Horse falling over

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Redsara

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I'm wondering how common it is for a horse to loose its footing and fall over when spooked. My mare is very spooky and often to things that I can't see or hear. She looks like Bambi on the ice until she recovers and then we move on but today lost her footing compleatly and fell onto her side on the road today! Her feet are looked after by a barefoot trimmer regularly, it wasn't wet or icy and I didn't loose my balance or fall off but just managed to scrable free before she landed on me. She got up and stood still not unduly stressed and I got back on and we rode off!!!! I wasn't scared etc but I'm sure it gave the car drivers a shock.
Have other riders come across this? Spooking with a jump is one thing but this could be really dangerous esp if going at speed
 
My lad can do very dramatic spooks but has never fallen over - hopefully for you it was just a freak thing and a one off......

However if it happens again I think I would be seeking vetinary advice, including an eyesight check.
 
Only once my mare fell whilst spooking at a dog who literally ran from behind a hedge under her belly, down she went but got up just as quickly and I was still in the saddle!! Saying that my gelding has fallen out the field a few times whilst careering around but has not fallen while I have been riding him. Have a word with your vet to see if they can shed some light on it for you.
 
If this was a common occurrence I would be having the vet check her out, my first thought would be eyesight or neurological
 
How long has she been barefoot?
How much frog does she have in contact with the ground?

My dingbat TB was performing his audition for swanlake on the road the other day, and beside being thankful there were no cars, I was EXTREMELY pleased he wasn't shod, because he would have been on the floor for sure if he had had shoes on.

If I hack out with a shod horse, I wince at how much the shoes slide with each step down the hills, whereas mine doesn't slip at all.
 
Check what the road is made of? At one point roads were being surfaced with something called SMA I think and it made roads like glass for shod horses but unshod horses could just about cope.
 
my horse spooked at a pheasent and fell down on his knees. got back up and tried walking on as if nothing happened. i saw the blood on the road and got off straight away. he had ripped the skin on both knees. had to have 6 weeks box rest and had to be stapled :(
 
I've known of 2 - one had neurological issues and was a shiverer, the other had problems with his heart (atrial fibrillation) which meant that when his heart was put under stress, it didn't get enough oxygen to his brain and he would faint

Your mare may have just slipped -my (shod) horse went flat on his side a few weeks ago with a dodgy road surface
 
ive also known one - shiverer and the other was one with cardiac problems. Both were not safe to ride and due to the risk of them going down in the field with no one there to help they were PTS.

If you haven't already, get the vet out ASAP as it could be a sign of something serious. I don't think I'd ride again either until I got answers...
 
I've had one who fell over. She was a young trotter and just used to get her legs tied up and fall. Is she a youngster? I found with mine that pole and balance work really helped, she just didn't know where her feet were!
 
The only one time i used a barefoot trimmer i felt he left my cobs toes very long leading to tripping, are her toes long, could she do with more off for even breakover
 
My horse went down on a fun ride. I was walking down hill at a diagonal to make the slope less steep but his near fore and off fore seemed to just dissapear under him. I managed to throw myself clear but i was very lucky that he didn't trap my legs. I think it shook us both up really badly at the time. I put it down to the steepness of the slope and future fun rides around the malvern hills which are incredibly steep, haven't replicated this problem.
 
I have had this happen with two different horses, who were both spooky/jumpy sorts. Both times it was on tarmac. They never showed any sign of falling over during a spook on earth/grass. My initial thought would be to blame the road surface. If it happens again then make further investigations.
 
I used to ride a horse who would sit down if something caught him of guard like tractors if they 'snook up' on him. Although I'm not sure if it was because of his long epic tail getting in the way of his prancing about and him standing on it. We have trimmed his tail since but he still does it abit.
 
She's 7. I've done loads of pole work and in hand stuff. The trimmer is highly recommended and skilled. From the responses it doesn't sound that usual to fall after shying. To me it seemed that she put herself into a panic and, like a drowning man, started to flail her legs about. Thank you for your time and let's hope she doesn't do it again!
 
My share horse has been known to slip after a spook but only once or twice in the 13 years I've known him and it's literally been a case of being so pre-occupied with spooking that he's not looking where he's going downhill on very worn and slippery roads (he's shod).

If it was happening lots I'd be inclined to get it checked out.
 
In all my years riding I have only ever had a horse fall once on the roads - the horse spooked very quickly and just crashed down on top of me fracturing my ribs. He was my boss' horse and well overdue shoeing, so we just put it down to lack of grip. Never happened again.

I wouldn't expect an unshod horse to fall easily though - keep a close eye and involve vet if necessary. That said unshod horses aren't infalible - a friends came over out eventing turning tight on short grass/hard ground.
 
Its happened to me before, was on a friends welsh cob (not a spooky pony) trotting along, a kid on a bike came out of the road ending and for some reason spooked the pony so much he just slipped and fell over, it was so fast, one minute i was trotting, next minute on the floor with pony on top of me! He was also barefoot, not sure if it makes any difference or not.

A man in his garden came running over and said id hit my head off the floor and not to get up... i got back on and rode home. It did shock me though, i was ok at first but then burst into tears. (im not the crying type normally)

Maybe if your horse spooks alot, it would be worth wearing hock and knee boots if she doesnt already? Sometimes these things just happen for no real reason (like my accident) but if you feel like it might happen again maybe worth looking into it more.
 
Firstly as others have said i would get her checked out by a vet, could be some nerve damage doing on.

Also does she just do this on roads or can she also flail alot when on grass and surfaces. I am going to put the cat amongst the pigeons and recommend you speak to someone about getting her shod. Yes we all know barefoot is usually better and would have been inclined to agree with you if not for my youngster, she slipped a lot on grass and had a few crashing falls in the field. Anyway her feet deteriorated for other reasons (her feet splay and crack) so after other methods we tried a pair of front shoes. Now i have hardly seen a slip since and no falls that i know of. Her movement is a lot more balanced overall and my Chiropracter says her pelvis and spine have not shifted at all, considering she had to be done regularly before for movement in the pelvis.

It might be worth thinking about, although it might not be an solution at least its one avenue to be explored.
 
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