Horse tripping a lot on trails

MIEventer, I didn't know that about low grids and small jumps. That makes sense. Puck's a big boy and we do a lot of both in an effort to help his middle aged rider get her legs back before going back to jumping higher. We haven't jumped higher than 18" in over 2 months. Maybe I'll concentrate on some raised grids and just suck it up and jump a little higher to get him thinking more about his feet. I sure hope it's just laziness. I've been through way too much with this boy this year. Both my wallet and my nerves are shot.

Sister, I am 100% with you on that!

I owe my vet over $800.00 in bills ranging from Nelson Choking this Spring *2 day episode*, scoping twice, to him getting Patomac Fever and getting his teeth done and booster shots.

And that isn't including the $$ I had to put into his groceries because the last facility he was at he lost 300lbs.

I am extremely paranoid with Nelson. So I am right there with you on that.

Hi guys, just another thought (or potential problem). When I first started riding my young mare she was a very forward moving, confident horse and I loved her abilities on hills. She was just four at this stage. Six months after breaking her in and being so happy with her I suddenly had this lazy, bum footed horse. She really stumbled and bumbled and seemed just Lazy!

And then a small patch of white hair appeared on her wither. My saddle was to small for her. It fitted her unridden body but as soon as she began to develop more muscle it no longer fit. I have bought a new saddle, nice and roomy and the difference is amazing. Suddenly I have my wonderful forward moving girl, with her awesome big, free stride, back. I wonder if you may need to double check your saddle, horses are still growing and changing physically up until they are atleast eight. A saddle that fits a five/six year old may not fit a nine/ten year old. Especially if your requirements of your horse get more demanding as it matures, say starting eventing or something. This is just a thought.

Did you work him out a lot lately? My qh dragging her feet sometime after I work her out for couple weeks in row. She just seems to be tired and bored with riding no health issues). Also if he's not used to rocks much they indeed can be really hard on him.

I rode a horse before, he was a tall appendix, and he tripped over everything!!!
Trails was terrible and terrifying, cause he tripps on even ground O.o
It is because he is very unbalanced and his long legs always get the best of him :P
He almost fell on his face when my friend cantered him in a flat arena. haha
He is def. not a jumper (the horse i rode)

I feel for you! My boy, Red, stumbled and bumbled along in the arena all the time. He scared the pee out of me several times. Yet when my husband would take him out and gallop he never put a misstep.

I would ride in the arena and he would stumbled so much I thought he had a neuro problem.

I bought Red in January. In May, I went on a trail ride - he stumbled once or twice on rocks - just like every other horse there. He was picking up those feet!! His former owner said he was just being lazy and she was right. I rode him over big pvc pipes and wooden landscape timbers in the arena to get him to pick up. Now on trails he rarely stumbles - except sometimes over roots or rocks. Red just hates being in an arena!

Have your boy checked for Lyme again - never hurts to be certain. Use the timber thingies in the arena to help him pick up. I know how scary it is when they stumble!!! I just had the white thingies show up on Red's withers too...I think a new saddle is in my future - check that out and hope it gets better soon!

Thanks guys. I haven't checked his saddle fit in awhile, but that's definitely a possiblitly that it's pinching him. He has put on both weight and muscle recently. I'll try a different saddle next time and see what happens.

I trotted him over poles in the ring and he seemed to be picking his feet up. We did recently switch barns and he's gone from a hard rubber ring to a moderately deep sand ring. Maybe he's still adjusting to it.

I walked on the same trails that he was stumbling on recently. They really suck. There are a lot of large tree roots that are covered by pine needles and leaves. I tripped over a few of them myself, so I think I'm just being paranoid.

I had a palomino mare that would trip and stumble along the trial..Sometimes fall to her knees. Most of it was laziness..My current MFT does it too. Unitll I ask for more speed and then the tripping / clicking goes away....

Horses that were not raised on uneven terrain just don't learn how to watch out for their feet. They can learn, but it take some riding for them to watch and take care of their feet. Along the way, you will have a few trips and a few rock bites on thier pasterns as they learn.

There is a ranch new me that raises quarter horses on the side of mountain. Each suumer they have a sale. The horses are highly sought after not ony for their breeding, but because those babies grew up following their mares across some really rough stuff. Those horses have a reputation of being really sure footed the rest of their lives because of what they learned as foals. Same thing with most mustangs. Owners rav about how sure footed they are, because they learned as babies to watch their feet.

My current gelding grew up in the grass pasture behind the house. And the first year or two of trail rides, my daughters teased about him being an Oaf. Tripping and Clumsey. But a couple of years of trail rides and he is pretty sure footed now.

I'm riding my horse, but turned around and taking pictures of the riders behind me, and not worried about what we are crossing.


He will even work his way through the blow down, picking his feet up and watching where he puts them

Painted Horse - makes sense! My gelding was raised in the flat lands and was trained to be a race horse. He will kick off his front right shoe in a heart beat yet never kick the back of his front foot - He gets that close to his foot without touching it. Makes for a great race horse - expensive though to keep shoes on my boy.

I think the saddle pinching could have something to do with it too. Red's former owner said he didn't stumble with her - so it could be a combo of laziness and pinching tack!