# He's rope walking ...



## smrobs

Are you 100% certain that the movement is new or is it just the stumbling that's new?

I would suggest having a vet give him a good once over. A sudden onset stumbling problem _could_ be a sign of something more serious going on. It may be something so simple as his feet being unbalanced and you need a new farrier or it could be something serious like neurological problems or one of a million things in between. It could just be that he's getting older and losing some of his muscle mass. A vet will be able to give you a more definitive answer.


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## Saddlebag

Do you mean placing one hoof ahead of the other, as tho walking a rope? If so, my arab did that with poor saddle fit. Their shape changes more rapidly when in the senior years.


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## Lafitte

Well he's always walked a little inward (foot in front of other), but now he's gotten somewhat worse this week. His feet when walking, look like he's going to hit his other inside legs. His tripping and stumbling has started for a few weeks though. As you can tell in the pictures, his front do go out some.


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## soenjer55

When you were looking at him to buy, did he do this? I would contact his former owners and ask about this- but I think the most important thing to do is call your vet. I'm thinking that this may be a physical problem, because he's an older horse....


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## Lafitte

I don't think he did walk inward. I know for a fact he didn't trip, he just started that a few weeks ago and I'm learning to canter on him and it affects my confidence a lot when trips during it as it unbalances me. I'll keep a better eye on him when I go since I now know what to look for when he moves and when I ride him. I think though that his leg confirmation was a little out like in the pictures, but it wasn't terribly noticeable. 

Just out of curiosity, would you sell him?


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## bubba13

No one would buy him, with the problems you've described. I agree he needs to be thoroughly vetted.


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## soenjer55

I would just retire him... I don't think a horse that trips constantly like that when trotting/cantering is ride-able. Like Bubba said, nobody would buy him. If he's okay with walking, he could be a therapy horse, where he would just be lead around at a walk.


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## Lafitte

He walks fine and does good on trails. He just trips more when you go faster. He's my first horse is why I'm asking if ya'll would sell him. If he's retired then that would be kind of a waste and using all of my money for him just sitting there and me doing little things. It's just me that pays for him and I definitely cannot afford two horses. If anything, he could be just used as a pleasure trail horse and that's it.


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## bubba13

That's when "I hate to say I told you so...." comes into play. That's why you get a pre-purchase exam done when you buy a horse, and you budget for the unexpected.


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## soenjer55

I'm not sure how giving a horse for therapeutic riding works, but at least by donating him, you wouldn't have to feed him, and he'd be in a good place, right? This economy is so bad for horses, and he's not really sound- I just don't even see him as a pleasure trail horse, it's just not worth having a horse that can only walk, but that's just me. But the best thing to do is to try anyway, you never know!


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## MN Tigerstripes

I would have a vet out and a reputable farrier. It's unlikely that anyone will buy him given the problems you're describing. Even a therapeutic riding center isn't going to want a horse that trips, what happens when it escalates and starts happening at a walk? 

This is part of horse ownership, its your responsibility as his owner to determine what is wrong with him. Once you know what's wrong with him then you can start figuring out where to go.


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## NorthernMama

I think Soenjer55 is jumping the gun a bit, not to mention in one post she says to retire him and in the next give to a therapeutic riding stable. The last thing a therapeutic riding stable needs is a horse that trips.

I agree that vet and farrier visits are in order. Especially since this is your first horse and you may not have the experience to see some things. Regardless, fresh eyes usually provide a fresh viewpoint.

Yes, his stance in the front is poor, but okay for casual riding in an otherwise healthy horse. He may have some arthritis which is causing him difficulty. If so, the best thing for him is continued movement anyway.

While on the older side, if there is just a little problem it could be that it is easily managed and you may yet have a good horse on your hands. He has good weight. Ask the vet and have his feet done/checked.


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## soenjer55

Well, that's assuming that at a therapeutic riding stable, he'd only walk around on a lead rope, and the OP said he could walk just fine. I would personally just retire him, but the OP isn't in a position to be able to do that. If that makes any more sense...


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## aggiegirl14

Like the others said, get a vet and farrier to look at him first. Once you have all the information, then you can make a decision on what to do with him. In the last picture it looks like the left hoof might be longer than the right one. It could be the angle but maybe it's something a vet or farrier could easily fix. Don't give up on him yet! Not until you have exhausted your options


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## Lafitte

Those are the most recent I have of his angles, but his feet were done Wed. and I told the farrier about him tripping, but he didn't notice anything strange about his feet. I had my instructor look at him when I first noticed him walking funny going inward but she didn't say anything about it really. I'll have the vet look at him sometime soon and just keep any eye on him and see if he gets better.


