Hobble \Hob"ble\, n. i. [imp. & p. p. Hobbled; p. pr. & vb. n. Hobbling.] [OE. hobelen, hoblen, freq. of hoppen to hop; akin to D. hobbelen, hoblen, hoppeln. See Hop to jump, and cf. Hopple ]
1. To walk lame, bearing chiefly on one leg; to walk with a hitch or hop, or with crutches. The friar was hobbling the same way too. --Dryden.
2. To move roughly or irregularly; -- said of style in writing. --Prior. The hobbling versification, the mean diction. --Jeffreys.

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A hobble is a device that prevents or limits the locomotion of a human or an animal, by tethering one or more legs. Although hobbles are most commonly used on horses, they are sometimes used also on other animals. On dogs, they are used especially during force-fetch training to limit the movement of a dog's front paws when training it to stay still. They are made from leather, rope or synthetic materials such as nylon and Neoprene. There are various designs for breeding, casting and mounting horses.

"Western"-style horse hobbles are tied around the pasterns or cannon bones of the front legs of the horse. They comprise three basic types:

The above patterns are unsuitable for training as they can tighten around a leg and cause injury.

Western hobbles are normally used to secure a horse when no tie device, tree or other object is available to secure a horse. When traveling across open lands, if a rider has to dismount for various reasons, the horse can be secured. Hobbles also allow a horse to graze and move short and slow distances, but prevent the horse from running off too far. This is handy at night if the rider has to get some sleep so in the morning he can find his horse, not too far away.

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  Editor's note: This story originally ran May 11, 2002. Steve Yzerman is in his car, driving to practice. He doesn't really do much on the practice ice these days. For one thing, his bad knee can't take it. And, anyhow, at this point in the ... Read more on this news related to 'Hobbling'