Back Problems in horses

lialls

lialls

Well-Known Member
Joined
10 February 2008
Messages
1,455
Location
The Hills
Visit site
Once a horse gets a sore back is it more likely to get them in the future, even if it was sorted out by a physio person at the time??

If its just a mild sore back (a little tender) would you call out a massage person/back person/ someone else? Or give the horse abit of time off work and see if thsi any better after that.

So anyone got any cheap ways of curing a sore back??

Thanks.x
 
It depends on the cause. Sore backs are often caused by an incorrect way of going by the horse, esp due to bone spavins or other hindlimb lamenesses. So unless the cause is fixed, it'll reoccur.

If the cause is saddle fit, i shouldn't come back if the saddle is sorted. Same with rider cause - sort the rider and the problem shouldn't come back.

If you think you can pinpoint the cause of the pain (an fall, a badly fitted saddle) and it's very mild, just time (and a good saddle) should heal it. But if you don't know what caused it, it would be worth getting a good physio out. They aren't hugely expensive - £50 inc travel is average.
 
Depends on what is causing the sore back. Unless the horse has hurt his back falling in the field etc most back problems are caused by issues elsewhere such as foot balance or mild lameness for example so until you fix the root cause you are going to continue getting problems.

There are lots of different views on the subject on here but generally speaking my personal choice is to get a vet to a work up first to try and identify the cause before having physio/chiro work done.

I'm not sure there are 'cheap' ways of curing a bad back, no
crazy.gif
 
Thanks. When i first got my mare her saddle didnt fit so that gave her a really bad back, it was sorted out by a our back lady and we had a made to measure saddle for her. But recently her way of going has changed (wont engage hocks, resisting contact) and then 2 days ago i nocticed she was a little tense in her back. I was thinking i would get the saddle fitter out to make sure the saddle still fits.

Also do you think an unbalanced rider could give a horse a sore back??

Is there anything that i can do to make the horse more comfortable int eh mean time?
 
I generally fit physio into its regular treatment alongside shoeing worming and dentistry, I think if they carry us around and jump through hoops to please us then a little treat in the way of some gentle physio every now and again has got to be a good thing!! I also have learnt that even a little tender can create further problems if not treated as they start to compensate with the diagonals and move differently - sorry to preach I have just had a lot of experience with back issues with my t/b!!
 
Definitely a good idea to get the saddle properly checked.

An unbalanced rider could certainly affect a horses back. I have a friend who sits a little unlevel in the saddle- her and her horse have chiro at the same time for her hip problem to keep them both right!
smile.gif
 
I was conned when having having a chiropraticor out for henry, he used to do an unusual skipping act in which most people thought was a back problem. RI advised us to get a chiro out and we did, spending £50 a time, ending up roughly spending £400.

After a few months of him STILL skipping, we moved yards where my dad's friend rode him every day and he was school mostly. The problem turned out to be me and RI not riding henry forward enough, so he was skipping as a sort of half buck type thingy lol. He now only ever does it when we are on a long hack and going fast if he's having a bad day.

Good luck with physio with your horse, hope it works! Your horse sounds like it actually does have a bad back and you luckily won't be getting ripped off!
smile.gif
 
Not engaging and resisting contact are exactly the symptoms of a sore back or hind lameness, I would not ignore them! I would get the physio out and if nothing wrong try the vet to make 100% sure it is not a physical problem. If you are certain it's not physical then you can think about more schooling, lessons, etc.
 
My horse has a weak back - partly due to the way he's built, possibly aggrivated by being ridden in a badly fitting saddle when he was younger.
If its an ongoing problem I would get the vet as physio, while it might help for a while, will not cure the underlying problem. Paying for a physio to keep working on the symptoms not the cause is certainly not a cheap way of dealing with it.
How long is it since she last had a bad back? If its quite recent and the saddle is reasonably ok, I'd be thinking about calling the vet. If it was a while ago and the saddle isn't fitting as well as it might, physio would be worth a go.
 
Not engaging hocks is a common sign of bone spavin, which usually causes a sore back.

You will need vets approval to get a physio out anyways, so I would have a full lameness exam done.Unfortunatly it's not cheap, but you could maybe try to get it done on insurance.
 
The cheapest way of curing a bad back is to pay an expert to look at it (IMHO as the owner of a horse that has had major back surgery!).

Any decently qualified physio will refer you to a vet if they don't feel the horse has improved after a couple of sessions, a horse with back issues will be sensitive to different riders and schooling methods, mine is checked every 3mths but even without surgery I would have him done 6mthly as routine just to give me peace of mind that he is ok.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top