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## bubba13

soenjer55 said:


> I'm not sure how giving a horse for therapeutic riding works, but at least by donating him, you wouldn't have to feed him, and *he'd be in a good place*, right?


For future reference, many therapeutic places sell/auction (read: slaughter) horses that they cannot use for whatever reason. They can't afford to feed them for sentimental reasons.


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## NorthernMama

Lafitte said:


> Those are the most recent I have of his angles, but his feet were done Wed. and I told the farrier about him tripping, but he didn't notice anything strange about his feet. I had my instructor look at him when I first noticed him walking funny going inward but she didn't say anything about it really. I'll have the vet look at him sometime soon and just keep any eye on him and see if he gets better.


I doubt he will get any better without some intervention. 

I find it very odd that neither the farrier nor your instructor had any input on your horse's tripping. Assuming your instructor knows about it, of course. A farrier should definitely be concerned about tripping, even if the cause is not in the hoof. Next call is definitely the vet.


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## lilkitty90

your best bet if you can't keep him, and don't want to vet him. would be to give him away. no one wants to invest their money in time for a horse that they can't ride like you said. there are some people who wants horses as yard ornaments and may keep him as a pasture pet. but make sure its the thing you want to do. once he leaves your hands he could end up in hands of someone thats not going to keep him. or care for him properly. gettign rid of a horse is a big decision. almost as big of the decision of getting him without a vet check. thats was the most important and responsible part that you missed. hopefully he goes to a decent home if you decide to get rid of him. though i do think he should be vetted. its not his fault he's tripping. and its your responsibility as his owner to make sure he is well looked after.


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## Lafitte

I know kitty. I probably wouldn't sell him anyway, I do like having him around. Even if he did get worse, I could always just trail ride him at the walk. He doesn't seem to be in pain and the tripping he didn't do it terribly when my instructor was around so she thought it was just because he was older and not picking up his feet, same with the farrier. The farrier did say that he was going to angle the hooves different or something to see if that would help with the tripping. I haven't ridden him since before Wed when farrier came. I'm going to try to ride him tomorrow (Fri) morning and see how he is.


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## soenjer55

bubba13 said:


> For future reference, many therapeutic places sell/auction (read: slaughter) horses that they cannot use for whatever reason. They can't afford to feed them for sentimental reasons.


Really? I thought they just retired them... learn something new everyday, huh.


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## animalartcreations

Do you have any eye level photos of him from the knee down, closeups of the outside of his hooves and closeups of the underside of his front feet? (clean them up, first) I might be able to help you at least know what questions to ask your vet/farrier.


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## Lafitte

He's been getting a little better, I think. He's not doing it as close to his other feet when walking. He's not hitting his feet either and he doesn't act like he's in pain. He hasn't been tripping much at the trot either, so he's doing pretty good. When the vet comes for shots, I'll get her to look at him then.


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## soenjer55

I hope he's okay, good luck!


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## Saddlebag

I'm wondering if he isn't a bit lazy and just not picking up his feet like he should. By 21 a horse has really learned about conserving energy. And by doing so he's likely going heavy on the front end.


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## Lafitte

I was thinking that too because he is lazy.


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## Lafitte

He's one smart cookie though, so wouldn't be surprised if he was just making us think that . He's too smart sometimes and he knows it


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## newhorsemom

Does he ride out of it? Our horse started doing that last summer but only when we have her dressage saddle on. She would only "tightrope" at a walk (sometimes severely & cross over) but her trot was fine. Usually she would ride out of it in about 15 minutes or so. She has always had a short stride in the right front but it is barely noticeable normally. We have had 3 chiro's 2 vet checks, acupuncture, and farrier out to see her to no avail. They all said that they couldn't find anything wrong and she looks good at the trot so don't worry too much unless it gets worse. Now that my daughter is getting ready for show season I want to know what it is and how we can keep it from getting worse. Saddle fitter is coming next week to see her under the dressage saddle (before we sell it) to help us pinpoint the area of concern. Needless to say we have more invested in this than what we paid for the horse! We plan to keep her forever so I guess that's just how it goes. Ugh. 

Anyway, can you isolate a certain time or situation that makes it worse or better?


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