Bit worried

[eahotson]

On Tuesday a member of the yard staff took my horse for a gentle hack through village, something that has been happening regularly over the years.On the way back he stumbled and went down on his knees something I have never known him do.That part of the yard is very rough but he has been ridden regularly over it for a good number of years without incident.He is unharmed and I rode him in the school the next day and he felt absolutely fine.He is though 21 years, has had two lots of treatment for hock problems.When I bought him (aged 9) he passed a five star vetting but when I got him home I had the physio out.He was very sore and stiff and had some muscle wastage on his back.One quarter dropped significantly after physio and he held his tail to one side.A correctly fitting saddle, physio and some very sympathetic correct schooling with the aid of my old fashioned and excellent instructor and he became straight at the back and was fine BUT I think there was some permenant damage done and it is beginning to tell now.I don't know if I am over reacting.Will get physio out to check him over I think and ask her advice.

 

[ycbm]

How long are his front toes? That's probably the most common cause of tripping.

Hopefully he just wasn't paying attention that day.
.

 

[Kat]

I don't know about what could be causing the problems but please get some knee boots before he hacks out again. The westropp ones are cheap but effective. I use the brushing boot style ones but the traditional knee boots are good too.

 

[eahotson]

I don't know about what could be causing the problems but please get some knee boots before he hacks out again. The westropp ones are cheap but effective. I use the brushing boot style ones but the traditional knee boots are good too.

Good idea. Will do.

 

[eahotson]

How long are his front toes? That's probably the most common cause of tripping.

Hopefully he just wasn't paying attention that day.
.

He has been recently shod by the same farrier he has had since he came to the yard 12 years ago.I will speak to the farrier though.Good idea.

 

[Shilasdair]

Scuffing toes and tripping can be caused by mineral deficiencies - for example selenium (which is quite often lacking in the soil in the UK).
Might be worth feeding a mineral supplement.

 

[TotalMadgeness]

Both my horses trip occasionally because of hind end issues so they both wear leather knee boots. Medication & an exercise/physio routine has reduced the tripping considerably.

 

[J&S]

Scuffing toes and tripping can be caused by mineral deficiencies - for example selenium (which is quite often lacking in the soil in the UK).
Might be worth feeding a mineral supplement.

How would you test for this? Blood test? (Thanks in advance and sorry to jump on the thread).

 

[eahotson]

Both my horses trip occasionally because of hind end issues so they both wear leather knee boots. Medication & an exercise/physio routine has reduced the tripping considerably.

that's interesting because that's where I feel his issues are.When he did his vets assessment for his hocks the vet did say he had a tiny bit of lameness in one front foot which she felt was because of his hicks problems.

 

[Parrotperson]

oh bless him. 21! You've obviously given him 5 star treatment over the years. The tripping could of course be a number of things but yes certainly check his feet first.

Of course his age may well be a factor and knees boots are relatively cheap but effective but make sure the yard put them on before taking him out.

And of course we'd love a picture!

 

[Shilasdair]

How would you test for this? Blood test? (Thanks in advance and sorry to jump on the thread).

There are known topsoil deficiencies in a number of UK areas - you could look at this pages 154 to 157 for England and Wales. A lot of the carseland in Scotland is also deficient, I believe.

http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/18016/1/Advanced_Soil_Geochemical_Atlas_of_England_and_Wales.pdf

You can blood test for it, but it's probably easier just to give a broad spectrum supplement, as they'll excrete any excess.

 

[oldie48]

My old boy had some arthritis in his hocks, as it progressed he would trip occasionally if he wasn't ridden "up and together" so even on hacks I had him walking out and on the aids in a novice outline. TBH I think it helped him keep his muscle tone whilst it definitely made him a much safer ride. He was also regularly shod so he never got long in the toe. Knee boots are a good idea but I'd rather try to avoid him tripping in the first place.

 

[Annagain]

I wouldn't worry too much unless it happens again. My old boy tripped once at the age of 21-22 and skinned his knees. He was a bit sore for a day or two but it never happened again. We were out for a gentle hack with my friend leading her daughter on her pony so we were dawdling a bit. He was just daydreaming and not looking where he was putting his feet.

 

[TotalMadgeness]

My old boy had some arthritis in his hocks, as it progressed he would trip occasionally if he wasn't ridden "up and together" so even on hacks I had him walking out and on the aids in a novice outline. TBH I think it helped him keep his muscle tone whilst it definitely made him a much safer ride. He was also regularly shod so he never got long in the toe. Knee boots are a good idea but I'd rather try to avoid him tripping in the first place.

Ditto. Both my horses have to be ridden like this on hacks - never on the buckle, where they are likely to be on the forehand. They seldom trip now - in fact I can't remember the last time.

