What would you do as im not sure

ibot

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 March 2008
Messages
2,924
Location
Who Knows Moved That Often
Visit site
hey girls and one or two boys :D

ok here is my background story

i own a 7 year old friesian gelding i have had him for coming up to 3 years.
since i have owned him i have fallen off him 4 times in total but 3 of those times is because he has fallen. two times is when we have been in the school cantering and he has fallen. last year we both were ok but i ended up on crutches for 2 months with a LOT of leg damage but nothing broken.
he has also fallen in trot.
i was riding him on sunday when he fell again in canter i was lucky i flew over the top of him and ive broken a couple of ribs and a nice bruised hand. Paddy is fine thou.

Now i am not sure what to do i think the first time its one of those things but now its happened 3 times when i have been riding him i am starting to wonder 1, if i am going to be so lucky next time :confused: and 2 if there could be an underlining issue.

I have the back guy out regularly and the dentist and the farrier.
all have been checked although the back guy is due out start of Sept.

He is a big boy and can be clumsy my yard manager thinks its the fruit fermenting in his stomach :confused::confused::confused: which i have never heard of??
now he has been having one bit of fruit a day so that is hardly enough to go loopy on??
Please tell me what you would do

thank you
Nicky
xx
 

Shay

Well-Known Member
Joined
17 August 2008
Messages
7,345
Visit site
You need to get the vet out and try to get this figured out. All horses trip or stumble occasionally - but unless your school is really dreadfully uneven this is too much of a co-incidence. If you leave it both you and he may be seriously hurt one day.

And I should know - I broke my back when my horse fell with me. We were just cantering in the school too.
 

hoggedmane

Well-Known Member
Joined
7 December 2008
Messages
1,100
Visit site
I have had this happen twice to me (in 40 years of riding). Two different horses but both slipped sideways going round a corner (incidentally both times jumping). Did he slip or was it an unexplained fall?
 

ibot

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 March 2008
Messages
2,924
Location
Who Knows Moved That Often
Visit site
our school has a really good surface he trips a bit as i sometimes think he forgets his size :)

i have no idea why its almost like his feet go from under him but as i have been riding him its just what i feel.
on sunday he sat there also looking a bit confused about what he was doing on the ground it was very strange :confused:
he does trip out hacking but im concerned now.
Shay i am sorry to hear you broke your back this is one of my great worries.
i was going to get the back guy out. last time it happened was around this time last year. when he came back into work the back guy said he was grand but i had a healer come and see him and he said his shakra (i that right) was blocked at his withers and to check the saddle and it was to tight. i have checked his saddle this time and seems fine.
 

Pearlsasinger

Up in the clouds
Joined
20 February 2009
Messages
44,733
Location
W. Yorks
Visit site
I'd get a vet to check him out and an instructor to assess your riding, as if he's physically ok, this must be down to not keeping him up together enough when ridden.
 

gunnergundog

Well-Known Member
Joined
27 August 2010
Messages
3,293
Visit site
Hi
Please do not take this the wrong way, but it is hard to visualise what is happening without actually being there and seeing it, okay?

Sooo, if your horse is falling down/collapsing/crumpling, PLEASE GET THE VET!! :) It could be a number of things from the relatively trivial to the very serious, but it needs sorting by someone who is qualified to diagnose and that is the vet and not the backman, farrier or anyone else. :)

Now, this is the bit I don't want you to take offence at......IF the horse is stumbling/losing balance and you are falling off as a result of being insecure in the saddle, to be honest, I would also get the vet if you are relatively inexperienced!! Someone else may be able to say it's due to inappropriate shoeing or a back problem, but better to be safe than sorry and I'm sure you
don't want to end up on crutches again....or worse!

Good luck!
 

AmyMay

Situation normal
Joined
1 July 2004
Messages
65,917
Location
South
Visit site
Sorry just seen it is in the school only.

I would think a few thimgs ate going on.

1. The school is too deep for him

2. The school is poorly maintained, causing your horse to go through to the membrane and concrete below - and loosing his footing.

