Horse tripping

Suzie94

Suzie94

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Can anyone explain to me why horses trip when being ridden? My mare trips up on hacks quite often and I’m wondering if it’s the rough terrain, her not concentrating or a foot or balance issue ?
she did trip and fall once (ages ago) when prancing and cantering around the school (free schooling). She’s not lame in any way and looks absolutely fine on all legs whilst being ridden but then she’ll suddenly do a trip and catch herself. It’s happens every hack now. Our hacks are all off road.
 
Can be many many things .
I would say these are the most common
Most common is chronic pain often in the feet but it can be anywhere .
Lack of eye to hoof coordination
Extreme weakness and being on the forehand the horse simple can’t place and adjust its steps quickly.
The Last reason would be the most common with young horses the first most common with an older one .
 
Have you consulted your farrier and equine veterinarians about this?
They're going to be more likely to be able to help your horse and you than people that don't know or have seen you/your horse.
If these professionals are happy with your horses' way of going, perhaps hire a qualified and experienced trainer to observe you and your horse together, and suggest what changes you could make to help both of you.
 
Thank you. She’s 8 years old and was first backed 2.5 years ago so she is still very green. She’s very forward going and walks fast when out on a hack but then out of no where will stumble/trip but catch herself and carry on. I’ll get the farrier out this weekend and get him to check everything’s right with the foot first.
she never used to do it on road hacks… so I’m wondering if it’s the off road hacks and she’s so busy looking around her all excited whether that just makes her feet clumsy.

just now it’s happening almost every hack (one trip a hack usually) has began to make me worry.
 
A great page to follow and a relevant discussion on the foot side of things -
https://www.facebook.com/hoofscanandhoofcarecentre/posts/5551251538281607
. I would say have a look at this page, and other hoof balance/function resources so you yourself can see if there might be an issue with a long toe, a poorly developed heel and frog, and therefore possible heel pain. I think most experienced owners have, at some point, been led astray by professionals whether hoofcare or another area, we do need to have a basic idea of good work. Definitely chat to your farrier, but make sure the context is that you have half an idea of whether the feet are good, or heading in the right direction, or not.

Have a look at how your horse stands, most days. They usually are telling you something, but we don't always notice. I would suspect you may see your horse is standing camped under, ie the front legs slant back slightly under the body. This relieves heel pain but actually causes more pressure on the DDFT - here is a great bodywork page that helps some understanding of biomechanics etc https://www.facebook.com/Elkayam-Equine-Therapy-253082605141569

I would have a bodyworker see the horse, lameness is at one end of a very long spectrum, with a 100% sound horse at the other end, and all sorts of compromised ways of moving in between. These poor movement patterns account for very many lamenesses, which are only triggered later after what is effectively repetitive strain injury. Catch it before it happens, you have a clue that something's wrong so keep digging :).

(saddlefitter of 13 years with a passion for biomex and hoof balance, though nowhere near as expert as the experts!)
 
Ringbone in my draft - I carried on riding for a while after he was diagnosed but then after we nearly face planted on a decent surface I stopped for safety reasons. He's been happily retired ever since.

My small pony can trip at times, but it seems to be a balance issue with her although she doesn't have great feet so there could be knock on effect there (is the balance issue causing the foot problem or vice versa....). Anyway, farrier and I are scratching our heads along with physio but it may just take time.
 
If she's young but it's getting worse not better as she gets older / stronger / fitter I would be tempted to get some professional opinions.

Starting with feet - any thrush (can be really sore and make them not want to land heel first), maybe take some slow motion video and see what you can spot.
Then work up - if you have a good physio you trust that would be worth a check

Maybe wear knee boots if it's a big trip every ride (unfashionable these days I know but worth saving a big vet bill).
 
It was osteoarthritis and side bone in my mare, as well as a longer toe than we realized. We x-rayed which led to the diagnosis, but also allowed us to trim the toes right back by following the x-rays, which helped massively.
 
lots of reasons including unbalanced either just the hoof or the whole body , corrective trimming should help or cure this. Arthritic changes ,the rider being on the heavy side for the horse ,an unfit horse, back issues, incorrect saddle fit.
 
Sometimes (but I would still consider all other options) it's just laziness and lack of concentration. My old share horse would trip if you let him dawdle but was fine if you made him walk properly and never tripped in trot. He made it to 25 in full work with only accidents causing lameness so it wasn't physical with him. Nobody ever fell off him in his 20 year ridden career but we did fall over with him once or twice when he was daydreaming and forgetting where his feet were. He did it once with me when he tripped on a molehill, once with his owner when he was disturbed from his reverie by a tractor and stumbled as he spooked and once with a friend over his own feet for seemingly no reason. Luckily no damage to horse or rider in any of these incidents.
 
My mare started tripping more and more. She lost a shoe and had her re-shod by a different farrier and she immediately stopped and hasn’t tripped since unless she runs over 6 weeks. The previous farrier looked like he did a good job but clearly she didn’t agree!
 
With both of mine their tripping was due to joint issues (hind legs) which unbalanced them. With the big guy it is made worse by a slightly twisted left foreleg which is managed by a specialist farrier. Anyway both horses now wear leather knee boots out hacking (Jeffries). Medication, keeping weight off, making sure they are exercised appropriately and regular physio have all helped to improve the situation over time. They still wear knee boots because they can still occasionally trip on uneven ground despite being physically much better now than they ever were.
 
Not going to comment on why your horse trips as it could be a multitude of things but I have one who sometimes trips through lack of concentration out hacking. He never never leaves the yard without wearing leather knee boots. Jeffries are very expensive but wonderful quality and Ascot make a more affordable version which are just as good for everyday use. Please do consider buying some for your horse as they are cheaper than the cost of a vet to repair broken knees.
 
2 reasons which may not be above.
One is cushings. My PPID tripped a lot. Once medicated he stopped, if he needed the tablets increasing he started again especially downhill. I have noticed it said quite a few times as a symptom of cushings.

My arab stallion (not cushings) tripped and tried to fall over most of the time. Reason was boredom and can't be arsed.. He was a very bright horse, needed difficult country to stimulate him. On a smooth lawn he would have been permanently on the ground. Give him rocky, twisty downhill and he was great, safe as houses.
 
So many things can make them trip. My boy has rolled toes and his toes kept from getting too long to minimise this but when he started tripping more again, it turned out to be due to the arthritis in his hocks and him compensating. Since having his hocks remedicated he is tripping a lot less/barely at all.
 
Mine trips the odd time due to boredom/when I let him dawdle like someone said above. Hopefully it's nothing serious.
 
Suzie94 said:
Can anyone explain to me why horses trip when being ridden? My mare trips up on hacks quite often and I’m wondering if it’s the rough terrain, her not concentrating or a foot or balance issue ?
she did trip and fall once (ages ago) when prancing and cantering around the school (free schooling). She’s not lame in any way and looks absolutely fine on all legs whilst being ridden but then she’ll suddenly do a trip and catch herself. It’s happens every hack now. Our hacks are all off road.
Click to expand...
When mine was doing this, it turned out to be neck arthritis ?
 
Mine was a balance issue. Going barefoot helped the horse understand where it’s feet were - though regular trimming was still essential. Understanding how to ride the horse off its forehand was also critical-eventually I sold the horse to a rider who really understood this and could cope with the hoof maintenance.
 
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