i have noticed several times over the last months that my 16 year old gelding,while resting in his stall,will cross his hind feet in a weird way.he will place the heel of one hoof onto the toe of the other hoof,hold it for a few seconds and then slides the hoof off the one he is standing on or pulls the other one underneath away .he will do that a few times and then stop.i have been told this could be a sign of trying to relieve tension in the hind end .any thoughts ?
My old gelding used to do that to scratch his own legs. He was wayyyy smart.
I’ll be interested to see the responses here since my gelding does this occasionally both front and back. He’s pretty wiggly in general and is morally opposed to standing square in the cross ties so I’ve never thought much about it other than worrying one of these days he’s going to miscalculate and tip himself over. He doesn’t show any signs of discomfort so I’ve always just assumed it was similar to how I often contort myself into weird positions at my standing desk while fidgeting around and stretching out different muscles.
@LeatherLover and @dmveventer you both might be right ,this is what i had been thinking too up to now.
We had a gelding who rubbed his hind cannons together. It was a new behavior after years of owning him. That was something we had NEVER seen in a horse! Adding that “new trick” to some other new things he was doing, I had him checked for EPM. Vet said he was carrying the protazoa. After treating him successfully, the leg rubbing stopped.
EPM may be a possibility in your area.
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thankfully i am pretty sure we can rule this out,i am in eastern canada and there have been no reported cases
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Do you have a video of this?
It does sound like unusual behavior. Any other unusual symptoms or, pre-existing injuries you know about?
Absent more information, in your shoes I would have a vet out to do a neuro test if the behavior continues.
Had a TB that liked to cross his front feet.
He had chips in his hoof, can’t remember if it was p3 or p1.
Had arthroscopic surgery, stall rest. Never became rideable again.
10 years later his bone fused so he could gallop around with his herd mates.
I take “cute” stances seriously, until proven otherwise.
But I’m no expert so…
I have a 17yr old Tb who has done that for years …he will cross his hinds after lowering them down from picking his hooves …he just seems comfortable that way …he does have kissing spine …not sure if it’s related or not …on a different note that can often be a sign of neurological deficits-they say a horse should generally correct the placement of its feet
I have had two TBs mares, mother and daughter, who both cross their hind legs when they are standing relaxed. I got the older mare after her race career ended and knew she’d had a previous hip injury. When I saw her stand like that out in the field, I assumed it was related to the injury. But her daughter (now 10) has always done the same thing. I know this mare’s history since birth, so I think in this case it must be learned behavior. I’ve also seen one of her foals try out the stance (unsuccessfully!)
The 10 year mare:
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he only has done this a few times as far as i can tell but certainly will keep an eye on it .have a chiro come next week,maybe she can shed some light.if not,vet call
he has various issues being an ex race horse now 16 years old ,very assymetrial ( club foot ,slight different shoulder placement,one side more muscled all related but according to vet still on the managable and minor side ) he gets massages for that regularly .
his way is a bit diiferent ,he will actually place one hoof onto the other,then let it slide down .does the other side ,might repeat this twice and then he is done and stands normally
How far east in eastern Canada?
Someone I know has a horse that was diagnosed with EPM years ago (over 10) that was born and raised in Eastern Ontario. Possums have been catching rides north for a while now.
Mine does that with his front legs to scratch an itch. Or to try to rub off his ice boots…
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Mine does this too and actively itches his legs this way.
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