Youngster tripping due to lack of concentration....

Bug2007

Bug2007

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does anyone elses youngster do this or did this???

Please tell me they grow out of it, she hasn't fallen right over but nearly.
Last year she went right down on her knees.
Not that bad this season, but she marches on while out hacking at catches her toe and stumbles.....think she is just being a little lazy when it comes to picking her feet up, tripped a few times in the school too, when it has been a little deeper in there.

I plan to event her so really hope she starts to look after her self a little more, when we are jumping she is fine. Just seems to be a slight lack of concentration and she can't look at something and pickk her feet up at the same time.
 
She has not long had her shoes done and she used to do it bare foot too, i will speak to the farrier about it though.

As for my riding what could i be doing to make her do that???
 
Bug2007 said:
She has not long had her shoes done and she used to do it bare foot too, i will speak to the farrier about it though.

As for my riding what could i be doing to make her do that???
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Well if she's young, she's presumably newly or (ish) broken and in work. So you need to ride her in a balanced way. Don't let her march along at her own pace, you must dictate it. Riding in to the contact and not pushing her out of her natural rhythm. The fact that she does it in the school, too, to me sounds as if she' not being ridden like this.
 
One of mine used to do this out hacking....so busy being nosey he didn't take care with his feet and would trip and stumble....feet have always been good and well looked after.

Its because they are unbalanced.....he doesn't do it anymore and it is probably because he is ridden 'properly' now.....at one point he was just so 'backward' that any forward movement was a bonus:rolleyes: but now he's hacking out nicely we can get engaged and do some school out hacking.
 
She is an ex race horse broken at two, so even though she is now four, she isn't new to it all.
She is ridden into a contact and works in a lovely outline, working from behind and isn't rushing. She tripped in a lesson with my dressage trainer, when we had a lovely collected steady trot, she caught sight of the dog and wasn't concentrating and tripped.

I'll give it to you she is allowed to have her head and neck at points on a hack as i believe they need to be able to relax and chill while out hacking, but she needs to learn to look after herself, i can't place her feet all her life. Going xc she needs to be able to do that for herself.
 
In that case you need to be looking at a mechanical reason - although some horses are just clumsy. And perhaps hunting her and just getting out there competing will help her start to look after herself.....
 
I am hoping she is just clumsy!!!
I do ride her 'properly' I am experienced with youngsters breaking and schooling and an AI and ridden to PSG dressage, most of the youngsters that tripped due to being unbalanced or lazy used to learn from there mistakes.
I've taken a back seat from the dressage to concentrate on seeing how far I can get a ex racer through the BE levels, so I dressage to the eventing standards. Trust me to choose the TB that is soooo nosey and just doesn't pick up her feet:rolleyes:, different matter when it comes to jumping, the feet come up then!!!!:D Even on a down hill jump she can get on her hocks and jump brilliant.:D:D

Hope it will all come together in time and she'll stop doing it. Will still speak to the farrier about it just in case, but her feet aren't long ever as she doesn't grow much foot at all, but i'll have it ruled out anyway.

Looks like the trusted knee boots will stay on for a while yet. :rolleyes::D

Thank you amymay for bringing up the farrier to be honest it didn't even cross my mind.
 
My boy was doing this... A LOT... before I had shoes put on him, he does it occassionally now but I had thinner shoes put on, almost like racing plates as his feet are a little boxy anyway, might be a solution. I agree though riding them up together helps a lot but in the meantime put some knee boots on :)
 
My 4 year old used to do exactly the same. She'd forget she was supposed to be concentrating, start being nosy about something more interesting and trip over her feet. She had the attention span of a gnat. She's fine now, bless her.
 
I had my mare shod last year as a 4 y.o and she was a nightmare. She would trip over a matchstick and I lost count of the amount of times I nearly fell off in the school when she nose dived!

I had her shoes taken off in the winter and she has stopped tripping completely, unless there's a particularly large boulder in her way.

I know you said that your horse tripped before when she was barefoot but it might be worth having another go.
 
horserider said:
My 4 year old used to do exactly the same. She'd forget she was supposed to be concentrating, start being nosy about something more interesting and trip over her feet. She had the attention span of a gnat. She's fine now, bless her.
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Phew... thank God you said that!!! Just backed mine (at 4) and she's exactly the same. LOL. Here's hoping she grows out of it soon. Meanwhile, knee boots and brushing boots are always on when we exercise. Better safe than sorry.
 
barefoot isn't really an option with her, she is a wimp without them on and we are very stoney round here.
Also due to her lack of foot growth and thin walls farrier says she is better with them on. I did try her barefoot. She didn't have shoes on all winter on her four month holiday and she wrecked her feet and she wasn't coming out of the field.


