Arthritis? Back Issues? Confused!

[Blaise]

Firstly i will apologise for what may be a bit of a mixed up ramble. My 12 year old TB mare has always had a few issues but they've never really concerned me as she's not been in work. Now think she's in good enough condition to bring into work i'm slightly more worried. I had her on new years day looking like a toast rack and virtually giving up. Wormed her, gradually fed her up and she now looks lovely and has the sparkle back in her eye. I had no history for her other than that she is very cold backed but after 10 mins or so of bunny hopping she settles down and is good to ride and jump. Tried a saddle on her a few weeks ago and as i expected she wasn't overly impressed and was very tense. Kept it on for a few mins then took it off. Didnt actually get on her as i was worried she was still in pain rather than it being a remembered type of pain. Vet has been out, didnt think any major problem so suggested back lady who has also been out & said no real problems. Feeling reassured today i've set about re-backing her as she just seems petrified of the saddle, particularly when girthing. It's obvious she's had badly fitting tack in the past as she was 2 white patches either side of withers and another in girth area. Don't want to rush her as she's quite sensitive & i'm in no hurry. Started jumping up & down by side of her as i would do a baby, not bothered at all. Put hand just below withers & did the same and ears went flat back. Did it with hand a bit further back, ears went back, both back legs came up and she squealed. Not a happy horse at all! Now i was hardly putting any pressure on her back so i'm convinced it couldn't hurt, i use more pressure grooming! Carried on doing it so she could see i wasn't going to be intimidated and did eventually stop kicking out, although still not happy. Took her in the school tonight & leant across her back from the mounting block. Ears were back & she was very wary of what i was doing but no squeels, trying to kick or bunny hop so left it on a good note and turned her out. I've rode a fair few cold backed horses in the past but she's by far the worse i've known. Does this sound normal to you or do you think there may still be something underlying with her back?

Also, whilst i'm here will mention her hocks. She is very stiff through her back legs sometimes, somedays is fine then others she's about 6 inches away from tracking up and seems very 'stilted'. Again, vet has been, did flexion tests etc... and she trotted away a but stiff but def not lame. Did some in-hand polework today too and she struggled to pick her back legs up over the pole, although got easier after a few attempts. Could this be related to a back issue, and in turn the cold backed-ness? Vet thinks there may be some arthritic changes going on in the hocks so x-rays will be the next step. She's not lame so i wouldn't imagine nerve blocking would be much good.

I know it's impossible to say without seeing or knowing the horse, and i know my vet very well and trust her implicitly but was just wondering if anyone had any experiences with anything similar. I'm just very confused (and worried) at the moment.

and to anyone who managed to read to this point. Thank you!!!

 

[trotter259]

I would be really interested to see what is replied to on here.

I have recently purchased a horse that is cold backed, he doesn't bunny hop when you first get on, he just arches his back, if you squeeze him on he gets on with it and is a lovely ride.

He has a habit of bucking / bronking for no reason when riding though. It's not an every day occurrence apparently. I haven't ridden him much over the 3 months i've had him as he had a very sore back from an ill fitting saddle and he was so skinny. We've been doing a lot of lunging, in-hand hacks and just generally bonding. He was diagnosed with OCD at 4, had an operation to remove the floating bone and has been pain free ever since. There is no pain in his hocks, but his back is very sore, and his rump. If you pat him on his bum, he tucks underneath?!

I would love to know people's opinions on the bucking. He's only 6.