Tripping horse -any ideas?

[Bri]

This morning my 4 year old tripped whilst being ridden, came down and rolled onto my ankle. 3 hours in A & E and soft tissue and ligament damage later, I'm now feeling a little worse for wear and wondering if anyone could offer some insight.

I know it's quite common for youngsters to be a bit unbalanced and stumble a bit, but this is now the 4th or 5th time it's happened. The first time he was trotting in the school and his legs just seemed to go from underneath him. I landed a few metres away over his head, and he lay there looking very bemused for a minute or so before scrambling up. He has fallen down just to his knees 2 or 3 times out hacking too. This morning he was literally just walking through the field. It was a forward, active walk - he wasn't slouching along on a loose rein or anything. He is fairly balanced for a 4 year old but he went down on his knees, scrambled to get up and ended up rolling onto his side instead.

He has rolled toes already after the last time it happened, and he was shod last week so I don't think it's a problem with feet being too long?

The vet is due up tomorrow anyway so YO will be getting her to have a look, but just wondered if it can be something serious causing it, or if its just a baby thing?

Have to admit, I'm feeling pretty shaken about the whole thing now. Think I may be most traumatised by the fact that they cut off my Dubarry's

 

[Shilasdair]

There are quite a few reasons why horses stumble; poor conformation, lack of muscle behind, poor foot balance, early signs of neurological damage, selenium deficiency, being allowed to go on the forehand, joint problems.
S

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Have to admit, I'm feeling pretty shaken about the whole thing now. Think I may be most traumatised by the fact that they cut off my Dubarry's

I am not surprised!

Seriously, I think the vet visit sounds like a good idea. The first question I would ask, is the vets opinion of the foot conformation/balance/farriery. We have been very fortunate to always have had very good farriers but there are certainly some less than expert farriers who work in this area. A friend has recently changed farriers and is astonished at the difference in her horse's way of going. She is now kicking herself, that she let this go on for so long, after had a very good farrier previously. It is very easy to not see gradual differences over months.

 

[Bri]

Thanks Shilsasdair - although I'm no expert, I don't think it's a confo/foot issue. Farrier and YO didn't think so either. Although he can be on the forehand at times, he wasn't on any of the occasions when he tripped.

I've had 2 youngsters before him and what he does just feels very different from unbalanced, baby stumbling. I know every horse is different, but it does really feel like his legs just go out from under him.

Only been confined to the sofa for half a day and already the boredom has shifted to paranoia!

 

[Bri]

Pearlsasinger - I will admit I almost cried when they took the scissors to one of them. Thank god for gas and air!

Interesting comment about the Farrier. He is used by all of our yard, and does a lot of remedial shoeing (seems like the whole yard is full of horses with issues!). He works quite closely with our vet, so I'd imagine she would be satisfied with what he's done. Will definitely ask her if that could be a cause though. Here's hoping it's something that simple!

 

[Shilasdair]

Hmmm
I can't tell you why your horse trips, but there are a number of practical things you could do.
Firstly, get him checked out by a vet and if you can a (qualified) physiotherapist to ensure he has physical issues.
Secondly, get a saddler to check the fit/balance of his saddle, and that his tack is fine.
Thirdly, put knee boots on him when you ride, and wear a hat and body protector, buy safety stirrups, and make sure you ride him up and forward.
Fourthly, give him a broad spectrum vitamin/mineral supplement (check that it does contain selenium in particular).
Fifthly, do exercises to improve his foot co-ordination - walking and trotting over poles, then raised poles, do simple leg yield, take him out on rougher hacks, up and down hill, to teach him to be foot sure.
Finally, if he's only four, and you've noticed a growth spurt recently - this could be the problem. When a horse grows, it takes him a while to realise that his legs are longer, etc, and to adjust to the new balance.
Hope this helps
S

 

[mrdarcy]

Interesting comment about the Farrier. He is used by all of our yard, and does a lot of remedial shoeing (seems like the whole yard is full of horses with issues!).

