A number of might explain a conformation change or a fall in an older horse, so having your veterinarian conduct a thorough physical exam is the best first step to finding an answer. | Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt/The Horse

Q. I have a 20-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare that I have owned since she was born. She has been in extensive training and showing since she was four and has been awarded high honors in breeding quality status. However, over the past two years she has become increasingly over at the knee and bobbles her knees just standing in her stall.

She fell down while I was riding her not long ago in a very freakish manner. In all the years of training and showing her this has never happened. I’m hoping you can explain what causes a horse to be over at the knee, and why does she have this issue now when she had excellent conformation growing up? Could it just be old age? And if it is old age, what is mechanically happening? Might she be in the early stages of Cushing’s? Why, at 20 years old, has she has developed this fault?

—Julie, via