| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Pasch |
Posted - 04 Sep 2014 : 12:52:47 PM
Armos stumbles quite often.It usually happens when he's distracted or lazy or behind another horse just thinking "I want to go I want to go" and looking at other horse's bottom and not at where he puts his feet 
Last he did it a couple of days ago coming back from a hack,he was walking very fast and just went down on his knees and with outstretched neck and mouth in the sand…no harm done and he gets up immediately and I stayed on (saddle has very good knee rolls!)
However it once happened at a canter and to stay on was impossible so fell and was bruised for quite a while!(he was ok of course..)
He has no physical problems.In fact,whenever we have been to new places with difficult hacking he has never (touch wood) put a foot wrong.Then he can stumble in the sand manege (which bores him to death and where he's so lazy you are better off with spurs).
Farrier shoes him to help with this already.He is ridden in a western snaffle so hardly any contact unless needed.
I know arabs are famous for their" daisy cutting" paces,but we have rather rugged hacking here (not that it counts,he would probably stumble in a daisy field just as well!
Would be interested in your experience,are yours stumble prone too,and any advise welcome. |
| 16 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Goldenmane |
Posted - 09 Sep 2014 : 06:39:50 AM
My old Arab mare stumbled but I blame myself as I used to hold her together a lot. |
| Pasch |
Posted - 08 Sep 2014 : 11:38:40 PM
andrea.1297 my first arab Pasch has arthritic changes in his fetlocks and he's retired after a few falls (bringing me with him a couple of times,fortunately at walk).Unlike Armos,he really collapsed.He's also lame at trot.
Armos stumbles and sometimes kneels but touch wood until now never fell.Also he doesn't do it so often in fact the more difficult the ground the less he stumbles!because he will thread more carefully.As I said he has no physical problem I had him fully x-rayed on vetting when I bought him and he has always done it.
Callisto had to laugh at Lily shying when she's tired,these arabs count on them for being eccentric!
My vet and others say when a horse stumbles and is in danger of falling you should in fact leave the reins loose as they use their neck as a balancer to get up and "pulling them up" is counterproductive as well as painful for the mouth-easy to say,but that's instinctive! |
| andrea.1297 |
Posted - 08 Sep 2014 : 9:50:27 PM
hi.i have an 11 yr old arab gelding that stumbles and trips every few strides and i couldnt understand it as hes not lazy or lacking in concerntration.the last straw came when when last febuary on a 1 1\2 hr hack he scuffed and tripped the whole way so i immediatley stopped his work and had x-rays done and it showed up coffin joint diesease in his nr fore which explained that one but came back clear on the others.but since then hes been diagnosed with arthritic changes in all 4 fetlocks and distension in his hocks and fetlocks.he is now shod with straight shoes and rolled toes on all 4 feet and devils claw root and flexijoint which does help alot.i find different temperatures make a difference to how much he does\doesnt do it aswell.just a thought maybe see if your vet\farrier thinks its worth having your boys feet x-rayed?hope you get to the bottom of it as it becomes dangerous when they fall on their kness and heds with it.  |
| Callisto |
Posted - 08 Sep 2014 : 08:26:25 AM
Lily is another daisy-cutter and stumble prone, in fact I would be very loathe to canter her down hill, specifically on short slippery grass, particularly since she fell over and dumped me on my head earlier this year (I really thought my neck was broken for a while). She is a lot more sure footed than she was a youngster, because I have ridden through narrow hilly tracks (with lots of roots etc.) and uneven going. Although I ride on a fairly loose rein I am always ready to 'hold her up' for when she stumbles. Interestingly she does not stumble more when she gets tired when we are doing endurance - she tends to start shying a lot more, which is just being ridiculous, because it uses more energy than if she didn't bother, and she is pretty violent when she does it, and is therefore at far greater risk of injuring herself.
