Horse tripping

[gothedistance]

@Doctracy;5257621

Very good information. Thank you so much! I’ll be talking to the Shoer about changes. If no improvement, will be getting him checked for EPM. I have had my fair share of misery with EPM, one lost, one with some rear end weakness so I sure hope this doesn’t go that direction. Fingers crossed.

Do the EPM test first. Better shoeing may just mask EPM symptoms (like tripping) which REALLY need to be treated ASAP if you horse shows a high titer. If the titer comes up within the range of “infected”, have the neuro test done by a good vet who knows what to look for AND how to treat it.

Don’t bother with the spinal tap - just do the blood test and go from there.

EPM isn’t a death knell if treated quickly. That’s why I strongly suggest you do the test first before anything else.

BTW - when he stands, does he stand cowhocked behind? (toes out, hocks in)

[Martina]

If it is a flat plate, then the horse is probably catching the edge. Have both front and hind shoes changed to something like a St. Croix Eventer shoe which has a complete breakover on the entire rim. A proper equine sporting shoe – like the Eventer – might be the difference between night and day for your horse…and completely end the tripping.

This. My horse started tripping last year. My horse had a flat shoe with a squared edge. We switched to the eventer shoe which has a beveled edge all around, and he stopped tripping immediately.

Good luck.

[Doctracy]

He stands perfectly straight, not cow hocked. I did notice when I was giving the girls a showmanship lesson that he was reluctant to pivot on his right hind hock, but can pivot on his left. So there may be a hock issue. I spun him around and backed him up with no other problems.
Will get the titer and a checkup.
I’m thinking it might be the hock and shoeing. Sure hope it isn’t EPM, although my TB made a decent recovery.

[Doctracy]

Gave him a shot of Legend and Adequan. Will continue series for the known hock arthritis. Shoer yesterday says he’s been trying to get his toes shorter, heels to grow down. He’s my new Shoer and I really like him. We checked for soreness in the front feet with the testers, totally negative. Due to the low heels and tripping he pulled the front shoes back to encourage a quicker break over, shortened toes as much as possible and changed the pad for one with a frog lift to encourage heel growth. He also used some cushy fill inside the pad instead of just the pine tar stuff, just in case. had pads on before this due to the terrible rocks that I hack on. Rocks so bad I’ve worn through my wide web steel shoes in 6weeks, paper thin.
Horse looks better, is moving much better. I think it’s a combination of hock pain and the long toe/low heel issue. Hopefully it’s on the mend. Will do some tougher hacks on trappy trails next week before the hunt following weekend. Skipping Boxing Day for other reasons.
Thanks for all your help! I’m also looking to buy some jumps so that we can work low jumps and teach him where to put his feet, which is probably part of the problem.

[gothedistance]

Glad to hear you are getting a handle on the problem. Hopefully the new shoeing and the hock injections will have him right as rain in no time!

[Doctracy]

If not, will be doing EPM test ASAP. But, hoping this works. He seems much better, already!