My horse fell on his knees while trotting on the road

[Carly/Dusty]

On Saturday my horse fell on his knees while trotting on the road , he isn't lame, he has a scuff on both knees , swelling on one , I'm concerned why he fell , he's a stocky ID with big shoulders , generally while hacking he can mis place his feet and be a bit trippy , but whilst schooling he doesn't trip , my Concern is is there a reason for the fall , I personally don't think horses fall on there knees , everyone I've spoke to says don't worry it's a one off but I feel there's got to be a reason , his feet are up to date , back and saddle checked less than 3 weeks ago - any advice etc greatly received thanks

 

[Goldenstar]

This can be nothing or something .
It's can be a indicator of heart problems in the old days a horse that tripped was sold immediately from smart yards owned by wealthy people .
But the more common nasty reason is foot trouble .
It's not something I would ever take lightly .

 

[PorkChop]

Oh no, I know how it feels, its horrible.

I've had one do this, and unfortunately it was due to her having an injury to her stifle that we didn't know about.

Of course, sometimes horses trip and slip for no reason, but I would go with your gut feeling. If the tripping is happening fairly regularly I would get it checked out. Also depends how old and green he is, if he is a big clumsy youngster then I might think about turning away for a bit.

Glad you are both ok and you are lucky to have gotten away with just scuffed knees. Might be worth investing in some knees boots if he gets the all clear.

 

[Auslander]

If horses didn't land on their knees when they tripped out hacking, knee boots wouldn't have been invented!
If he's in good health, well shod, and has no underlying issues, I'd be inclined to agree with the other people you've asked, and put it down to bad luck. If it happens again, or he is tripping a lot, then I'd start to worry that there was a problem. Mine often trips out hacking when he's not looking where he's going!

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Perhaps you might keep him up together more when schooling, so when hacking you might relax more & ride on a loose rein?
If so, then try keeping him up together a bit more & working from the rear

 

[Carly/Dusty]

thank you for comments, Hes 15.3 stocky irish draught hes 11 and ive had him 2 years, he had 5 stage vetting when I brought him, he can be a numpty when hacking hes quite spooky and a tourist !! Half of me feels because he doesn't trip in the school when hes working properly that when hacking its my error for not making him work correctly, I have now got knee boots, he has his jabs on Tuesday so am going to have a chat with vet then, but still have a gut feeling that something isn't right with him, I also habe a bulging disc in my back which can make me sit in central , just feel so worried hes my 3rd horse in 3 years my last one had wobblers and was pts, I'm nearly 100% sure its not wobblers

 

[pansymouse]

Having had a horse tip on the road land on his knee and slide a good metre removing all the flesh to the bone I would personally never ride any horse without knee boots. Thankfully the horse recovered fully but only after six months in 24/7 - he always had bald knees. 25 years on my heart still stops at any sign of a trip or stumble.

 

[YorksG]

Perhaps you might keep him up together more when schooling, so when hacking you might relax more & ride on a loose rein?
If so, then try keeping him up together a bit more & working from the rear

This 100%

 

[doodle]

Minto tripped twice. The first time he cut both knees, not baldy but enough to leave him with bald knees. He did it again shortly after although didn't actually go down. Shortly after he was diagnosed with fetlock arthritis. He never tripped again after it being treated and I'm sure it was as a result of arthritis.

 

[Orangehorse]

Mine as a youngster was a serial tripper and I nearly got to the point of not riding him again. Starting with the vet, who couldn't see anything wrong, working through chiropractor, physio, farrier, saddle fitters plus heaven knows what "alternative" people in the end it was a physio who had studied other "treatments" who got him right. He is a big, long horse with large shoulders, but he found it was his hind end not coming through enough, which ties in with the active riding/keeping up together. His whole back was stiff and tense, which I put down to his early training as I had had him looked over before he was broken in as he always seemed such a clumsy horse that didn't know where his feet were.
In fact his feet/brain connection doesn't always seem that great even now!

It affected my riding badly as I was always riding defensively, but now he is an older horse he doesn't trip.

 

[elsielouise]

What The Fuzzy Fury said. My mare did it once. 15 years ago. Never did it again and I know I was slopping on the buckle and paying no heed and she was a fairly green youngster who hadn't done much. If she is otherwise fit and healthy (and you are sure of that) then it may never happen again. Usual checks caveat.

 

[laura_nash]

Mine used to trip a lot, never went down onto his knees but it did spoil the ride and he finally tripped right over in canter on grass and gave me nasty whiplash. In his case taking the shoes off and going barefoot (with boots initially) was an immediate and complete cure.

