Equine degenerative joint disease (DJD), or osteoarthritis, create irreversible damage in horses and ponies as chronic inflammation leads to the permanent degradation of cartilage in joints like knees, pasterns and hocks. But irreversible doesn’t mean impossible, and with careful management a beloved companion can live comfortably with their diagnosis for years. In addition to keeping hooves trimmed to minimize torque and twist strain on joints, and carefully managing weight to avoid packing on pounds and stress, good cushioning between joints and hard surfaces helps provide a comfortable and healthy qualify of life.
Hock Shields, the easy-to-clean, easy-to-fit neoprene solution to hock sores, offer just the solution owners of arthritic horses and ponies have been looking for, says creator Shari Click, of Click Horse Products, Inc. in Santa Cruz, California.
Horse owners like Debra told her: “I have a pair of your hock protectors for my 25-year-old old Thoroughbred. They are wonderful and his hocks are looking so much better. I love the product, and I’ll get another pair when this pair wears out.”
Owners who call Hock Shields “lifesavers” are better proof than any spreadsheet that Click Horse Products work, she says: “When Judy first brought her 20-something gelding home, they didn’t know he had an old hip fracture. She told me how he re-injured it in 2008 and was never the same after that but, despite his limitations, seemed happy and healthy.”
For years, Judy told her, he suffered from recurrent hock sores. With the advent of increased age and arthritis, he was laying down more and his hock sores were becoming more troublesome to get ahead of. “They were struggling to have any healing time between bouts,” Click said. “Then she told me she found Hock Shields.”
Judy said, “They have been a literal lifesaver. The hair is almost completely grown back on his hock and you can tell that it has alleviated a portion of his discomfort. Thank you so much for this ingenious product. We will be forever grateful, as I’m sure it has contributed to allowing us more days with our special boy.”
A compassionate quality of life was Gale’s priority, too. “We love the Hock Shield for our older pony with arthritis,” she told Shari Click. “I feel like he finally has some comfort and the sores are all healed (I tried so many other things). I am getting a second pair, not because they have worn out, but because he chooses to lie down in his urine spot and they are still wet by the time he comes in again. Alternating should help! Thanks again for such a great product!”
Find more Click Horse Products success stories using the Hock Shields, Hock Shield Ultra and Fetlock Shield at www.hockshield.com or call 831-426-1206.