 

[Kat]

My old boy had some arthritis in his hocks, as it progressed he would trip occasionally if he wasn't ridden "up and together" so even on hacks I had him walking out and on the aids in a novice outline. TBH I think it helped him keep his muscle tone whilst it definitely made him a much safer ride. He was also regularly shod so he never got long in the toe. Knee boots are a good idea but I'd rather try to avoid him tripping in the first place.

Of course you try to prevent tripping and address the cause but I don't understand this attitude that knee boots indicate some kind of admission that your horse falls over all the time and you don't care why.

No one ever says "I'd rather avoid him over reaching in the first place" they just pop over reach boots on just in case because they don't do any harm and should something unfortunate happen they prevent a nasty injury. Likewise brushing boots.

Why not knee boots?

My mare has tripped once in over 10 years, I know the cause, the farrier had changed the way she was shod. She was wearing knee boots because she always does everytime she goes on the road. That decision saved me a vets bill, an injured horse, and nasty scars. I don't understand why anyone would risk their horse on tarmac without knee boots, broken knees are awful.

 

[SEL]

My pony tripped with me today and nearly faceplanted - I was fully expecting to hit the deck. Thankfully she got her balance back. No lameness issues, just a bumpy field that's like concrete at the moment and she must have hit a divot. I don't think tripping is always a medical issue - sometimes its just bad luck.

 

[J&S]

Our companion pony, who is also ridden, is known to trip and it seems to be lack of real forward movement, inattention, or a spook. My friend rides her like a little race horse (she has previously mostly ridden racers/pointers etc) and they get on really well with hardly any problems.

 

[eahotson]

oh bless him. 21! You've obviously given him 5 star treatment over the years. The tripping could of course be a number of things but yes certainly check his feet first.

Of course his age may well be a factor and knees boots are relatively cheap but effective but make sure the yard put them on before taking him out.

And of course we'd love a picture!

I really struggle to post pictures .Thank you for that.

 

[eahotson]

My pony tripped with me today and nearly faceplanted - I was fully expecting to hit the deck. Thankfully she got her balance back. No lameness issues, just a bumpy field that's like concrete at the moment and she must have hit a divot. I don't think tripping is always a medical issue - sometimes its just bad luck.

sometimes yes but he has been ridden over this surface for years.He has had the odd little trip over the years but never gone down like that.

 

[eahotson]

Of course you try to prevent tripping and address the cause but I don't understand this attitude that knee boots indicate some kind of admission that your horse falls over all the time and you don't care why.

No one ever says "I'd rather avoid him over reaching in the first place" they just pop over reach boots on just in case because they don't do any harm and should something unfortunate happen they prevent a nasty injury. Likewise brushing boots.

Why not knee boots?

My mare has tripped once in over 10 years, I know the cause, the farrier had changed the way she was shod. She was wearing knee boots because she always does everytime she goes on the road. That decision saved me a vets bill, an injured horse, and nasty scars. I don't understand why anyone would risk their horse on tarmac without knee boots, broken knees are awful.

You have a good point.

 

[Labaire]

Could be hocks, could be toes, could be saddle pinching (when was it last checked?), could be just one of those things Worth getting these things checked but try to not worry too much. Knee boots are always a good idea though.

 

[oldie48]

Of course you try to prevent tripping and address the cause but I don't understand this attitude that knee boots indicate some kind of admission that your horse falls over all the time and you don't care why.

No one ever says "I'd rather avoid him over reaching in the first place" they just pop over reach boots on just in case because they don't do any harm and should something unfortunate happen they prevent a nasty injury. Likewise brushing boots.

Why not knee boots?

My mare has tripped once in over 10 years, I know the cause, the farrier had changed the way she was shod. She was wearing knee boots because she always does everytime she goes on the road. That decision saved me a vets bill, an injured horse, and nasty scars. I don't understand why anyone would risk their horse on tarmac without knee boots, broken knees are awful.

I don't think you read my post, I said knee boots were a good idea, at no point have I dismissed the idea of using them but I would still address why the horse has tripped and prevent it if possible, if not to save the horse's knees, to save the rider's head!

 

[ester]

I think what is hard is not seeing the trip yourself with regards to judging how serious it was/what to do next.
It wasn't long ago we had a video on here of a trip and the manner of it indicated that the horse absolutely needed to be checked by a vet.

 

[Laurac13]

Hello
My old boy years ago tripped when he was first diagnosed with hock arthritis, yours could be nothing just uneven ground or just maybe his hocks need some treatment again good luck x

 

[Auslander]

I wouldn't worry unduly, unless it happens more than once.
Alf tripped and fell on a perfectly straight level road a couple of years ago - we both hit the deck very hard!
Never did it before, and hasn't done it since, even though he slops along on the buckle, snacking!