Do I have a narcolptic horse?

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Cloudy97

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Hi there, not sure if anyone can help me, but while I was out hacking with my friend last night, my 16 year old cob just suddenly went down on his knees with me still in the saddle. We were only walking and had maybe covered about 2 miles before he went down. The strange thing was, moments later, he got back up again - no spooking or anything. He sometimes seems to doze when the farrier trims his hoofs, but this this the first time he's gone down like this. I kept an eye on him for a while last night, and again this morning, and other than a slightly sore nose where he grazed it, he seems absolutely fine.

If anyone has any suggestions as to what this may be, please could you let me know?
 
Doubt it. Start at the beginning and book in for a check with the vet for lameness. The vast majority of "narcolepsy" cases are actually chronically lame. Also sounds a bit more like tripping rather than narcolepsy which again, suggests a lameness exam is in order.
 
I would also say it sounds like tripping; at 16 there could be a possibility of arthritis and stumbling like that would be very typical. Also is he shod or unshod, and does he have any hoof issues?

I have owned a genuinely narcoleptic horse, however. She would sink to her knees but this was just in the field or tied up; when ridden she literally fell down with all fours gone rather than on the knees and ended up lying flat out on her side before coming round. (She was immediately retired after that!)
 
Hi there, thanks for your advice. He's unshod, and has been for the last few years. We do think there may be slight arthritis developing, and we've been keeping an eye on him. His hooves are in really good condition too. When he get got back up after his fall, he was fine in walk - my friend rode behind and kept an eye on his movements. All four hooves were tracking up normally, but he was ever so slightly lame in trot. He seems fine now - I'm just worried he'll do it again. I guess all I can do is keep him alert, and if he feels like his head's lowering just to pick it up?
 
If he's slightly arthritic then I'll bet that's the cause rather than narcolepsy so maybe use knee boots. Particularly if he's coming up slightly lame in trot. My CB has early stage arthritis and she went down on her knees recently so she's now knee booted over rough terrain. I really wouldn't worry about narcolepsy. Just make sure he has plenty of time to warm up and avoid excessive schooling.
 
Thanks for this - I've got some knee boots on order now. I rode him the night before, just doing some basic schooling and he seemed fine then. He does get a little lazy and drags his feet at times, but he felt like he was walking out well before he went down.
 
I have a 25yo, she occasionally would trip and sometimes fall on her knees whilst riding out, at her age I expect her old bones to be taking a toll now
 
Narcoleptic horses rarely fall over while working. We have a narcoleptic horse on the yard, and he is fine undersaddle, but has a tendancy to fall over when he is resting in his box - which is really disconcerting for everyone!
 
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