I agree the stumbling is mainly when she doesn't pay attention. She is shod every 4-6 weeks depending on how much roadwork we do. When she was barefoot and booted last winter she still stumbled occasionally  |
| Pasch |
Posted - 05 Sep 2014 : 10:45:29 PM
I also usually shoe every 6 weeks max as both mine have fast growing feet. |
| Ari |
Posted - 05 Sep 2014 : 10:36:41 PM
Just a thought but this summer has been good for my boy's feet growing and he has good fast growing big round feet for an Arab and that isn't a bad thing. In August he only went 4 weeks as he was growing off his shoes at the the sides and toe. So next shoeing we have done 5wks. I have farrier when needed and never go longer than 6 weeks. I have him shod according to his hoof growth as I am very aware of keeping his feet in line with his conformation and movement. We all know this; but it makes me cross when people think its great shoes still on at 8wks or barefoot horse is just foot sore on stony path  |
| Pasch |
Posted - 05 Sep 2014 : 9:11:34 PM
Beau.my farrier already rolls his toes but it's true he stumbles more when his feet need to be done hence toes are longer.I will ask him if he can safely shorten his toes a bit more.It still comes down to that "daisy cutting" pace!I doubt a Hackney or a PRE would stumble so easily with their elevated paces but then you wouldn't have that floating effect |
| beau |
Posted - 05 Sep 2014 : 8:43:01 PM
My last arab stumbled, I put it down to lazy/distracted until he stumbled quite heavily in school and winded himself. Vet came out x-rayed and videoed him trotting. It turned out to be his shoes! When we saw the video slow mo you could see that he was flicking his toes out so his his shoes/feet were to big. My farrier was experienced but vet said it is a common problem with arabs as many farriers are cautious about taking too much back when in fact arabs are supposed to have very small feet (short toes). He was basically stumbling because his toes were a little long so when he was being ploddy he wasn't picking his feet and flicking his toes up properly. I got a new farrier my vet showed the x-rays to him and showed how much smaller his feet needed to be we also changed to rolled toes and he never stumbled after that. |
| MinHe |
Posted - 05 Sep 2014 : 7:42:02 PM
My first mare stumbled occasionally and it was just the same as other have reported - she had stopped paying attention and was just sailing along on autopilot! Interestingly, I have a book by an ex-cavalry officer and he says that Arabs are particularly intelligent, and prone to stumbling if their minds are not kept focused on the job!
Keren |
| FireLight |
Posted - 05 Sep 2014 : 2:04:47 PM
My boy stumbled when relaxed and day dreaming but funnily enough once changed to Natural Balance Shoes he never stumbled even when relaxed. |
| Pasch |
Posted - 04 Sep 2014 : 10:06:47 PM
Looks like I'm in good company!
This makes me think it is the typical arab pace indeed.TBs also have a similar way of walking and I've heard of a few trippers there as well.
Etoile mine does exactly the same,goes down on his knees then springs up immediately.Ari,he never fell either,just kneels down for a moment.It's me who fell when he did that at canter,we were slightly downhill as well in a stubble field.
Most of the time he will just stumble a bit without going down on his knees.Then he will go on a 2 days,30 km per day ride without any problem…
He rarely does that when we are out on our own probably because he's so careful to all the lurking predators waiting for him!
Was wondering how do the endurance riders cope with this problem,it surely gets worse with a tired horse? |
| Ari |
Posted - 04 Sep 2014 : 8:23:16 PM
Any horse can stumble as a one off so wouldn't worry about that and some go into lazy following mode behind another or just do it if bored and not looking out for their feet. My pals Arab did just that following us down a steep stony path, he was so relaxed on a warm afternoon.
My lad is very foot aware and has the dexterity of cat and he does take responsibility to find the best footing on uneven or muddy ground some horses just don't do that. Yes he stumbles occasionally on very uneven going but I never think he will fall (thankfully).
My pals cob just bumbles along forehand heavy, that's his way there is nothing wrong with him.
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| glo |
Posted - 04 Sep 2014 : 6:18:29 PM
My friends horse is always stumbling, the strange thing is another friend has a horses by the same sire and that horse stumbles as well, in my option from that I would say that it's genet. |
| Etoile |
Posted - 04 Sep 2014 : 4:28:49 PM
Senjai was a stumbler and was in fact nicknamed Sir Trips a Lot due to his frequent forays onto his knees. Needless to say he went everywhere in knee boots. Didn't used to fall completely just flailed around on his knees and then leapt back to his feet. He required frequent visits from the wonderful "back lady" to sort him out as he always seemed to pull his back heaving himself back up. I never fell off, but it was certainly a bit off putting.
Part of the reason that we took his shoes off was reading online that it had solved tripping for some horses. It did solve it, and he doesn't do it now either barefoot or in boots, and he does a lot of mileage as we do endurance with him.
The other factor with him is that his natural balance is not the greatest and we have worked long and hard to improve this by first walking, then trotting and then cantering rougher verges to improve his abilities over rougher ground.
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| Misper |
Posted - 04 Sep 2014 : 3:36:56 PM
Luxor is a stumbler,so I always ride him in a back protector and it has saved me on few occasions! He is quite capable of going down on his knees in the school or on an endurance ride,though,touch wood,he has never done it in canter. Interestingly he has done it less recently,but when,sometime ago, I told Marthe Kiley Worthington about it,she laughed and said his sire (Druimghigha Oberlix),was just the same! So now I can blame it on the genes! |
| TAE |
Posted - 04 Sep 2014 : 2:58:53 PM
I am also very interested to hear what people think as Li is the same. If we do something exciting or interesting he doesn't have a problem. But when hes very relaxed he can go into a daydream or just start admiring the view or his reflection in a window or car and just seems to forget where his feet are. He did it at a clinic once and as his eyes glazed over the instructor said she could see we'd just lost him, his mind was gone somewhere else completely. Li's VERY socially intelligent and communicative but spends so much time in a daydream I wonder what he's thinking about. Just wish I could turn it off when I'm riding. |
