I grabbed two magazines off my shelves at random - a QH Journal and an Equine Chronicle. I looked through them and scanned these pics. Many are leading horses, from all ages and disciplines. Yes, you can be super anal about keeping the hocks clean, and sometimes it still doesn't work to prevent sores 100%. You do what you can, but if you're not showing, it's not that big of a deal. It's a very common thing in some areas of the country.