My boy fell on the road today...any ideas?

SuperCoblet

SuperCoblet

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Ok, today we went up the woods for a good canter around, on our 2nd canter we waited for a minute or so for some people infront to go a bit so they didn't get squished! While we were waiting gypsy yawned and started to lean sideways as if he was going to fall over, I kicked him and he clicked out of it and was fine, and we went off cantering fine too.
On the way home, waiting to cross the road, I have no idea if he tripped or something but he stumbled down onto his knees and had a bit of a panic, poor thing cut his nose :(
Got him home and cleaned him up, all ok, thank god it was just a graze!

It's all just a bit weird, we've had him for 3 years now and nothing like this has ever happened! :(
 
You don't say how old he is? To be honest I wouldn't worry too much if he seems otherwise healthy. Horses DO trip occasionally, just one of those things. At least he didn't damage his knees as well. However, if you see him stumbling when not ridden, or if it happens again, perhaps it will need further investigation.
 
I'd have the vet out, def not something you want to risk happening again so I would pick their brains. Glad to hear he is ok, hope it turns out to be nothing, or at least something easily fixed! It is v rare but horses can get narcolepsy, OH used to know of one. She could still be ridden perfectly normally, just had a tendency to a wobble during boring times if in halt and you had to be rather careful about leaving her tied up on the yard! Happy, healthy working mare though, so not as scary as it sounds!
 
I think I'd get the vet to check him out tbh.

Although sis has a bad knee from our gelding falling over onto her years ago. They were on a long hack to the farriers, they had both 'dozed off', sis realised that they were going to be late, kicked gelding on, startled him and he fell over. There was no underlying cause.
 
Wagtail said:
First thing that springs to mind is narcolepsy. Not had any first hand experience of it though.
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It's pretty rare. What is more common is when a horse develops a body issue that prevents it from lying down easily. This inability to allow a deep sleep eventually leads to sleep deprivation and the horse falling asleep suddenly in sheer exhaustion.

Not that I'm suggesting that's what's happening here.
 
Wagtail said:
First thing that springs to mind is narcolepsy. Not had any first hand experience of it though.
Click to expand...

That's what I thought as well when I read the OP.

Given that it happened, or possibly happened, twice in one hack, I'd get the vet out to check him over. Certainly wouldn't ride again until I knew for sure - apart from the possible damage to the horse, a horse landing on one's leg is not good!
 
Goodness, odd to have similar ish symptoms? What turned out to be the prob with the other horse? Could there be something growing in the fields that could build up and give these sorts of symptoms?
Def vet anyway.
Keep us posted and try not to worry yourself (though it is easy to do!!).
 
We've had a walk around the field today and can't find anything there that shouldn't be, plus plenty of grass that should keep him away from anything we can't see! I'm going to speak to the lady that owns one of the other horses, she's very 'vetty' and does homeopathy too.
 
Something in the water perhaps? Bit of a coincidence to have two with a similar problem. What about something in a stable? Paint or wood treatment or something? Sounds like they both ingested something a bit trippy! Could they have been nobbled even?

Strange. If you do get to the bottom of it-be interesting to know what it is.
 
The other horses are on the same water and field are fine, just sectioned off. Gypsy hasn't been in his stable for over a week & I lunged him yestoday and he was fine.
What do you mean by nobbled?
Thanks x
 
Mine fell on me on the road last week and my knee is still bruised and a bit ouchy so definatly get him checked out. As it happens we landed on my knee and his shoulder and the vet was coming the next day and couldnt find any thing wrong with him just put it down to a lapse in concentration (he was looking at a parked lorry :rolleyes:) but I would rather have him checked than risk it happening again.
 
When I first got my mare I had her on rubber matting with a tiny amount of shavings on top. One day I was in the stable with her and she was dozing off and all of a sudden she just fell straight to her knees, woke up and panicked. Thankfully she was ok. When I asked the vet about narcolepsy etc and what could have caused it she suggested it is most likely due to the fact she isn't lying down and getting enough REM sleep when she is in the stable. She was changed onto deep litter shavings and I have never seen her do anything like that again. Just a thought for you - maybe it's something along those lines?
 
Thanks all, we were just grounding to a halt at the time, so sort of moving. No idea how he tripped though, his hooves are all scratched too :(

Thinking about it this evening, could it be a lack of sugar?
He used to be on Molichop, which is full of sugar, and we've now changed him (about a month ago) to the new Dengie unmollased chaff, he is also up the field 24/7 recently which is kinda crap grass, good for him as he's so fat!
 
I would get the vets just to do a quick blood test and have a look at him trot up it may be that it could be a simple as he needs a good sleep, or he might have a slight foot imbalance or maybe he might just be starting with joint changes causing him to trip.
Hope he is better soon and it was a one off episode.
xxxx
 
I dont think you should ignore this, get your vet out also i wouldnt ride him until hes seen the vet.
A healthy horse is unlikely to just lean sideways and fall when standing still.
This could be anything from an inner ear infection to some neuro problem, better investigated thoroughly by your vet
 
My old lad went down on his knees on the way home yesterday too. He's just a bit thick sometimes. He then almost did it again because he was trying to eat whilst walking and kicked himself in the face...

But then, he's 19 with a history of being a bit dim with his legs...
 
Spoke to my friend, she suggested feeding sugar beet, he's been quite 'not himself' recently and needs that extra go in him, she also thinks the extra calcium will do him good, it may just be he got tired and wasn't concentrating, will buy some tomorrow and see how it goes for a week, if nothing I'll call the vet :)
 
I have seen some reports on horses which do this.

Apparently a lot of the damage they do to themselves is below the knee. Bandages are recommended to protect the fetlocks
 
iamSanta said:
What do you mean by nobbled?
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Doped/fed something he shouldn't have been. Are there gates onto roads or footpaths or anything he could get to?

Oddly enough, my four year old tripped up with me just a couple of days ago, just mooching along then stumbled almost to her knees (well held that mare!) and went back to mooching. Tiny cut on pastern and scuffed hooves. Think she just wasn't concentrating but reading what people are saying about lack of quality sleep, that might have some bearing on her case at least. Recently moved yards and she's in until late afternoon, usually lies down for a snooze but she got herself cast the other day and I think she scared herself. No sign of her having laid down in her box for a couple of days after. If your chap is out it could be hard to tell if he's sleeping properly or not. Anaemia can cause tiredness but I'd have thought something like that would show in other ways too.
 
I wouldn't worry unduly about a one-off, as it could be a number of things. But I've recently had a livery horse here with narcolepsy and your description did sound familiar.

Narcolepsy is related to an inability to/fear of lying down, so basically it's 'falling asleep on one's feet'. Most commonly it occurs when the horse is stationary and in a comforting position, such as tied up in the yard being groomed or saddled, with familiar sounds around it and a feeling of safety. It's more unusual, if your horses DOES have narcolepsy, for it to happen out on a rid but it does happen. If not woken up they will almost collapse, but usually right themselves just in time.

It's a very understudied ailment in UK, it seemed to me, but quite a lot has been done in the US and in Australia. You can Google some interesting stuff. It's not the end of the world. Our horse's owner coped with it very well, and the old boy lived to be 24 and died of unrelated causes. Just keep an eye on your horse, and probably seek veterinary advice if it happens again.
 
Thanks, we have seen him lie down sleeping in the field a few times, he's in company and in a place he knows very well. Like I said, were going to put him on sugar beet and see how he goes, I've been wanting to hive him it for a while anyway to hive him that little more energy, but this is making me hurry up and actually buy it!!
 
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