Hockshield and Fetlock Shield by Click Horse Products

When a horse lies down to rest, its full weight presses the point of the hock and the back of the fetlock into the ground. Over weeks of repeated lying down, that pressure rubs hair away, opens bed sores, and can build into the thickened, fluid-filled swelling known as a capped hock. Once a wound opens, every time the horse settles or rises it reopens, and healing stalls. The Hockshield and Fetlock Shield by Click Horse Products put a cushioned barrier between the horse and the ground so those sores can finally close and stay closed.

What problem do the Hock Shield and Fetlock Shield solve?

Stall-rested, arthritic, senior, and recovering horses spend more time lying down, and they push harder with their hocks to rise. That is exactly when bed sores, hock rubs, and fetlock abrasions appear, and stall bedding alone rarely prevents them. The Hock Shield wraps the point of the hock in a tear-resistant neoprene shell lined with soft fleece, cushioning the joint against bedding, mats, and hard ground. The Fetlock Shield does the same job lower on the leg, covering the back of the fetlock and pastern so that area is never left exposed. Both are built to be worn around the clock and are sold in pairs so both legs are protected at once.

How does a hock protector stay on while the horse moves?

The reason most hock protectors fail is simple: they slip off the moment a horse lies down and heaves itself back up. The Hock Shield is engineered to accommodate the expansion of the hock joint, so it flexes with the leg instead of fighting it. It is extremely flexible and comfortably allows a wide range of motion, from lying down to standing back up to walking around the stall. An adjustable velcro band lets you dial in a custom fit; the fitting rule of thumb is that you should be able to slip two fingers between the horse's leg and the band. Because it moves with the horse rather than binding, it stays put through the exact motions that defeated everything else.

The Hock Shield pairs a tear-resistant neoprene outer shell with a soft fleece lining, and a warmer Hock Shield Ultra version adds extra protection while delivering gentle warmth to arthritic joints. The Fetlock Shield is built from two layers of a tough Cordura-style fabric with a nylon lining for abrasion resistance lower on the leg. To size a Hock Shield, measure the smallest point just above the hock joint with the leg straight and the hoof flat: a Regular Horse fits roughly 13 to 15.9 inches and an XL/Draft fits 16 to 20 inches, with matching small and large sizes in the Ultra. The fleece linings wash clean on a cold, gentle cycle; closing the velcro before laundering keeps lint out of the loops. A typical pair lasts three to six months of round-the-clock wear, and some horses get six to twelve.

Who is behind Click Horse Products?

Click Horse Products and the Hock Shield were created by horsewoman Shari Click, who watched a boarding-stable horse named Taboo suffer from a deep hock sore that no commercial protector could solve because nothing would stay in place. Taboo pushed especially hard with his left hock to compensate for an arthritic front knee, so the wound kept reopening. Shari took on the problem herself, and after several years of dedicated research and development, testing shapes and materials, she landed on a design that stayed on reliably and let Taboo's wound finally heal. Her commitment to horses runs deeper than one product: in 2007 she opened the RMR Horse Sanctuary to give retired and rejected Standardbred racehorses a second chance.

What do horse owners say after using the Hock Shield?

Owners who had tried everything report that the Hock Shield did two things at once: it stayed on, and it let stubborn sores close. One owner, Jennifer, wrote that "it actually stayed on! For the first time I had a product that actually stayed on." Kim saw fast results: "in less than a week, the wounds are dried up and have shrunk to almost nothing." Cathleen reported that the shields "completely healed the sores on my beloved arthritic horse," and Mary described "no more open sores. There is even hair starting to grow back."