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| Author |
Message |
    
Terri Haynie
| | Posted on Sunday, Jun 4, 2000 - 11:06 pm: |   |
I recently purchased a 5-yo Paint stud that had been stall kept for most of his life with brief periods of being turned out. Maybe an hour or two per day, if that. He had had 30 days of training under saddle about a year prior to my buying him. He is exceptionally quiet, and after having him gelded, we started working with him under saddle again. Two weeks after beginning this, he is proving to be a most wonderful trail horse and will go through water, mud, and around obstacles like chickens, dogs, parked bulldozers and even a dead deer carcass with total indifference. But he is very stumbly! He doesn't seem to notice slight depressions in the ground or take into account that a ditch means he has to rearrange his balance while crossing. He has nearly fallen several times. I feel that I have to watch every obstacle on the ground and help him through it by slowing down and praying that he won't fall into it or over it. Is this normal? Will he become more savvy as time passes? His feet were in fair shape when I bought him; they were trimmed before we started putting time in the saddle, and he has never worn shoes. Is this merely an adjustment to learning how to walk around out in the world? Or am I destined to fall into a ravine somewhere? |
S. T. Bruce
| | Posted on Sunday, Jun 4, 2000 - 11:44 pm: | |
Horses are like people in that some are naturally balanced and some seem stumble at times. I suspect that your horse is probably looking at so many new things that he isn't paying attention to where his feet are. Having spent most of his time in a stall and probably a flat riding area he may only need time to adjust to uneven ground. If you want to help him out, you can place poles in your arena and pratice riding him over them so that he learns to place his feet more carefully. Start at a walk and when he had mastered that proceed to a trot and then a lope. Don't place the poles too close together at first. It's a good exercise for both your horse and yourself. |
Kathryn Faille (Kfaille)
| | Posted on Wednesday, Jun 27, 2001 - 7:41 am: | |
I also have a tripping problem with my 9 year old Tennessee Walking Horse on the trail. He is a wonderful trail horse, very sensible and reliable. The only problem is that we almost fall down every time we go out. He has modest, trail worthy shoes and is trimmed and reset every 6 weeks. He even trips riding up and down the driveway in the low grass or on the gravel. Any ideas? |
Holly Edwards (Hwood)
| | Posted on Wednesday, Jun 27, 2001 - 6:28 pm: | |
Most horses catch themselves before they go down on their knees, so if your shoulders are back you should be okay! There could be different reasons for your horse's tripping. Does he forge, or interfere with his feet when he walks? Most horses trip because there is a change in the ground surface and they just aren't picking their feet up high enough to avoid the slight rise, or stone or root or whatever. If you have ground poles of varying circumferences that you can place around a riding ring or yard area, you can walk and trot the horse over the poles to teach him to be aware of the ground in front of him and pick up his feet a little more carefully. Most stumbling accidents happen at the walk when the horses and riders are more relaxed and less apt to be paying keen attention. If you are aware of a change in the surface ahead of your horse, you can give him a little touch with your legs or a squeeze on the rein(s) to let him know something is coming up. Sometimes just a verbal cue to alert the horse is enough. Enjoy your rides this summer.
Holly |
Holly Z.
Member
Username: Cowgrl
Post Number: 23
Registered: 3-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, Mar 23, 2004 - 2:50 pm: | |
My quarter horse trips a lot when out on trails. After reading quite a bit about this topic, I discussed solutions with my shoer husband. What we did that worked like a charm and has cured his stumbling is to speed up his front feet by squaring his toes to bring his breakover further back. This horse needs to be kept up to date on his trims and shoeing because if he goes too long, his feet grow to the point where he starts tripping again. This horse will even trip over his own feet but when it really matters, he is agile as a mountain goat.
This might help with your tripping dilemma.
Holly |
Holly Z.
