Horse Trips

[guitars_horses]

Hello everyone,

I have a 7 year old TB gelding who has never raced and has had recurring tripping problems. He usually trips and catches himself before he falls completely. We thought he was neurologically affected for a long time, but other than the more than occasional trip, he showed no other symptoms. We decided to treat him for EPM to make sure, but it didn’t seem to help him. After this, we got a second veterinary opinion and he checked his hocks and stifles and it turned out his hocks were extremely sore so we had them injected and it seemed to help at least a little bit; however, he still continues to trip. It makes me think that he has an underlying issue from his hind end (possibly a sacroiliac problem?) that is causing him to trip. He also has had his saddle fitted multiple times and chiropractic adjustments that don’t seem to work. He constantly gives me a fit when I ask him to canter even though he is a very sweet tempered horse. He sometimes actually has a bunny hop type buck when he does canter. I don’t know what else to do and I feel kind of lost.

Have any of you gone through anything similar? Any advice is greatly appreciated! I know SI issues are hard to diagnose, but that is what I am suspecting at this point…

Thank you everyone!

[beowulf]

is he tripping up front or behind? i’m guessing behind?

are his toes long?

have you had any x-rays/films done on his neck to see if it is cervical arthritis or even wobblers?

kissing spine?

[guitars_horses]

Thanks for your response! We did have x rays done on his beck and they did not see anything out of the ordinary. Also, his feet are trimmed regularly and he has front shoes. His tripping is mostly in the back. Thanks!

[guitars_horses]

Sorry I meant to say neck not beck

[IPEsq]

Have you ever tried hind shoes?

[findeight]

Look for problems in the hip/pelvis. Seen some with undiscovered fractures do that bunny hop when asked to canter-it hurts.

[guitars_horses]

Thanks again everyone! We did try hind shoes and we didn’t see a huge difference. The pelvis/hip we have thought about frequently. We have definitely considered sacroiliac problems and I am thinking about the possibility of SI injections. Do you all think this may be a good route to go down? He strongly dislikes cantering and he trips more so on downward transitions. Do any of you have experience with SI injections?

[AKB]

Can you post a video? Is his stifle catching or is he really tripping?

[Weluvhaha]

Definitely read everything you can about sacroiliac joint disease. Trainers’ ignorance on this issue really interfered with my handling of my horse’s SIJD. One vet too was poorly informed.

Bunny hopping is usually associated with neuro, but neuro can originate in SI injury.

My horse has SIJD, (refused to canter, very scrambled canter, kicked out at canter, worse under saddle, infinite saddling issues, uneven development of one side, history of repeated pulling out on cross ties, history of falling) I did do SI injections. Helped the first time, less the second time. I would consider shock wave therapy for SI. But when his tripping got dramatic, I realize -NOW- that is when he first showed neuro signs and they just weren’t identified. Where there are SI problems, there are often cervical problems (both due to a severe fall.) and where there are cervical problems, there can be neuro symptoms. If I could go back in time, I would do a bone scan early rather than late. So much better to know what you’re really dealing with. Especially since with neuro, symptoms can shift. You can chase shifting hock, stifle, front end lameness for years. Also if you know what your horse is dealing with, you can avoid making training mistakes (do what’s good for him and not what’s good for the trainer.) Bone scan was the best money I ever spent. Just wish I’d done it 7 years earlier. I would have saved thousands of wasted dollars on trainers and chasing vague and shifting lameness.

[guitars_horses]

He is really tripping and I have tried to video it, but I can’t seem to time it correctly. He is not lame, but he has ouchy hocks which we get injections for. The injections help, but he still trips. I would love to get a bone scan, but I am not sure I could afford it. Tomorrow, I will ask our vet about SIJD and get back to you all. I am still trying to exercise him to build muscle to possibly help the problem. Thanks again for your help everyone!

[Weluvhaha]

You can spend thousands chasing lameness issues and equally on trainers that aggravate an underlying condition. Bone scan is an investment that reduces waste.

[keysfins]

[QUOTE=Weluvhaha;8773452]
You can spend thousands chasing lameness issues and equally on trainers that aggravate an underlying condition. Bone scan is an investment that reduces waste.[/QUOTE]

Were you able to get the horse comfortable, Weluvhaha? What was the outcome?

[x]

For what its worth, knew a horse once that would trip behind. Put wedge pads on behind, and it stopped the problem.

[beowulf]

I’d strong consider getting someone to film you and him riding normally - see if you can catch it on video. You can send that video to your vet and post it here for us nosy-folk who want to see what you’re talking about!

[guitars_horses]

Thanks everyone! I will work on getting a video up as soon as possible and you are right about the bone scan (it is definitely worth it). Also, I have not considered wedges for the back, but that is a question I will ask my vet/farrier about.

[guitars_horses]

Hi again! I just had a consult with a vet who believes the problem to be a sacroiliac joint disease issue so he thinks we will probably need to get the joint injected.