The front joint of an animal's hind leg, especially in horses or cattle, located above the hoof.
Combines 'fore-' with 'hock,' from Middle Dutch 'hoche' and Old Norse 'hasi.' In veterinary anatomy, 'fore-' is used to distinguish forward-facing positions on an animal's body.
Horseshoes and hoof diseases are fascinating to veterinarians because they study forehocks to understand how weight distribution affects lameness—problems here can disable an entire animal since horses bear 60% of their weight on front legs.
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