Member
Username: Cowgrl
Post Number: 102
Registered: 3-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, Apr 6, 2004 - 1:38 pm: | |
Another idea that comes to mind and is along the lines that Holly E mentioned is to create a "trail obstacle course". It doesn't have to be elaborate but enough that he has to think about what he's doing. Dig a ditch for him to negotiate, lay railroad ties for him to step over. Simulate a bridge with a raised wooden platform for him to step on and off. If you can do this in an open field instead of an arena that would be better. A field is usually full of small depressions and hillocks so they would also teach him to watch his footing.
I had a TB that the first time on trails she was such a klutz she fell into a hole. It was big and solid so she wasn't hurt, just embarrassed. She just didn't know how to pick her way. Since then, she has become a great trail horse and loves to go. As I've said before, trail horses are made not born so give your boy time.
Good luck |
Dorothea D. Linklater
New Member
Username: Deedles5
Post Number: 5
Registered: 4-2006
| | Posted on Friday, Apr 14, 2006 - 7:22 pm: | |
My quarter horse gelding is also a klutz. He actually went down and skinned his knees to the bone (ouch!) necessitating a vet call and a drain.
Vet had the shoer reset him with breakover farther back and squared toes also. It helped a lot, but I will always be vigilant, especially on blacktop, which is where he fell.
I think experience is key. My horse doesn't get ridden much. He is pastured 24/7 in a very rocky uneven pasture and scampers around without tripping at all, but my weight (I am on the smaller side btw) seems to make him trip. He is also a bit lazy. He is the sort of horse you can just hop on and ride so he could use more conditioning. |
Vicki Zaneis
Member
Username: Vickiann
Post Number: 208
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, Apr 15, 2006 - 2:16 pm: | |
I have seen some horses take bad falls due to the use of drawn reins, martingales and tie downs out on the trail. And riding on asphalt (slippery!) with a shoed horse has caused many a bad wreck for horse and rider. |
ilona armoni
Member
Username: Ilona
Post Number: 47
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, Apr 15, 2006 - 5:16 pm: | |
My 7 yr old TWH was an unpredictable stumbler/tripper on trail. What he taught me was the critical importance of balance, his and mine. I give him all the rein he needs to negotiate climbs (up or down), small paths etc, so he can balance his head and neck, and too, drop his head to see what exactly it is he has to traverse. He has learned that speed can be an impairment on trail so is more modulated. He is light as a feather on the bit, and very sensitive to leg pressure. It has taken going out on trail 3-5 days a week, on progressively rough unpredictable terrain, for him to build his leg strength. I think sometimes when horses tire, because we expect too much with-out conditioning first, they are more liable to stumble. I always try to see a trail ride as the equivalent of running track or a marathon. Would I just go out and run track or the 26 miles, or would I condition myself first. I think often we assume that because they have 4 legs and come from the wild (initially) that they have limitless capacity. I know my own TWH, has, with time,experience, conditioning and balance become a horse I would never ever sell. He is truly a phenomenal companion and ride. Trust me, he did not come that way. |
Angie
Member
Username: Ajudson1
Post Number: 420
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, Apr 15, 2006 - 6:02 pm: | |
I find that riding through the woods helps alot. They have to pay attention to trees that are down, uneven ground and rocks. As long as your horse will walk calmly, they will learn to pick their way through the terrain. A hyper horse that you have to hold on to the whole way can be dangerous in the trees...you may get your knees skinned or you head hit by a low branch.
And I agree with Ilona, conditioning and balance for both horse and rider are important. Try going over rough ground with a 40 lb kid bouncing all over your back, (piggy back) vs a 40 lb kid who sits there calmly and balances with you. |
Vicki Zaneis
Member
Username: Vickiann
Post Number: 209
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, Apr 16, 2006 - 10:42 am: | |
One of my boys will begin to stumble when he grows too much toe. First his back end will begin to fall out from under him usually at a walk only, and if the front toes get too long he begins to drag them more and will then stumble from the front end on unlevel ground. A few horses seem very sensitive to any amount of extra toe. |
