Sudden stop in canter and a broken back..

Degan

Degan

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Would like some thoughts on possible reasons and your experiences of a horse making a very sudden stop whilst cantering in the field. I haven't had any experience of this before...more used to not being able to stop in the field!

Subsequently I fell landing on my head and have fractured my back so nothing horsey for me for the next 6 weeks at least! Think H&H will be my boredom breaker!
 
Sorry to hear you are hurt. Could something have scared him/her? My boy will often come to a sudden halt if he sees a pigeon...he thinks they are the creatures of the devil and are out to get him
 
Yikes!

So sorry hunny.

Hate to mention it, but when I broke my back (compression fracture at L2), I had to wait six months.

Regarding the stop:

Scared
Tweaked a leg
Saddle slipped
Your body weight shifted
 
Thankyou for the replies, yes it could have been something to spook him, there were trees in the hedge line that we were coming near to, suppose it could have even been the shadows from the trees! his head did disappear rapidly between his legs! Got it on video too....I am trying not to watch it too much though, don't want to scare myself!

Oh no I don't like the idea of 6 months! Mine is a compression fracture to t6..
How do you find it now? Any long standing issues or pain?
 
I can't think of anything regarding the stop but I think just 6 weeks rest may be a little bit of wishful thinking! I had compression fractures to T11 T12 and L4 (as well as a broken hip and leg) it happened at the beginning of oct and didn't get back on until June and that was only for 5 mins to start with!! Fingers crossed for you though - hope you recover well and quickly!
 
Oh no I really have had wishful thinking haven't I, got the appointment with the spinal specialist on Friday so sure I will find out then! Quite scary how it appears so many of us have broken our backs - among other things!
 
I didn't know for two days.

Three days in hospital (continuation of visit to A&E).

Back brace for about three months.

Then just building up the muscles and strength again.

Muscles still go 'soild' for want of a better word, where the break was. The bones themselves are okay. Consultant wanted to pump it full of cement! But it would give no long term benefit and to my mind carried a risk.
 
I had a stable compression fracture of my T7 and ended up in a heavy duty corset for 3 months (less Victorian chic more storm trooper..) and then 6 months after care.

I was back on a horse 4 months after, not because I was told i could, but that was the first check up when they didn't specifically tell my I couldn't! Follow up wise - a very few aches and pains still (2 years later) and after several hours in the saddle/mucking out I can definitely feel it, but no other lingering complaints.

Wishing you a speedy recovery! They will seem like long months but you will get there..
 
The other thing it may have been was something it couldn't see but could smell, something rotting that you didn't smell, or even a snake they saw but you didn't.

Good luck with your recovery!
 
Owchh! So sorry. Hope you heal very quickly. Cannot think of reason for sudden stop other than as others have said - a form of spook.
 
my daughter broke her T12 last October, and got back on end Jan/beginning of Feb. She hasnt had any problems since. Just listen to what you specialist tells you, and take it easy ! Get well soon
 
I had a wedge fracture to T5 I lay for twelve weeks and then got going again needed a fair bit of physio as I got moving again was back on a horse quite quickly once I felt strong .
It's must be ten years ago now it needs a bit of physio but riding helps it the only time I feel it is when I don't ride.
I hope you go along ok.
Get some sheepskins for your heels and bum it stops them getting sore .
Each day that passes is a day sooner to getting your life back .
 
I had a compression fracture to my t12 last Oct - fell off whilst having lesson riding without stirrups!! I spent 5 days hospital; 6 weeks in a Mandonna look-a-like brace; supposed to have had bed baths all that time - uh, I don't think so! Told it would take 4-5 months before riding again and I'd have to agree that that was the case. i'm middle-age so don't heal so well! My mobility has been limited - rib cage got 'stuck' re brace. Having massive treatment re chiropractor which is much better. Got back in the saddle mid April; horsey died a week later (got grass sickness - heart broken) but got lovely friend who's let me ride hers and have lessons etc. Do get pain but doesn't stop me. Can't offer why horsey stopped I'm afraid above and beyond what others have said. Good luck though. And do take it easy, I was all 'gung ho' thinking I'd get back on sooner but body not up to it.
 