He does the whole yard and the majority of the horses have issues? Hummmm.... is there some connection there I wonder? It would be worth getting a different farrier out and getting a second opinion. Don't tell them that you are having issues with tripping just that you'd like their opinion on your horses' feet. It might be illuminating.

 

[Orangehorse]

Get a chiropractor to look at him. Mine did this, he tripped and fell and it got the point where I had nightmares about it and thought that if he did it again I would stop riding him altogether at the age of 6. He has big shoulders and is long and naturally on his forehand a bit, and was always a bit clumsey in general.

I had the vet, change of farrier, change of saddle, physios, back people, shiatsu, you name it I tried it. Everyone helped a bit, but every time I rode him in the field or out on a hack he had one good trip - enough for him to mark his hoof from the road. Of course I rode him in knee boots and was grateful for them a time or two.

When the new chiropractor first saw him he said "I can't fix all this in one visit." Remember that I had had already had every "expert" within a 30 mile radius.

The theory was that his back wasn't working correctly, so that it wasn't allowing his front legs to follow through correctly. Because of his long back conformation and way of moving it was just enough to impede the correct movement.

This chap fixed him and I was able to remove the knee boots and really I don't think he has hardly tripped since, although he has regular visits, about twice a year, and he is 12 now.

 

[Shilasdair]

It's not often I agree with Mrdarcy but I'd be mightily suspicious of a whole yard where the majority of horses have 'issues' with their feet to the extent that they require remedial shoeing...
S

 

[Pearlsasinger]

He does the whole yard and the majority of the horses have issues? Hummmm.... is there some connection there I wonder? It would be worth getting a different farrier out and getting a second opinion. Don't tell them that you are having issues with tripping just that you'd like their opinion on your horses' feet. It might be illuminating.

I'd be really interested to see an update, with another farrier's opinion.

 

[canteron]

Poor you - and I know how horrible it is because I came off a couple of times when my youngster tripped. However, hope this tale cheers you up a bit.

He seemed to grow a bit when he when he was 4/5ish and become quite unbalanced and started tripping all the time - and didn't seem to be able to walk and look at things at the same time - he even tripped in the field on his own if something distrated him!

I just slowed the whole training process down and really concentrated on getting him working properly (which involved me having to be very opened minded about how I rode) and first of all concentrated on walk and trot in the school, with very limited canter being done on the lunge at first to build up his back and help him find his own balance.

So rather than large hacks we did short hack at walk after schooling and took him to shows, etc rather than doing that 'growing up' education bit by pure hacking.

A year on he hardly trips at all and when he does can normally balance himself and to be honest I have really enjoyed having a quiet year when I could just enjoy him for the things he could do and!!

One thought to add to the above, I needed to ensure that my balance was pretty spot on and that my seat was a secure as it could be, so found a good biomechanics teacher, which having tweaked a few things meant I knew I wasn't adding to the problem.

Good luck!!

PS Teacher really brilliant. If you want details PM me!

 

[thinlizzy]

My newly backed and newly purchased 3yo did this he grew alot in first year.He grew from 14.2/3 to 15.1hh and havent measured him properly now last three months, i found he tripped alot last year hacking out on his front feet, he was concentrating on having a good nose than were he was putting his feet !But i did have his shoes removed and kept on hacking out in walk for months .This year he has been fab i was worried he might trip at faster work trotting cantering jumping but hes been great , no issues we did have a fall last year on take off over a little jump and he fell on his stomach and i went over his head .
I did get back on and went over again, i find he clears fences really high now .It might be just your horse is young, when was he backed and whats he done ?If hes grew alot might just be down to being a baby it can be worrying though, hope this helps!

