Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A projection on the lower part of the leg of a horse or related animal, above and behind the hoof.
- noun A tuft of hair on such a projection.
- noun The joint marked by such a projection.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A tuft of hair growing behind the pastern-joint of horses.
- noun The joint on which the hair grows: same as
fetlock-joint . - noun [Associated with foot or fetter and lock.] An instrument fixed on the leg of a horse when put to pasture, for the purpose of preventing him from running off. Also
fetterlock .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The cushionlike projection, bearing a tuft of long hair, on the back side of the leg above the hoof of the horse and similar animals. Also, the joint of the limb at this point (between the great pastern bone and the metacarpus), or the tuft of hair.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
joint of thehorse 's leg below the knee orhock and above thehoof , also called the "ankle ".
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun projection behind and above a horse's hoof
- noun the joint between the cannon bone and the pastern
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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A point a little above the fetlock is usually the seat of the injury.
Special Report on Diseases of the Horse Charles B. Michener 1877
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He discussed another study exploring whether injecting a horse's blood into his fetlock was a good model of temporary, reversible lameness.
TheHorse.com News 2009
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"The angle of the foot and pastern has a physical effect on the angle of the fetlock, which is the major site of the change of direction and absorption of the force being directed down the limb," he explained.
TheHorse.com News 2009
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"The angle of the foot and pastern has a physical effect on the angle of the fetlock, which is the major site of the change of direction and absorption of the force being directed down the limb," he explained.
TheHorse.com News 2009
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The attraction said, “A newly discovered animal, comprising the head and eye of an elephant, the horns of an antelope, a long black beard, the hind parts of a lion, the foreparts of a bison, cloven-footed, has a flowing mane from shoulder to fetlock joint and chews the cud.”
Boing Boing 2009
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He held Lobo by the fetlock and let water rinse over the cut.
Quarters, Pasos, Arabians Chris Sheehan 2011
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The beasts, fed and watered adequately for the first time in two days, exuded contentment as willing hands curried the glossy sides and cleansed the dirt from hock and fetlock with twists of straw.
Sick Cycle Carousel 2010
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Small brown birds hover and light on straws of aspen chewed raw by the deer; a few horses stand inside a muddy pen, each with a rear fetlock cocked and ears low against their heads, as if resigned to be annoyed by the sharp wind all winter long.
Healer Carol Wiley Cassella 2010
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Completely heal the old injury suffered by my horse Power Cut in his off fore fetlock.
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His temperment and attitude are not to be altered and the only thing to be done is healing to the off fore fetlock and the tendons/ligaments attached to this area.
andrew.simone commented on the word fetlock
unfortunately, the vocables sexiness is mitigated by its utility.
December 10, 2006
chained_bear commented on the word fetlock
"Hey, do horses got knees?"
"I dunno. Fetlocks. They got fetlocks."
"Well, if I was a horse I'd be down on my fetlocks prayin' you don't bet on me."
--paraphrased (as close as I can remember) from the Coen brothers' film "Millers Crossing"
February 13, 2007