Y does my horse always trip?

Question

I have a 24 year old morab and when I ride her she is always tripping. She has been shod lately and there is nothing health wise wrong with her. So I am starting to get worried, I realize that if the rider is not balanced the horse can trip, but according to our trainer we are balanced. She seems to do it more when we are going at a walk then when we are at any other speed. So I was wondering if it could be because she doesn't pay as much attention to where she is going at a walk?
Any help would be appreciated.

I have had a vet look at her, but he doesn't understand why she is tripping. Since he couldn't find anything wrong with her.

also sorry I should have said this, but she doesn't wear shoes.

Answer 1

Sometimes a very well trained / schooled horse with an in experienced or un balanced rider on it will get mixed messages from the rider. I remember when I wasnt so good a riding when I would trot my horse he would trip / stumble regularly. I was told by my uncle after he observerd me riding for a while that I was sending the animal different messages with my hands than my legs. Im not saying that this is the same problem for you but it might be. P.S. my uncle was champion jockey and a trainer for years, so he knew what he was talking about.

Check your horses conformation, is it correct. Do any legs turn slightly in..??
His it over reaching with its hind legs..??
Have you a good farrier / blacksmith..??

Hope this helps a bit..

Answer 2

I am curious, is she tripping in the front or back?

Usually chronic tripping is a sign of lameness, particularly at her age. She's definitely unsound (not necessarily outright lame)... Even if she's not paying attention, she should be stepping up enough to not be tripping in a level arena. If she's not throwing her head around and looking all over the place, it's probably not a question of imbalance caused by inattentiveness... and that sort of behavior I wouldn't expect from a 24 year old anyway. If you ask her for more motion, she will pick her feet up a little more but that doesn't help you solve the fact that she is moving unnaturally when going at her own pace. Any chronic tripping is at the very least improper movement which could stand some correcting.

If she's tripping in the back try having your farrier ease her breakover next time she's trimmed so that stepping over her toe and pushing off is not so difficult for her. Worked wonders for my mare when she started tripping in the back due to arthritic changes.

Also, if she's not shod, maybe she would prefer to be? She could be tender or sore, or need some extra support. Ask your farrier as well, not just your vet. Good farriers know a lot about lameness and its relationship with feet. Just make sure the two collaborate if any major changes are made.

Less likely causes for tripping than arthritis or injury include EPM and other neurological disorders. These I really doubt.

Answer 3

I could be a number of things. I would rule out all the things that don't require a vet first. It could be the way the horse was trimmed. If the farrier trimmed the hoof at a different angle than the horse's natural angle, it can cause the horse to trip or stumble, also if the farrier didn't take enough toe off, it can cause the same. Is there a reason you've chosen not to put shoes on him? Sometimes shoeing instead of just trimming will help. If there's no trouble with the trimming, you may be correct in thinking that your horse isn't paying attention. The horse I rodeo off of trips sometimes when we trail ride, but never in the arena. Roping, tracking cows and barrel racing helps keep him focused. He the most sure footed horse I've ever rode in an arena, but he's TOTALLY bored trail riding.

Answer 4

She may be lazy and not paying attention, but I'd suspect something physical especially if she has not always done this. When horses trip, the most common thing to check is their legs or hooves. However, I've found that horses are tripping because of pain in their neck or back a lot of times. That might be worth looking into through an equine chiropractor. Also, has anyone checked her eyes? If she's not seeing very well, it could very well account for her stumbling.

Another option -- horses are susceptible to several diseases that can cause neurological side effects such as tripping or occasional loss of balance as one of the first symptoms. EPM, rabies, and tick-borne diseases come to mind or she could be grazing on a toxic plant in the pasture that is affecting her.

Tripping is not always due to a hoof or leg problem.

Answer 5

I know you said you had the vet check your Morab, but did they run tighters for Lyme's Disease and EPM? My first sign that my Morgan had EPM was that he tripped and threw me into a fence. We actually diagnosed the disease early so he is still rideable (lightly), but diseases that affect the horse neurologically have to be caught early because damage that's done is permanent. And of course the degeneration starts very gradually so it's HARD to catch early.

The chiropractor is also a good idea. Minor misalignments that might not bother a younger horse can really be bothersome for older horses. It's like a long distance runner -when they are younger they can ignore various aches and pains that might come from bad posture, but as they get older their bad posture comes back to haunt them in the form of bad joints and stiffness.

If you've ruled out both of these causes, the other repliers might be correct, and your morab is just getting older. She might need to be ridden a bit more lightly.

I hope this helps! Trust me, I feel for you!

Answer 6

At this point you need to realize that your horse is getting older and that probably has a lot to do with what is happening. Also I have found that when a horse trips at the walk it is usually because they are not paying attention. A very good excercise to do is make her walk in medium sized circles and not just let her do whatever she wants. It is also very good that you are working with a trainer. You also may want to consider putting your horse on a glucosamine supplement, a good one is Four Flex. It is very expensive but it is the best on the market and works really well.

Answer 7

Make sure that the shoes are fitted properly, and that her hooves aren't too long. We have had a few farriers who rush, and screw up a horses motion.

If that is not the case, maybe it is a joint problem, or it could be that she isn't paying attention.

I would reccommend getting your vet out to check her, just to be sure there is nothing more serious behind her tripping.

Answer 8

has she been doing this forever or just recently? If she always has done this it is probably because she is just absent minded and not paying attention to her feet. If she has just recently started tripping over her feet then it is probably do to her feet not being trimmed flat or evenly. not saying your farrier isn't doing his job right but if he was in a hurry last time he could have accidentally left one of them too long or not gotten the hooves trimmed evenly on all four feet. see if he will come out and trim them again or if he can find a problem when he is out. Good Luck

Answer 9

Its sad to see them get old isn't it?.

At least you had the vet check her out, thats an excellent start.

The other thing you can do, is take her to an equine chiropractor. Sometimes if subtle things are 'out' a chiro can see them easier than a vet.

I think you have her age going against her, but i applaud you for checking thinks out to see if theres anything that can help.

Good luck and hope you are able to find answers.

Answer 10

If you are sure you can safely rule all health issues,then I would say she's not paying attention(my 23yr old does the same thing) Try squeezing your legs on her to push her into the bit but not too hard to make her trot-just so that she will pick her head up and move out.You may want to at least put front shoes on her if she steps on a stone that will cause her to mis step.