Some initially confuse the sheepish type's joint (6)
I believe the answer is:
saddle
'sheepish type's joint' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both man-made objects as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe you can see an association between them that I don't see?
'some initially confuse' is the wordplay.
'initially' says to take the initial letters.
'confuse' becomes 'addle' (addling is a kind of confusing).
The initial letter of 'some' is 's'.
's'+'addle'='SADDLE'
'the' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for saddle that I've seen before include "Jockey's seat" , "A horseman's seat" , "Butcher's cut from the back of an animal" , "load" , "Lumber (with); one on horse" .)