horse tripping

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lavery834

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hi,anyone know how to prevent this. was out on a hack last night and my young horse,who has only been hacking out for 6 weeks suddenly tripped over his front feet whilst walking slowly on an even road flinging his rider onto the tarmac,grazing his knees, and bursting his reins . never seen this happen before.
 
Is your horse shod? If so have a word with your Farrier as I think that rolled toe shoes may help with tripping. Hope poor horse and rider are ok. My horse trips when she walks too slow as her mind wanders and she seems to go into a daydream. I find shes less trippy when marching on.
 
Wonder if the shoes feel a bit tight, have a word with your Farrier. May be a bit sore after shoeing, I know its happened before with horses on our yard. Nails may have gone into a tender part of the hoof and I think its called nail bind. Not absolutely sure, may be a case of a little bute to help. Think its a similar feeling as when we cut our toe nails too short. Farrier is best person to give you some answers.
 
My young horse started tripping when he had a mini growth-spurt. He couldn't concentrate on both his feet and what he was looking at .... he even tripped in the field if he was distracted.

I understand this is a common young horse problem, ie problems finding their balance, so here is what I have done and he hardly trips at all now ..

1. Farrier cut shorter and put toe clips. Also have farrier every 6 weeks religiously.
2. Time - the horse will grow and become more balanced.
3. Schooling. Have put enormous amounts of time to ensure I am riding him correctly to get him off his forehand (cob type so naturally on his forehand).

Oh and Westropp Knee Brushing Boots for hacking out!!

Good luck.
 
It could be something and nothing!

Unfortunately horses can trip/slip on roads or any place sometimes for no reason. A majority of the time it can be down to the horse just not using its self properly and ambling along.
As it seems to have been a one off up to now, i would perhaps not be too concerned, and accept that it could of just been one of those things.

If he seems a bit footy with his shoes maybe its worth calling your farrier to check that he is ok.

I always have road nails fitted to my horses shows, and they still slip at times. For now prevention is better than cure, you could fit knee boots to protect his knees in the event he falls again.

It can look pretty eventful when a horse falls over and the hard slippery surface of the road can mean more injury. How is your horse whilst hacking? Are they quite alert and active? Or are they very chilled and slow? I try and maintain an active walk from my horse when out hacking, and keep him thinking and listening with leg yielding and transitions. It keeps him awake and ensures he uses him self properly. Young horses can sometimes be so interested in there surroundings that they can be a bit clumsy and trip over there own legs. Especially if they are still finding there balance. Just subtle changes in the gradient of the road or the surface can be enough to catch them off guard. It has been quite warm recently and a lot of horses have been a bit more sedate than usual because of this.

If he starts to trip more often then I feel it is time to assess what is going on, see if there is a pattern to the tripping. Maybe then talk to your farrier and vet about it.

Obviously it would do now harm to check tack fitting as poorly fitting tack can altera horses movement, and can be enough to cause tripping. Youngsters can change shape frequently, especially at this time of year and with work. So something worth thinking about?

nail bind does ussualy cause lameness, so i would not think in this case it was that. However if he is walking like he is footie it can be a sign of other things. Including laminitis.
 
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my boy trips when he's tired - he's a youngster and when it happened, I knew I have taken him too far, so reduced time riding him. He is def worse during a growth spurt, so I tend not to ride at all then.
 
I ride a 4 year old clydsdale who has been acting in a similar manner. He's just been diagnosed as going blind! Unlikely diagnosis but it happened here. Another sign with him was he was spooky with sounds but not sights
 
hi, horse is usually very forward going appaloosa who is totally sound. his picture is in appaloosa first show on the showing forum. my other horse is a total plod who lazily trips over her own feet at times,but what cochise is doing is at times crossing one foot in front of the other. but he is only turned four and may grow out of it however i did wonder if there was something he could wear to separate his front legs a bit and protect him,and his rider.
 
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