why does my horse trip

[kazs]

he is a shire x and he nearly had me off on sunday, hes ok in trot canter and gallop but when walking hes constantly tripping on his front feet, if i keep him collected he seems ok but i cant keep him collected all the time, any suggestions,

 

[the watcher]

You need to ride forward more positively in walk so that it becomes energetic, then he'll stop tripping

 

[kazs]

if i ask him to walk forward he just goes into trot, although he does go more forward in the school, thanks ile give it a go.

 

[YorksG]

We have had two that did this, both heavies, if it is safe to do so, ride him forward strongly and drop your reins, he sill stumble, sit tight and he will carry himself, 'cos he will have to and does not want to fall over. It is just so much easier for them if you will carry their heads.

(One of ours had been in a RS ridden mainly by beginners and she had learnt it was a brilliant way of avoiding work)

 

[merlinsquest]

Maybe ask the farrier to roll his toes..... that stopped merlin from tripping...

 

[kazs]

ile see if i can pluck up courage to NEARLY drop my reins lol keep eyes open for next post on, oh b*gger it didnt work, lol

 

[kazs]

got farrier coming tomoz, ile ask, thanks

 

[YorksG]

Now now, sister did it, did not fall off and mare gave up (after a while!) Mind you if anyone else rode her she did try it again!

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

This has come up on the forum before. I'm sure it's just your ned going on his forehand but do be aware that stumbling and tripping, especially if it's worse on uneven ground or going downhill, can mean bilateral front foot lameness, ie the same amount of lameness/pain in BOTH front feet. Poor ned doesn't look lame at all coz both feet hurt the same amount. Worth remembering.

 

[kazs]

ile try it and let you know how we got on

 

[kazs]

never thought of that box-of-frogs ile certainley keep that in mind

 

[Daisy11]

my old shire use to do this iwas convinced something was wrong so i asked my farrier about it he said its a typical shire layed back attude and not to worry but i would just get farrier to look

 

[Gorgeous George]

George is a shire x and he used to do this out hacking in walk, but I found that riding him on a looser rein helps and he rarely does it now. To be honest I think he forgets he has 4 legs sometimes!

 

[pinkcatkin]

When I first got my mare she tripped a lot in walk, but never in trot. I think the reason behind it was that she was unfit. I had my farrier roll her toes and after a while stopped doing it. Funnily enough about two years later my farrier put normal front shoes on her and she tripped up within two weeks. Needless to say, rolled toes again. She managed to fall flat on her face twice in the school sending me flying, and once on a hack when I nearly went flying but she put me back in the saddle It was horrible.

Try keeping your horse well on the bit and working from behind rather than ambling along, it will probably help. Good luck.

 

[_April_]

[ QUOTE ]
This has come up on the forum before. I'm sure it's just your ned going on his forehand but do be aware that stumbling and tripping, especially if it's worse on uneven ground or going downhill, can mean bilateral front foot lameness, ie the same amount of lameness/pain in BOTH front feet. Poor ned doesn't look lame at all coz both feet hurt the same amount. Worth remembering.

[/ QUOTE ]


Was going to say the exact same thing!

A vet might diagnose this by nerve blocking just one of the feet, then they go hopping lame

Hopefully yours won't be anything dramatic kazs but it is worth checking out just incase.

 

[kazs]

thanks for all comments ile see how he goes, farrier came today turned out he hadnt been shod for 12 wks ( ive only had him just over a week) took more than an inch off so hopefully problem solved.