Horse rocking backwards in field

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Horsekaren

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My horse has been seen rocking backwards every now and again in then field.
It's like he is dozey and then as he drifts off he loses balance and falls backwards.
I caught him doing it today and he had alwmost rockee back so far his front legs were stretched right out and he looked as though he was about to fall over. I shouted and he perked up.
Has anyone else come across this?
 
He is probably either sleep deprived or narcoleptic.

Is there any reason why he should be unable to sleep? Arthritis can do it, I believe.
 
Hes difficult to ride, grumpy to handle and doing all manner of odd things. He really does need a proper vet work up. If he was mine I wouldnt be riding him until that was done.
 
He is yawning a lot lately but don't sure why he wouldn't be sleeping :( he never had lied down much. He is muzzled in the day so unless he is making sure he fills his belly with hay all night to make up for the lake of grass :/ I assumed he would sleep in the day :(

No signs of arthritis as far as I can see.
I did wonder about ulcers , could this be him stretching his guts?

Awful to see :( non of the other horses do at the yard do this :(
 
The vet has been and checked him over -
Advised he had a mild respatory infection which now seems to have cleared.
I feel like I'm being a hypocondriac just worrying all the time.


Leo Walker said:
Hes difficult to ride, grumpy to handle and doing all manner of odd things. He really does need a proper vet work up. If he was mine I wouldnt be riding him until that was done.
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Horsekaren said:
The vet has been and checked him over -
Advised he had a mild respatory infection which now seems to have cleared.
I feel like I'm being a hypocondriac just worrying all the time.
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How do you know he had a mild respiratory infection and how do you know it has cleared.
 
Horsekaren said:
He is yawning a lot lately but don't sure why he wouldn't be sleeping :( he never had lied down much. He is muzzled in the day so unless he is making sure he fills his belly with hay all night to make up for the lake of grass :/ I assumed he would sleep in the day :(
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How many other horses is he turned out with? Horses sleep while standing as well as when lying down. Do any of the other horses lie down? Do they share the standing on watch so to speak while others are lying down? A useful short article is at https://www.thespruce.com/learn-how-all-horses-sleep-1887328
 
Horsekaren said:
The vet has been and checked him over -
Advised he had a mild respatory infection which now seems to have cleared.
I feel like I'm being a hypocondriac just worrying all the time.
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They need to come back. A quick check hasnt resolved anything. He needs a proper work up. The horse is screaming at you that there is something wrong. What happened to getting him scoped for ulcers?
 
Horsekaren said:
My horse has been seen rocking backwards every now and again in then field.
It's like he is dozey and then as he drifts off he loses balance and falls backwards.
I caught him doing it today and he had alwmost rockee back so far his front legs were stretched right out and he looked as though he was about to fall over. I shouted and he perked up.
Has anyone else come across this?
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You really need to get the vet to check him before you ride this horse again. Be careful when leading him and don't lunge until he has been checked. There is a pictur buildin gup of a troubled horse.
 
My little gelding did this when he got very old. It was as though he was asleep standing up but the balance mechanism that stopped him falling over wasn't working properly. He would sort of slow motion rock his weight backwards like a dog going to sit, then "catch" himself, wake up and stand up straight and start grazing normally. Is.this what your horse is doing OP?
 
Horsekaren said:
No signs of arthritis as far as I can see.
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Well how he was acting under saddle could well be a sign of discomfort - whether arthritic, gastric or anything else. But this is screaming that something isn't right, and therefore you need appropriate expert input. And that's not a "quick look" or anything like it.
 
Well gastric issues result in excessive yawning, strange stances, strange reactions to a rider's leg aid, irritability when tacking up.......in short, I would bet an awful lot of money that your horse has some kind of gastric issue. This stance in the field sounds very much like he is having mild colic episodes
 
*If* it turns out to be nothing more than tiredness (I agree with the others he needs a vet), then it could be he's not sleeping in the field properly because he doesn't want to lay down on wet muddy ground, so try part stabling him, perhaps a for few hours during the day when he would usually be muzzled anyway, so no hay in the stable.
 
I wouldn't hesitate in asking the vet to run FBC and liver function test
Excessive yawning can be a classic symptom of the liver not up to par, I would rule that out
 
My old pony did this when she was having mild colic episodes. I have also seen horses with laminitis do this. Either way, please call your vet back out because this is not normal behaviour and needs checking urgently.
 
Yawning is a classic response in horses .
Ill health in horse due to R.E.M. sleep deprivation is now common the vet ssee it regularly now .
Laminitis often shows as rocking back as the horse attempts to relieve pressure on its fore feet .
Ulcery horses sometimes rock back as well .
 
nikicb said:
Yawning is a recognised sign of pain in horses, and quite often abdominal. If he were mine, I would get a different vet out to check him.
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This is what I was going to say. Horses don't generally yawn out of tiredness like humans. When our horse was ill in spring it was one of the things the vet questioned, the fact that he was yawning a lot.
 
This horse obviously has something quite serious going on (reference your other post). Time to get your vet back out - next week.
 
amymay said:
This horse obviously has something quite serious going on (reference your other post). Time to get your vet back out - next week.
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Completely agree with this ^^
Write all the symptoms down however stupid they may sound and thrash it out with your vet, I haven't read your other post but horses generally try hard to tell us when not feeling 100% and sometimes all it needs is to watch very carefully
 
Goldenstar said:
Yawning is a classic response in horses .
Ill health in horse due to R.E.M. sleep deprivation is now common the vet ssee it regularly now .
Laminitis often shows as rocking back as the horse attempts to relieve pressure on its fore feet .
Ulcery horses sometimes rock back as well .
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Exactly this, my horse refused to lay down when she had ulcers causing her to rock back and forth when sleepy and eventually falling over every 2 weeks, they need REMsleep.
 
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