tripping cob

jojo5

jojo5

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Hi again,
I hope we are allowed to do lots of posts - it's so great to be able to reach so many people for help etc.
I have a wonderful cob who I have owned for 13 years - he is now 20. he is a relatively laid back 'geezer' who likes to be economic with energy! In the last couple of years he trips occasionally when trotting, and also sometimes 'drops' a hind leg when walking. I mentioned this to the vet at his last 'MOT' (which went really well) who recommended a particular farrier who has shod him with quite upright feet, off the heels, and a supportive breakover. (I was dreading hearing the 'N' word.) This worked well to start with but the trips seemed to have returned. They are worse on hard ground. Of course I can't see exactly what he is doing as I am on him and I usually ride alone. He hardly ever does this when being led (is it my riding?). Any ideas.
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My boy is 22 and also used to do this. He has arthritis is there any chance it could be a little bit of stiffness that a joint supplement might help with. It has definitely helped with mine and although he does occasionally do it now whilst loosening up its not as often as it used to be. Very much it will be your riding.
 
Oh jj - he sounds lovely...my kind of boy!

Hopefully, the tripping is just a tiny reminder of the years catching up on him but I just wanted to flag something up for you to just be aware of - not suggesting at all that your ned has it. Don't mean to offend if you know all about it!

There's a condition called bi-lateral lameness. This means that the horse is lame to a pretty much equal degree in BOTH front feet. Because BOTH front feet hurt the same, the horse never appears lame. One of the tell tale symptoms is stumbling, especially on uneven ground or going downhill. The confirmation is to take the ned for a full lameness work up when one foot can be nerve blocked. If the horse is very lame in both feet, the result can be shocking. With one foot now not in pain at all because of the nerve block, the horse immediately shows up as horribly lame on the other foot. DJD and navicular syndrome are usually involved and it is more common in older neds that go on their forehand a lot.

Just keep an eye on your fabulous geezer and watch for any tell tale signs. Here's hoping you and he have another 20 happy years together xxx
 
Box of Frog, thanks for this, sorry for asking for more on someone elses post.

I replied in the other section that my 33 year old can do this occasionally if he's not going forward. You now have me worried that on days when I think he's a bit stiff and it takes a few hundred yards for him to loosen up that he's really worse than I think.

We have very good horse vets, would they have mentioned this to me, he is checked out regularly and they wanted to keep him going as long as possible, I can give bute if necessary but only need to before the farrier (for the farriers sake so he doesn#t get leaned on).

It doesn't matter to me whether he's in work or not he just enjoys it.
 
Hi,Thanks very much for this. My boy has his MOT in a few weeks time so I will mention the bi-lateral theory to him. He has devils claw to ward off twinges, but maybe I should add a joint supplement now too, hoping it's not too late.
Will add his pic when I work out how to find out how to do it!!!
 
to rtk fantastic that you are still doing a bit with a 33 year old! he may just need a bit of help along the danelon bute road for the cold damp weather, keeping them trundling along is the name of the game!
to jojo again an excellent age to still be working.is he tripping when ground is a bit uneven? keep toes short and breakover point back, sometime you need to remind the farriers as they shoe so many they sometimes forget the individuals exact problem or need? cod liver oil is good for the joints as are magnets or copper bands. devils claw can be very toxic to liver so i would suggest a liver detox supplement ?restart/ resolve or something similar. will try to get name of it tommorrow. ask the vet on his MOT but be wary of very expensive diagnostic analysis as it might add loads of exclusions on a insurance policy esp veterans.
 
rtk and jj - I'm not suggesting your neds have this, just awareness raising. My wonderful Highland x was my once in a lifetime find - perfect for a not very brave rider like me. Then he started being very slow on a favourite ride that involved a long steep downhill mile of lane. He'd get left behind the rest of the ride and when I chivvied him up a bit, he'd flatten his ears at me and would give a half hearted speed up for a stride or two. I also noticed that there was a bit of tarmac at the yard that seemed to slope in 25 different directions at once and Sullivan used to stumble over this regularly. I read an article in one of the horse mags about bilateral lameness and started to get suspicious. I took him to an excellent clinic for a full lameness work up and, to cut a very long story short, he was diagnosed with very severe djd and navicular syndrome. One of the tests they did was to nerve block one foot: the results were so shocking that I remember them to this day. He was hopping lame and could barely walk as his other foot hurt so much. BOTH feet would have been hurting the same. I felt dreadful for nagging him to get his backside in gear - I'd given him a smack or two as well. How he'd borne it without bucking me off I'll never know.

Just wanted to make sure people knew about it. Do let me know how your neds are xxx
 
Thank you, its good that I will now think to look for this. I went out riding yesterday with a lady who works at a sanctuary for oldies and mentioned it to her. After he had jogged out of the yard and tried to run off with me round a couple of the fields she thinks it is unlikely. However he does walk slower down hills now and doesn't like rough ground as much as he did, so something to keep an eye out for.
 
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