Got a pony problem? Write to or email Team PONY and we’ll answer as many as we can on these pages

Hocking out

QWhat does it mean if a pony’s cow-hocked?

A When viewed from behind, your pony’s hocks should fall in a straight line from his quarters, with his hooves directly below that. A pony who’s cow-hocked will have hocks that fall in towards each other and his toes will point out slightly.

Cow hocks place more strain on a pony’s joints and can affect his movement, making him closer behind. However, no pony’s perfect! There are very few with perfect conformation, so don’t worry if your pony’s slightly cow hocked. If you think his conformation is affecting his way of going, ask your vet to check him over.

Growth spurt!

Q How can you tell how tall a pony will grow?

A There’s no guaranteed method to know exactly how tall a foal will be once he’s fully grown, but you can make an estimate from the length of his legs. From three months old, you can measure from the coronet band to the middle of the foal’s knee in inches to find out the height he’ll mature to. If the leg measurement is 15”, the foal is likely to mature at around 15hh. Broken down, the measurement is just a quarter of the pony’s mature height. So, 14 and 1/4” inches multiplied by four makes 57” - or 14.1hh.