How to Inject a Horse's Hocks

Hock injections are used to ease the pain associated with chronic pain, degenerative conditions or leg injuries and/or arthritis in your horse's hocks. The most commonly injected medicine is cortisone, which provides pain relief for the joint. Hock injections are often intended to both reduce the amount of pain a horse feels and reduce inflammation around the joint to treat and improve the condition causing the pain. Hock injections must be given properly or the horse may experience negative side effects from the treatment. Hock injections are almost always given by a veterinarian or veterinary assistant.

Things You'll Need

  • Disinfectant
  • Veterinarian
  • Syringe
  • Needle
  • Twitch
  • Lead rope
  • Medicines
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Instructions

    • 1

      Clean the horse's legs thoroughly and allow them to dry. Sterilize the injection site with a disinfectant. There should be no dirt or debris around the injection site on the hocks. Lead the horse to a clean, dry location where there is minimal distraction, such as a cross tie or wash rack. Tie up the horse's tail to keep it out of the way during the injection process.

    • 2

      Hold the horse while your veterinarian administers a sedative to it. Horses are sedated during hock injection because the joints of the hock can be seriously damaged if the horse moves during the injection. The veterinarian will probably have you apply a twitch to your horse's nose immediately before the injection to further reduce the likelihood that the horse will move during the process.

    • 3

      Wait while the veterinarian inserts the needle into the joint of the hock. Once he is certain the needle is in the proper location, he will inject the syringe with the medicine into the joint.

    • 4

      Monitor your horse's condition and restrict its movement for four to 10 days after the injection. You should begin to see improvements in the horse's comfort level and motion within a couple of weeks.