Just what the heck is a gaskin?

     In horse terminology the gaskin is the name for a part of a horse’s back leg.  To find it, take a look at the rear legs of your horse.  All of that massive area of muscle that makes up the top of the legs next to the tail are the horse’s thighs.  Follow these great muscles down the legs.  They will begin to taper together and the horse’s legs will narrow and and get rounder and start to look more like legs.  They will begin to slant back a bit too.  It is this next area of muscle that is called the gaskin.  It extends up to the next big joint, which is called the hock.