Swollen hocks?

I bought this awesome steer for my county fair and he had no structure problems but recently i noticed that when i walk him he isn't covering his tracks. I thought maybe it was his hooves since it looked like his toes were longer on one side than the other and they might need to be trimmed. But then i noticed that he is getting kind of stiff in his hocks so i felt the inside of his legs and one leg is swollen on the inside of his hock and the other side is not as bad.. WHAT IS THIS AND HOW CAN I FIX IT???

We had the same problem with a heifer a couple years ago and we were told to give her a shot of dexium once a month. it helped but after a while we couldnt use it anymore because we were going to breed her.

How hard are you pushing him feed-wise? If you push them too hard, too fast, the hocks will swell.

he is getting about 22 lbs a day but not hard really but he also weighes about 1025 ish

Is it a high protein ration? Are you able to post some pics?

Is he in with other animals or maybe slipped? How heavy is he and when is his last show?  If there is fluid around the joint and it is hot, he may have hyperextended his hocks. It happens to jumping horses and its called a blown hock. If that is the case, a pressure wrap with dmso can help the symptoms, but there is no real cure besides costly surgery for blown hocks. I would also make sure he does plenty of walking and keep his feet trimmed up to lessen the effects.

sometimes fat steers as they mature will get stiff and as Boot Jack said have fluid collect. You can use a couple things to help with circulation. In the evenings when you walk him run cool water over the legs. You can also put liniment on his legs. On the leg that has fluid liniment and ice hot works well to increase circulation and reduce swelling. Aspirin bolus if you vet feels is appropriate will assist in the mean time with mobility. I am not a vet by any means and its always good to get a vets opinion.

His last show was at National Western and he walked fine then it wasnt till about 2 weeks ago he started to not cover his tracks. But he is on a pound of surechamp vitaferm per day. And his grain isnt a real high protein amount. But his hock is a little hot and the other hock is a little bit swollen too but not as bad as the other one...

OH Breeder said:

sometimes fat steers as they mature will get stiff and as Boot Jack said have fluid collect. You can use a couple things to help with circulation. In the evenings when you walk him run cool water over the legs. You can also put liniment on his legs. On the leg that has fluid liniment and ice hot works well to increase circulation and reduce swelling. Aspirin bolus if you vet feels is appropriate will assist in the mean time with mobility. I am not a vet by any means and its always good to get a vets opinion.

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Is that Icy hot that you think I should rub on it??

And he is only with one other calf in a pretty huge pen

Cowgirl94 said:

OH Breeder said:

sometimes fat steers as they mature will get stiff and as Boot Jack said have fluid collect. You can use a couple things to help with circulation. In the evenings when you walk him run cool water over the legs. You can also put liniment on his legs. On the leg that has fluid liniment and ice hot works well to increase circulation and reduce swelling. Aspirin bolus if you vet feels is appropriate will assist in the mean time with mobility. I am not a vet by any means and its always good to get a vets opinion.

Click to expand...

Is that Icy hot that you think I should rub on it??

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I think he was referring to white liniment. It can usually be found in the horse care isle. DMSO also does the job, but you have to be far more cautious with it. It is an industrial solevent that will sweat out fluid build- up. It is very potent and really works, but you can also burn the hair and hide right off if you aren't careful. It also reeks like garlic! There is also something called icthamol paste and has a similar effect. What ever product you use, rub a fair amount onto the affected joint, wrap with plastic wrap, and  then vet wrap with plenty of pressure on it. After 30 to 60 minutes, remove the wrap and rinse the joint with cold water for as long as you can stand to. Then walk the steer. To be affective, complete this process twice a day. Its a lot of work, but if the steer is really awesome, it may be well worth the effort.

okay thanks and when i checked him today it seems like its gotten harder and the guy who i buy my calves from thinks it might be OCD  is there any way to fix that???

Not sure what is meant by OCD.

its a disease in cattle that affects the joints and causing swelling due to fast growing calves

I guess it is possible, but if there is any warmth in the joint, it is usually a sign of injury, not illnesss. Are his pasterns and lower legs swollen. If so, that may point more to illness since it would affect more than just the hock joint. From what you have said I would guess he has blown hocks and I would give the wrap I discribed a try.

alright i will and he has a little bit of warmth to it but not much and there is no other swelling below his hocks its just his two rear legs that are swollen and
one is a lot worse than the other….