Stumbling horse

[nat_a_528]

Hi guys
My 6 year old tb is constantly stumbling , more so when going down hill . He is shod on fronts and is only doing this in walk at the moment , but worried as thought he was going to fall with me the other day . Any ideas ?

 

[Birker2020]

Hi guys
My 6 year old tb is constantly stumbling , more so when going down hill . He is shod on fronts and is only doing this in walk at the moment , but worried as thought he was going to fall with me the other day . Any ideas ?

It could be that his toes are too long. Maybe ask your farrier to 'roll' his toes. This will help with the breakover point of the toe. Here is an explanation about break over http://enlightenedequine.com/2012/01/14/a-closer-look-at-breakover/

Horses that are ridden hollow with their heads in the air tend to stumble more. Horse can stumble if they have navicular disease or if they have ringbone or sidebone or other arthritic problems. A horse can also stumble a lot if it has a back or stifle problem. This is particularly in the case of stumbling whilst going downhill.

Finally laziness or tiredness can be the cause of stumbling.

If you can rule out laziness/tiredness, schooling and shoeing then I would ask a physio to assess your horse and see if he has issues in the back or hind quarters.

 

[claracanter]

My 5 year old TB does this and he has hock problems so I would get it checked out if I were you.