3. Rider error.
 

Tiffany

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 October 2007
Messages
6,922
Location
Derbyshire
Visit site
Sorry to hear you've had another fall & understand your concern. Falling/stumbling this often isn't normal IMO. Could be a balance issue or there could be an.unfeeling problem. Do you have lessons? I think I'd be getting him checked by a vet for your sake & his.
 

Mince Pie

Well-Known Member
Joined
13 June 2011
Messages
9,760
Visit site
How is he shod? I had a clydie mare who was very overweight and had never been schooled who regularly tripped. I put Natural Balance shoes on her and she never tripped again in her life.
 

meesha

Well-Known Member
Joined
5 October 2006
Messages
4,264
Location
Somerset
Visit site
Is it worth trying to lunge him in the school so you can see how he is going and how he copes with the surface etc. I would keep him on as big a circle as possible and start in walk then trot if he seems ok and then only ask for canter if he looks balanced - it may give you a better picture of where the problem is. As AmyMay said it could just be the school. If possible you could then repeat the exercise on a good bit of grass (obvously not wet or slippery). If you arnt used to lunging you may want to ask someone else to lunge for you - this would give you a chance to watch and also get a second opinion.

Hopefully this may give you some answers but I would also be prepared to call the vet asap.
 

Venevidivici

Well-Known Member
Joined
19 January 2011
Messages
2,081
Visit site
The 2 friesians on our yard seem to trip more often than the others (diff breeds) both in & out of the school. One has sidebone&ringbone & arthritis in the coffin joints. The other we suspect may have one or both of the first two. The undiagnosed one has stumbled &fallen whilst on the lunge on a few occasions also. I would get the vet. Forget the backman,farrier or shakra woman-this sounds like a veterinary issue only-to ignore it any longer may allow whatever it is to progress to a more complex level and/or result in further injury to either of you. You say the school surface is good&even if it was deep,this has happened too often IMO. Get a good equine vet only. Good luck:)
 

Tnavas

Well-Known Member
Joined
1 October 2005
Messages
8,480
Location
New Zealand but from UK
Visit site
Could be several reasons but I personally would have a chiropractor out to the horse ASAP. Falling over is not something that should happen that often.

If the lower cervical vertebrae are out of alignment it can affect the movement of the front legs, the nerves to the legs travel throough the 7th cervical. One of my horses had a tripping problem and this was the problem.

One time when I was riding him the nerves to both front legs were pinched and he fell over - back legs kept on moving and the front didn't. Fortunately I didn't come off but had a rather frigtening experience.

I called my chiropractor and he arranged with the vet to knock the horse out and manipulate under general anaesthetic - result was amazing - horse never stumbled again, put on weight - must have been causing him a lot of discomfort and I went on to school him to Open Medium level.

Another horse I rode that fell with me had a damaged shoulder muscle - he had to be held together every step - I lost him on a corner taking evasive action from a twit rider who didn't remember the rules for passing someone in the school. That one resulted in a cracked rib - very uncomfortable.

School surface can lead to problems especially if the sand used is roound sand, a mix of round and sharp sand is best. If the going is too deep it can cause them to fall but usually when the surface is also very wet and holding.

Talk to your farrier - he should be able to see from shoe where what your horse is doing. He could also use rolled toe shoes to reduce the tripping.
 

Flicker51

Well-Known Member
Joined
9 June 2012
Messages
274
Visit site
Please call a vet - it could be anything but if they assess him you will at least know..if its just clumsiness you may decide its ok to carry on but in my experience horses seldom fall - they might trip but usually recover without you coming off.
 

Flame_

Well-Known Member
Joined
15 November 2007
Messages
8,025
Location
Merseyside
Visit site
A video of how he goes in the school might be helpful for us to give suggestions, but if that's not possible, you want a good instructor to assess your riding and his way of going, and a vet to do a thorough MOT IMO.
 