Maybe i'll get some light ones put on.

Writing this down does bring things to mind. She isn't that fit, so that might be another reason for the tripping.
As a 3 yr old dhe was never fit as just hacking lightly and she has been back in work for 7 weeks now but building it all up slowly. Starting to up the work so that might help, the fitter she is.

Crazy all of what you have all said i'd say myself to other people, but when it comes to my own horse!!! lol
 
Spyda said:
Phew... thank God you said that!!! Just backed mine (at 4) and she's exactly the same. LOL. Here's hoping she grows out of it soon. Meanwhile, knee boots and brushing boots are always on when we exercise. Better safe than sorry.
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Oh yeah boots on all the way, mind you with brushing boots and knee boots maybe she can't bend her legs!!!! lol :D

Bit of bubble wrap too anyone!!!
 
A 4 year old I rode last summer was exactly the same! She used to lose concentration and start to nosey at something in the distance and nearly trip over, but she was fine in canter where she had to concentrate a bit more that just pootling along in walk or trot. Fine in the school and over jumps, but out on a hack could be a bit scary sometimes! She also used to nearly fall over on the yard if she was tied up and had a good shake. She had time off over winter and has now started to grow into herself a bit more, she is 5 now and a lot better out hacking and generally more balanced!
 
Bug2007 said:
Spyda....i'll get some sent to you. Enough to wrap up whole horse, remember to cut holes for nose and eyes. Oh and ears, not ness but if you use voice commmands it is reccommeded.
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Right, I'll send you my address and you be sure it's the BIG puffy expensive bubble wrap and plenty of it. She's a great 16.2 lump of a horse and I don't think the cheap stuff would pad her out enough :D

On a serious note though, it is good to know that it's a fairly common problem in some young horses. Mine's got the attention span of a knat and is beaky with it. Always nosing about seeing what's going on. She hasn't yet mastered the art of multitasking at walk whilst also looking around.
 
Least i'm not the only one that spends my time telling her to pick her bl**dy feet up and concentrate.

Spyda....it'll be the good stuff. Nothing but the best!!!
Entertaining popping the ones on the withers while riding along, solve ill fitting saddle problems too as will be well padded with air.
 
My gelding did it at four. Partly because its so hilly around here, and he really struggled with going up and down - articularly down. As he got bigger and stronger this dropped off. He still does it sometimes out of pure laziness. He is a big athletic horse that tracks up naturally and has a long stride, so can be lazy while seeming to work well and keep up with other horses. On show jumping lessons, instructors have noticed that he deliberately knocks fences down at the end of the lesson - because he can't be bothered lifting his feet that extra few inches. On a positive note - it was XC that solved this! On a farm ride he got lazy towards the end, and seriously clipped a XC fence - nearly sending us both A over t. He quite shocked himself, and really pings over fences now! I haven't done any BE with him yet due to injury (mine!) but expect that I will have to have him extra fit to stop him throwing the towel in at the end - I am used to my mare, who would give herself a heart attack rather than give up!
 
A lot of them are clumsy as youngsters, they are unbalanced are are weak. I wouldn't worry too much but spend time building up her strength and improving her balance. Holding her in a contact whilst out will help her not become long and flat and more likely to trip over things.

I wouldn't waste your time with different shoes etc unless the problem persists.
 
Lots of transtions and keeping her mind on you while you are hacking, try and add a little schooling into your hacking so she's not marching ahead or looking around too much, it's nice that they are interested in their surroundings but if they are stumbling and not looking where they are going, last thing you want is them going down on their knees, perhaps bob some knee boots on until she improves, least then if she does happen to go down she's got some protection on the roads.:)
 
We hacked last night and she only tripped once while looking at the pigs, we did however work on our water training with a big puddle, trotted through nicely twice then got the idea and jumped in and cantered through.

Luck there was no tripping involved with the water.
 
My exracer was exactly the same as a 4 year old. It is a lot for them to take in, hacking out over different terrain and lots of new sights! I did have to invest in knee boots, but it really is just a case of time and patience until they become more balanced and used to riding over different ground types.
 
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