OUCH!!! hope you heal quickly! I had an unstable fracture of T11-T12, had to have surgery so now have rods and pins holding me together!! I had 15 weeks in a back brace, 4 months flat on my back, unfortunately i am still in alot of pain so still on morphine. I decided not to ride again, but am having a huge amount of fun driving my new pony!!
 
Mozzie said:
I had a stable compression fracture of my T7 and ended up in a heavy duty corset for 3 months (less Victorian chic more storm trooper..) and then 6 months after care.

I was back on a horse 4 months after, not because I was told i could, but that was the first check up when they didn't specifically tell my I couldn't! Follow up wise - a very few aches and pains still (2 years later) and after several hours in the saddle/mucking out I can definitely feel it, but no other lingering complaints.

Wishing you a speedy recovery! They will seem like long months but you will get there..
Click to expand...

Injury wise I did L1 but treatment was similar. 3 weeks in HDU and then 4 months in a back brace. I've got permanent damage though sadly. I got back on a horse at about the 4 month point. I had to know if my nerve had gone, so I got on my old cob, just for a few mins to see how I felt/if I could.

By the 5 month point I was riding again quite a lot and cantering and jumping and generally blatting about. It hurt a bit, but thats what drugs are for :D I think I needed to prove something to myself maybe, because theres no other logical explanation for doing something so flipping stupid :P However after being told specifically that I should never ride again due to the permanent damage :( I made the decision to not ride for a few months. It will be a year at the end of September and at around that point I'm hoping to start riding my own horse again.

Even now I couldnt muck out etc, and I'm not allowed to lift anything heavier than a handbag.

I'm in the unlucky 10% category that will have permanent problems, my consultant told me 90% of people go on to make a full recovery, and theres no reason why you shouldnt be in that category :)
 
First, sorry to hear about your injury. Hopefully his behaviour was a one-off, something spooked him and he slammed the brakes on. Was the ground hard? If so you were very unlucky, as if the ground were softer, you'd tend to roll more and be less injured. I hope you heal well and soon.

If it's not a one-off and he exhibits other strange behaviour, then I'd be a bit more wary and would want to investigate what could be causing it.

A friend of mine had an ex-racer TB horse that used to do exactly that, and sometimes he'd put in a 180 degree spin on halting too. Always always got her off. No warning. Nothing I could see, riding beside or behind her, to cause him to do it.

He also reversed into a ditch, ended up upsidedown with her wedged by one leg underneath him - luckily ditch was full of soft mud and sewage and she was able to slide out upwards from underhim and get herself into/through bottom of the hedge just before he went into major panic mode, thrashing wildly, extricated himself and we watched him gallop down the drove back to his field.

On another occasion he was tiedup in her yard, started mouthing his leadrope. He shook it and the loose end whacked him on the chest. He reared-up, snapped the twine and took off at warp speed towards the fence, slipped over and ended up wedged upsidedown on the roadplanings between fence and her parked car which he proceeded to hoof, denting every single panel down the righthandside. She had to slide into the car from the other side and slowly reverse it away from him. He got up, shook himself and started grazing.

She decided he wasn't the horse for her, found someone who wanted him on loan, loaded him into my trailer to deliver him. He travelled like a dream but as we went to walk him down the front ramp, he threw a wobbler, shredding the front rubber mat to pieces with his hooves as he exploded out.

One horse that I was just really really glad to see gone. (I liked my friend and he seemed like a deathwish). It was like a self-destruct switch in his head that used to go off, no warning, and he'd be in a complete panic for several seconds, and then be totally back to his usual quiet self again as if nothing had happened.

Dunno if it was neurological or pain-related but he did settle with his new owner so far as I know (she was more of a career rider than a happy hacker and took him on in order to do something like team chasing or suchlike with him).
 
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