How often do horses fall over???

soulfull

soulfull

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In the field, without back shoes??

Someone at my yard said the horses were messing around and Micah tried to join in but fell over twice within a few minutes :eek::(

He is going to Leahurst next week as he has been having serious lameness problems over the last few weeks

He seemed no worse for it but am worried obviously
 
mine did it once with me on her (reared and fell) :eek::rolleyes: but she was totally fine. I think they're quite hardy really, and also when they fall they seem quite relaxed in their body so it probably wont hurt them as much whereas we silly humans stiffen and put our arms/ legs out to prevent it :p
 
My four year old is very bouncy in the field, hardly ever walks anywhere, its usually flat out galloping, cantering and bucking on every stride or on the spot rodeo efforts. Last week I moved the electric fence and she was so excited , bucking and spinning around that her back legs slipped and she fell in a crumpled heap on her side, sat there a second then jumped up. This isn't the first time I have seen her slip over being a prat. She only has front shoes on.
Its pretty slippery at the moment and if they are lively then they are chancing slipping over and I suppose some are just more clumsy than others.
 
Possibly more than we think they do. I've seen 2 colts and 1 filly fall over in the field in the last 3 weeks, more so because they are young and playful and the ground has just started to change where it has been so dry and the bits of rain and frost have made a really slippy surface but my horse has fallen over a few times in the 10yrs i've had him but he's not young, just a knob :). He's shod as well.
 
My mare slipped over out hunting, going through a muddy gateway. She was rushing (as usual!) and we took the corner too sharp, her back end disappeared under her and she landed on her side, and on my leg. Luckily the ground was v soft so I just squashed into the mud! She was absolutely fine, in fact had a whale of a time cavorting off into the distance, the field all stopping to help catch her/ laugh at the girl covered in mud a mere 2 minutes after we moved off/ laugh at the fat spotty pony snorting and prancing after the masters horse, doing a flashy extended trot she will never do when I actually ask her to and her tail laid up over her back like an arab. Embarrassed is not the word!
 
My filly falls over all the time. She likes to gallop about like a mad thing and doesn't take account for ground conditions so if it has been raining, over she goes! She went twice in ten minutes last weeekend.
 
My cob once fell over in the field when a fellow livery turned her mare out with him and she galloped down the field and ran straight into him :eek: He trips and goes face first into the ground every now and then while I'm riding too, but other than that not much of revelvance. But easily done while it's slippy I would think...
 
*Good luck vibes for Micah*

My youngsters have fallen over a few times while playing, particually if they try to turn too quickly while moving fast. My mare has fallen over while I was riding her. we were going over a canal bridge and a swan flew out from under the bridge. She spooked so badly that she just lost her footing on the slope. I led her straight home, but luckily she was fine apart from a couple of grazes.
 
i think it depends on the individual really! my horse has never fallen when ive been riding him (hope i havent jinxed it...) but has done pretty much everything else, his speciality is getting cast. the only time that hes fallen when ive been there was once he was very excited to get his feed and rushed into his stable and slid on his arse, proceeded to eat his feed while still sitting down.. but his stable mate is really clumsy and stumbles all the time. i think its funny (not in a haha way) that some horse can do 4star xc and finish without fault, and others can trip and land on their face just trotting round the school!
 
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Spud quite often falls over in the field - generally due to doing sharp handbrake turns at speed. But that's because he's a fool. He has the attention span of a goldfish and just changes his mind at random about where he wants to go while he's going too fast to be able to do it safely. Touch wood he's never done it ridden. Although the way he takes some bits of moorland I wonder how he does stay upright....

H fell over a couple of times ridden when he was a gangly youngster, but once his ridden balance improved he stopped.

Wolf's favourite game is making his fieldmates fall over if that counts.

I think you can tell whether it's a 'whoops' fall or whether it is due to stiffness or pain.
 
I think what you need to ask yourself is it out of character for your horse, have you watched him in the field much before and seen him fall over. When you have a lame horse (as i do at the moment) you are so keen to notice evry little thing, it ends up making you very paranoid.

My mare has just had an arthroscopy for a chip fracture in her hock at Leahurst for hind leg lameness, i had her investigated as i started noticing little things didn't seem quite right with her, i wrote a list as & when they were happening and it started to add up. It remains to be seen if my mare will come sound but i know i have given her the best possible chance.

Leahurst were brilliant, my mare was seen by a Peter Milner who was very very thorough, i took along my written list and he looked at every different angle and explained the reasons for how my mare was acting, whatever is wrong with your horse they will get to the bottom of it i'm sure. The best of luck.
 