 

[JJtheJetPlane]

I can understand exactly what your going through. I have also had the same problems. My 5 yr old whom i bred fell to her knees and twice rolled onto her side looking very confused three times last yr. All three occasions when hacking. I also couldnt put my finger on the reason. All i can say is she didnt feel as though she actually tripped more like her front legs buckled and she made no attempt to save her self. So like you i had a vet check two diff physios..New saddle as i felt slightly tippped to one side. I had a constant fear that we were going to end up on the floor if we did anything but walk. My mare has quite upright pasterns and i have put it down to the fact she is a big draft type, Big bodied with a heavy neck and head. She was growing and weak and basically had everything going against her. She would also loose concentration etc. Anyway this yr i have not had one trip yet and we are now out cantering on fun rides, jumping etc. Taking it steady and i always try to keep her up infront of me and focused. I also think the hacking this yr has helped strengthen her pasterns and her legs. I pretty much always wear knee boots for road work. I would say take it steady lots of road work and like someone previously said diffrent terrain to make him aware of where he is putting his feet and most of all time to grow into himself Some horses are a bit slower to get there balance etc . Im sure your horse will grow out of it like my horse is. She isnt 100% yet but i think thats me to be honest expecting her to fall. I think it takes us longer to get over it that them

 

[JJtheJetPlane]

OOOw ment to ask whats the relevence of selenium in the diet ??

 

[Achinghips]

A friend of mine had this recently. Turned out horse was suffering sleep deprivation, being in field alone, wouldn't go into deep sleep, just REM. vet recommended bringing in at night for deep sleep at least twice per week, horse cured. Wierd 'eh?

 

[Bri]

Sorry - I should clarify that. By issues with feet, I mean 2 have navicular so have aluminium shoes, and another 2 have pads - I'm not sure why, but know they didn't used to and it is on advice from vets that they all now have remedial shoeing.

Will still definitely consider getting another opinion - he has only been shod 3 times, as was barefoot before hand so I don't know whether this could be causing him to trip?

Thanks for all the similar stories, nice to know it's quite a common thing. Looks like there are lots of avenues to explore, so will start with the vet and take it from there.

Canteron - the biometrics teacher sounds really interesting. Was it just like a normal lesson but concentrating on position?

I did wonder, pony had a mysterious virus march/april time that caused him to lose alot of weight, muscle and condition. He seems to have fully recovered from it now - with regards to putting the condition and muscle back on, but wondering if this alongside the tripping might be a sign of something neurological?

 

[Bri]

Rotchana - that's very weird! Horse is out at night with 6 others, but comes in every day and will usually lie down and sleep for the majority of it. There is no consistency between the tripping and whether I ride him just after he comes in, or before he goes out. But definitely worth considering that he may just be tired! Will mention that to the vet also. Thanks!

 

[RoscoeBlue]

I had this exact same issue about a year ago with my 4 yr old cob

he's always been a little lazy and very very clumsy but seemed to trip whenhe was more forward going - he would trip in the schooland on hacks even when he was marching forward.

We had the vet to him and they checked eyes and heart etc, no probs

Then they did some on-yard neurological tests - nothing

Blood tests - nothing

I had him tested for hypothyroidism as he had quite a few of the symptoms - this was negative

Farrier looked at him - no foot issues, no confirmation issues, and he refused to roll his toes as he said this wasnt the problem and he didnt want to alter the shape of his "perfect feet"

The vet then wanted to send him to horsey hospital for tubes and wires etc etc...

In the meantime i managed to get myself a lesson with a very good local instructor

She rode him and oh my did he get a shock - he was made to wake up!!

Anyway, after she had ridden him the senior vet rang to tell me that all the tests had been clear and in his opinion it was a case of the horse, despite being forward, was still lazy in that he most probably wasnt putting much effort into bending his knees (despite being quite forward) He seemed to think that because the horse was allowed to be sleepy and lazy in every other aspect of his life then he saw no need to not be lazy whilst ridden!

Anyway to cut a very long story short, the vets bill cost over £400 without the horesy hospital visit. I continued with the lessons and made sure when leading him to and from the field he had to walk forward and be alert etc

Its been about 9/10 months since and he hasnt tripped like he used to at all. In fact his whole demeanour has changed - hes still a typical laid back cob but has a bit more life in his eyes and feels much safer to ride!

However I cant say that this is what the issue is with your horse and would still consider a vets visit for the basics, but hopefully it is something he will get out of by having correct schooling and being made to use his back end and step through properly - good luck and let us know what happens

Oh and btw, i managed to get a video clip of him falling with me in the school and the vet looked at this and this is what helped him come to his decision re his lazyness!