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Cow-hocked ( adj.) or cow hocks ( n.) describes a defect in the conformation of four-legged animals, primarily of
An animal is cow-hocked when its
Cow-hocked ( adj.) or cow hocks ( n.) describes a defect in the conformation of four-legged animals, primarily of livestock
Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...
and horses
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 milli ...
, but also of dogs
The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers ...
and cats.
Description
An animal is cow-hocked when its hock
Hock may refer to:
* Hock (wine), a type of wine
* Hock (anatomy), part of an animal's leg
* To leave an item with a pawnbroker
* Hock (surname)
* Richard "Hock" Walsh (1948-1999), Canadian blues singer
* A type of wine bottle
A wine bottl ...
is set inward, resulting in a splayed look in the back legs. This can result in the uneven wearing of hooves, which can end up in permanent lameness
A limp is a type of asymmetric abnormality of the gait. Limping may be caused by pain, weakness, neuromuscular imbalance, or a skeletal deformity. The most common underlying cause of a painful limp is physical trauma; however, in the absence ...
, and can prove to be a very serious condition. Permanent lameness usually results in the animal going for meat, as the cow will be in far too much pain to move, the milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...
in a cow will not be up to standard, and the animal could not be used in breeding
Breeding is sexual reproduction that produces offspring, usually animals or plants. It can only occur between a male and a female animal or plant.
Breeding may refer to:
* Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and rab ...
, as this trait would pass on. However, most animals will not have too serious a condition, and will walk with a splayed-leg look. Another way of spotting cow-hock is when the hooves point outward as a result of the incorrect lineup of the joints in the leg.
Another problem with cow-hocks is when the joints in the leg are not set correctly, the joints in the back will most likely be set incorrectly as well. The animal will not do well in agricultural
Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...
shows, will be in a lot of pain, and for both of these reasons, it is advised to take the animal out of any breeding programs.
Effects
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 themetatarsal
The metatarsal bones or metatarsus (: metatarsi) are a group of five long bones in the midfoot, located between the tarsal bones (which form the heel and the ankle) and the phalanges ( toes). Lacking individual names, the metatarsal bones are ...
bones are vertical, may not always cause lameness. A combination of cow- and sickle-hocks poses a greater risk.
Cats are commonly cow-hocked, with the hind legs angling inward at the ankles and the feet splaying outward more than forward. Mild cow-hocking is negligible, and kittens often look a little cow-hocked, but if the defect is severe, the resulting poor alignment can damage the joints and spine. A similar deviation may occur in the vertical alignment of a dog's rear structure.Linda P. Case, ''The Dog: Its Behavior, Nutrition, and Health'' (Blackwell, 2005, 2nd ed.), p. 47.
See also
*Bow-legged
Genu varum (also called bow-leggedness, bandiness, bandy-leg, and tibia vara) is a varus deformity marked by (outward) bowing at the knee, which means that the lower leg is angled inward ( medially) in relation to the thigh's axis, giving ...
* Knock-kneed
* Post-legged
References
{{Reflist Livestock Horse anatomy Dog anatomy Cat health