Eccles

Well-Known Member
Joined
26 April 2007
Messages
755
Visit site
Call a vet and get it checked out, before you hurt yourself. Not sure about the posts that suggest it could be due to the school, etc, there can be many reasons for this, and for this to happen repeatedly would need a comically bad surface ..... Maybe something or nothing, but time to get the vet to have a look. Some will recommend chiros/physios but imo get vet first, and in this situation let them advise and recommend on whatever they find.
 

ibot

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 March 2008
Messages
2,924
Location
Who Knows Moved That Often
Visit site
thank you for all your replies that was kind of you.
some points that you made
i get regular riding lessons from my yard which is great its included in my livery.
my position is fine i fall off because if you can stay on a horse that does what mine does id be impressed :D:D
i have been around horses for a very long time but with a large break inbetween.
i had him on the lunge yesterday and i found on the right rein he was stiff in the hind quaters and seemed to trip more.
My arena is deep and a bit boggy in one end the other is fine and it does seem to be in that area it happens.
went for a potter on him today and he must have tripped a few times but not right down.
My horse is unshod and the farrier at my yard is amazing and i am in regular communication with him.
I will get the vet out i have the back guy out on the 8th sept

i do think he is clumsy he is like a big teddy bear :D he was very unbalanced when i got him and he has improved so much when i got him he could not canter around the school or on the lunge it was too hard but that is a breed thing they do find it hard to learn where there legs are.
I have him doing really well now its just this one thing.
i have ridden him a fair bit at the moment so it could be a concentration thing also he has had to be in the school alot also so i think he could be bored.

thank you again
xx
 

Beausmate

Well-Known Member
Joined
6 May 2008
Messages
2,821
Location
Endor
Visit site
How big is your school? And what do you do with him? Could it be that he's not balanced enough for the turns, or is it just general tripping?

If he's tripping often, then I would be refraining from riding him until he's been assessed by a vet-could be something, could be nothing, but best to know.
 

Godknows

Well-Known Member
Joined
10 October 2009
Messages
354
Visit site
hey girls and one or two boys :D

ok here is my background story

i own a 7 year old friesian gelding i have had him for coming up to 3 years.
since i have owned him i have fallen off him 4 times in total but 3 of those times is because he has fallen. two times is when we have been in the school cantering and he has fallen. last year we both were ok but i ended up on crutches for 2 months with a LOT of leg damage but nothing broken.
he has also fallen in trot.
i was riding him on sunday when he fell again in canter i was lucky i flew over the top of him and ive broken a couple of ribs and a nice bruised hand. Paddy is fine thou.

Now i am not sure what to do i think the first time its one of those things but now its happened 3 times when i have been riding him i am starting to wonder 1, if i am going to be so lucky next time :confused: and 2 if there could be an underlining issue.

I have the back guy out regularly and the dentist and the farrier.
all have been checked although the back guy is due out start of Sept.

He is a big boy and can be clumsy my yard manager thinks its the fruit fermenting in his stomach :confused::confused::confused: which i have never heard of??
now he has been having one bit of fruit a day so that is hardly enough to go loopy on??
Please tell me what you would do

thank you
Nicky
xx

I have read all the replies including your last and you will still not ask the vet's opinion? Why bother asking:confused:
 

siennamum

Well-Known Member
Joined
18 February 2004
Messages
5,569
Location
Bristol
Visit site
The reason I wondered about the surface is because it really can make horses slip over. I would never ride on a woodchip surface for instance having seen/heard of numerous horses slip over on them.
 

ibot

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 March 2008
Messages
2,924
Location
Who Knows Moved That Often
Visit site
siennamum TBh i am not overly happy about the school surface but i watch it and it is due to be resurfaced soon. but my horse is the only one that falls in there so if there is a problem with the school surely i would not be alone??? i am not sure.

everyone on here has given me some great ideas of how to go forward and id like to thank you all
 

Godknows

Well-Known Member
Joined
10 October 2009
Messages
354
Visit site
godknows if you read my last reply where i have put that i am getting the back guy out i have also put the vet in the same line so i am listening otherwise my post would be pointless

So sorry ibot I missed the vet bit. The back men I have found can do more harm than good IMO
 

Renvers

Well-Known Member
Joined
17 May 2009
Messages
1,037
Visit site
we can only speculate without seeing the horse in action - but successive falls arent normal and it really needs a vet to investigate further.

I hope for you both it is something simple and/or manageable
 
Top