 

[Mrs B]

All good answers and certainly worth talking it over with your vet, but equally it might just be a one-off.

A few years ago, I was leading my 15 yo IDxTB down the track from his field as usual. Good surface, alert horse (in a good way!), active walk .... when one day WHAM! nearly at the yard and down he went onto his knees. No warning, no reason he just somehow missed his footing.

Bless him, he got up and I bent down to examine his legs ... and suddenly his lovely grey face appeared next to mine, peering at his knees as if to say 'Am I OK, Mum?'

He was (fortunately, apart from a few cuts) and he never did it again.

Whichever it is, I hope you get to the bottom of it

 

[scats]

I had a nasty accident on my Dales pony about 9 or 10 years ago now. Out hacking and trotting along the bridlepath, he tripped and went onto his knees. Unfortunately the path sloped downhill slightly and the momentum made him somersault. I ended up face down on the floor with a pony on top of me.

He was prone to not picking his feet up but we never found a reason why. I rarely trotted out hacking after that.

 

[Fidgety]

If horses didn't land on their knees when they tripped out hacking, knee boots wouldn't have been invented!

I (and my fellow liveries) never used to hack out without knee boots, but in France nobody had come across them and even my instructor didn't know how to put them on. Since our return here, I've noticed that they're not as commonly used here as they used to be. I've only ever had a horse go down on his knees once with me (youngster who got his legs into a knot when he saw a petrol tanker for the first time), but I was thankful that he was dressed properly that day.

 

[Tyssandi]

On Saturday my horse fell on his knees while trotting on the road , he isn't lame, he has a scuff on both knees , swelling on one , I'm concerned why he fell , he's a stocky ID with big shoulders , generally while hacking he can mis place his feet and be a bit trippy , but whilst schooling he doesn't trip , my Concern is is there a reason for the fall , I personally don't think horses fall on there knees , everyone I've spoke to says don't worry it's a one off but I feel there's got to be a reason , his feet are up to date , back and saddle checked less than 3 weeks ago - any advice etc greatly received thanks

My mare did this last year

It could be



pain
long toes
lazyness
umbalanced
lack of concentration
worn shoes
to name but a few

 

[dozzie]

Something to monitor IMO. I would put knee boots on just to be on the safe side for now if you are worried.

 

[Equi]

My horse can be trippy if i let him "fall asleep" when hacking. Whilst i like to let him relax, i always keep him walk ON. He has a crap back end and tends to always be on the forehand but loads of back end strengthening and keeping him forward has helped him no end. He can still ride on the buckle and not trip now..so yeah. kick on!

 

[Sukistokes2]

My lad Ffin has alway tripped and also fallen over. He has been diagnosed with ring bone. If it's a one off I would put it down to bad luck, if it occurred more often I would suspect something being wrong. I am careful to watch where we are going, like someone else said, it's like Ffin can not feel his front feet. I only canter in areas where the ground is reasonable. I only do small bursts of trots. I've cultivated an upright and deep seat. . When he goes down I tend to go with him and them back up with him now. I always wear an air jacket,.

 

[Tnavas]

Tripping can be a sign of neck problems - talk to a good chiro - they are pretty good at fixing that.

Ash your farrier to fit rolled toed shoes. If you are concerned fit knee boots for road work - its something that all the livery horses wore - just in case

 

[Kezzabell2]

The only thing that would make me think that it could be something more, is that you say he keeps tripping when hacking!! is he a bit lazier out hacking than in the school? I only say that because my horse kept feeling like he wasn't picking his feet up around the farm and then we realised he wasn't comfortable in his remedial shoes, as soon as he had them taken off he didn't trip again....

 

[southerncomfort]

My girl tripped and fell on her knees last week. In her case we know she has stiff hocks but she also has a bad case of spring fever at the moment and just before she tripped she and my daughter were having a 'discussion' about speed and I don't think she was paying any attention at all to where her feet were. Luckily they were on the bridleway so no harm done but if it happened again without an obvious cause I think I'd be chatting to the vet

 

[Merrymoles]

I'm another who thinks get feet checked first - my former horse used to trip if his toes were left too long by the farrier - took me ages to realise that he had stopped tripping completely after we changed farrier.

That said, he could also get his legs in a tangle when spooking and came down with me twice on the road due to spooks - not on his knees but flat on his side. He wasn't injured either time, though I broke a finger and stabbed myself with my car keys the second time.

Definitely worth investigating but don't panic yet!