rearing out of the blue - what now?

[Susara]

Ok long story. This girl at my yard has a wonderful 6/7YO TB gelding. Coming off the tracks she started jumping him, which he does with great care and heart. Real gentleman. The past year has been a bit tough for him; he had some virus that took him out of work for a few months, and then breaking down the fences to get to the mares (sometimes forgets he's a gelding) hurt his legs and he had to be taken out of work again.

The girl has been very dedicated and slowly worked him up to the point where they're jumping about 70cm or so in lessons. Last week in a jumping lesson they were waiting their turn to jump (we usually jump one at a time, with the rest of the class waiting in a queue). Standing in the queue with a long reign, just relaxing, suddenly he reared right back up and flipped backwards on top of her. Luckily she wasn't hurt too much, but of course he is sore all over, the saddle's tree is broken, and the girl is in shock.

The vet had a look and said yes his back is tender, but of course it would be after the flip, so one can't say what caused him to rear. The vet says he can't tell her it's safe to get on before they really know what caused the surprise rear.

Can anybody think of any ideas? This horse was not rearing out of protest or refusal; they were standing dead quiet, she wasn't asking him anything. He was a bit fresh at the start of the lesson, but he was not at that time any more, and any case she could feel he was relaxed. People that saw the incident said it was as if this horse suddenly thought something was going to kill him, so desperate was he.

Could this be a seizure? Is there a way to test for a seizure? It's the wrong time of the year for horse flies so it's not that.

The girl feels it's not safe for her or anyone else to get on without knowing what caused the rear, this is a HUGE TB and he could seriously hurt you. She's really in a state of shock, she's put so much effort into this gelding and he really is wonderful.

[galadriel]

Just off the cuff, I'd guess kissing spine. That's a condition where the tips of the vertabrae in the horse's spine tilt a little bit, and occasionally rub against each other. It can be tremendously painful if it's set off just wrong. Since it only takes a tiny bit of movement in juuust the right position--sometimes something as simple as slightly shifting weight--to set it off, a horse can sometimes get completely irrational and reactive with no apparent provocation.

A couple of other things can do this too, but I'd probably start by getting a really, really good look at the back.

[Big Ears]

could he have been bitten by something?

sorry no real idea what to suggest - assume he's never done it before.

maybe something just gripped him, and caused pressure - have they really looked at his back before as wonder if it could be tumour in spine or kissing spines, something that just grabbed him and hurt.

really difficult situation.

[Susara]

I was under the impression that kissing spine was mostly caused by horses jumped too early, too much. This bloke only started jumping at a about 6, and really not very much. But I guess there could be lots of things causing it. I'll mention it as a possibility, thanks.

I also thought about something stinging him - a horse fly once got me while hacking out and it was SO painful I was very, very happy that it got me in stead of my horse. But it's not insect season here, although that doesn't rule it out.

If it's something neurological, how would one pick it up? Would it show up every few months, at least? As I mentioned, his back is very tender at the moment because of the fall.

[galadriel]

Unfortunately kissing spine can be caused by a lot of things, including something like a really bad slip in turnout. Any repeated impact/compression, not just jumping, can be involved. One of the things I've found very likely to cause kissing spine is having raced. I see it way too often.

Was his back checked before the fall? It could be presumptive to blame it entirely on the fall unless he was having regular checks before it.

If there's a chance it's something nuerological, then the horse is simply a danger and should never be ridden again. Sad to say :(

[Just.Jump]

Considering he went through a fence, he could have set something off, even if the effects only happened so recently. Whether it's kissine spine or not, I would go with X-rays.

[skylilly]

Ouch, I can imajine the shock to all. I think if it where me I would get a chiropractor to look at his back. I accept he may well be sore 'n a bit briused, and if as you say he was a bit fresh at the start of the lesson maybe he was trying to tellyou something. Horses do there utmost to keep their riders safe soa rear out of the blue is a very strong indicator that something is amiss. also someone offering REKI might be able to 'pick up' an area that needs looking at. Good luck Sky