A hocky horse can be trained to do a flashy passage (Spanish trot, or floating trot with hesitation) and Spanish walk.

The real problem with hockiness, however, is that it lowers the capability of the horse to be a true athlete. If the hockiness is genetically strong, when combined or bred to another horse that is hocky, you start getting real structural and functional problems. Some signs of this are horses that are unable to easily switch leads at the canter, horses unable to quickly stop with their hindquarters under them, horses unable to come through the bit into the riders hand…In other words, hocky horses don’t make the best athletes or candidates for dressage, jumping, or reining.

A hocky horse lacks engagement. He is unable to flex his loin where the loin meets the croup (this is why I said a hocky horse may also have a not-so-good loin area).

How do you tell if a horse is a little hocky? has just enough angulation in the hocks? or is way too hocky?

Hockiness also goes along with sickle hocks at times. Or legs that are out behind.

Horses with hind-legs that are too straight in angulation, may still make good athletes if their loin flexes efficiently. Their walk may suffer in scope.