If the ground is slippery and wet, and they are being silly - often. Otherwise, not that often. When we get a bit of rain, I find that one or other of the horses sometimes gets a bit sore for a day or two, and I usually figure they have slipped. (Not necesarily right over - but enough to pull something).
 
my TB was having a little canter around on her own in the field and she just slipped with her back leg and landed on her side before rolling over (kind of like a rotational fall), she lay there for a few seconds and got up, she seemed fine afterwards.
i had a sec B colt before and he was being an idiot running around the field, he fell in a crumpled heap, got up quick, shook himself off and then carried on after looking around to make sure no one saw! :D
 
funny enough my little palo did that yesterday , he was chasing one of the liveries being a GIT which he is allot of the time .. I was screaming for him to leave her alone.


I was up field with tractor I looked over the liveries pony stopped and turned , he did too but lost his footing and fell over on his side. In the end i had to jump of tractor and go get head collar get her in.


I have seen many of them fall over when charging about. Some look very embarrassed when they get up, other just dust it over and carry on.

Trouble is when they are hooling around sometimes they forget to switch to 4 x 4 mode , and do sharp turns in the wet or snow and over they go
 
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Last summer my loan boy fell over on the lunge- no, the circle was not tiny, he was just cantering around on the right rein and suddenly, BAM- he was on the floor, he looked terribly embarrassed though and bless him was back on his feet cantering again before I'd fully processed what had happened.

The right rein was his bad rein and he struggled to get the right leg on it.. on this occasion, he was back on the right lead straightaway, of course I stopped him though and called it a day!
 
Mahoganybay said:
I think what you need to ask yourself is it out of character for your horse, have you watched him in the field much before and seen him fall over. When you have a lame horse (as i do at the moment) you are so keen to notice evry little thing, it ends up making you very paranoid.

My mare has just had an arthroscopy for a chip fracture in her hock at Leahurst for hind leg lameness, i had her investigated as i started noticing little things didn't seem quite right with her, i wrote a list as & when they were happening and it started to add up. It remains to be seen if my mare will come sound but i know i have given her the best possible chance.

Leahurst were brilliant, my mare was seen by a Peter Milner who was very very thorough, i took along my written list and he looked at every different angle and explained the reasons for how my mare was acting, whatever is wrong with your horse they will get to the bottom of it i'm sure. The best of luck.
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Fingers crossed for you mare!!


I think that is why I'm worried he is in a tiny paddock, not even big enough to get speed up(<20m x 20m) and it is not like him, he is normally so well balanced. I've watched him a lot in the field over that last 2 yrs and seen some hairy stuff when he should have gone flying but never did. He always did some airs above ground and landed like a ballerina
 
soulfull said:
Fingers crossed for you mare!!


I think that is why I'm worried he is in a tiny paddock, not even big enough to get speed up(<20m x 20m) and it is not like him, he is normally so well balanced. I've watched him a lot in the field over that last 2 yrs and seen some hairy stuff when he should have gone flying but never did. He always did some airs above ground and landed like a ballerina
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It sounds then that it is probably something to do with his current lameness issues, we know our horses inside & out above any medical professional and know when something is not right.

I would highly recommend that you make a list of anything that is 'not quite right' and take it to Leahurst with you because on the day of the lameness workup there is so much going on (so many vets / students vets etc) all looking at your horse that it is quite easy to forget something. That way then you can come away knowing that you have given them all the information they need to get a correct diagnosis.

My mare was examined for about 2 hours in all and i was able to give them even the minute of details.

Best of luck xx
 
YOs little pony does it all the time in the field - he likes to whizz everywhere and slides over. Its funny coz it doesnt even really slow him down! My horse has fallen a few times - mostly through being a muppet and not paying attention :rolleyes: but no problems because of it :) I suspect when theyre in the field and messing around they probably fall over a lot more than we realise they do tho!
 
Mahoganybay said:
It sounds then that it is probably something to do with his current lameness issues, we know our horses inside & out above any medical professional and know when something is not right.

I would highly recommend that you make a list of anything that is 'not quite right' and take it to Leahurst with you because on the day of the lameness workup there is so much going on (so many vets / students vets etc) all looking at your horse that it is quite easy to forget something. That way then you can come away knowing that you have given them all the information they need to get a correct diagnosis.

My mare was examined for about 2 hours in all and i was able to give them even the minute of details.

Best of luck xx
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Thanks I was thinking it must be related!!
I have done a list and more details etc and emailed it along with the videos. hopefully it will help them
 
about once every 2 years
did it first when we were out hunting - took a corner too fast ....
2x whilst loose schooling
2x in Windsor great park - both times were taking corners too fast - pulled up late at a Tjunction - one time coming round a bend too fast and slipped on the grass

He's an ex racer so sometimes he/I dont realise his spead - a canter for us is sometimes a gallop for our friends! so now I only take him up to the gallops - the surface is guaranteed - the corners are nice and flowing and I can jsut let him go without having to worry ....
 
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