Back problems - will delaying treatment make it worse?

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Ziggy_

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I'm slightly concerned about my horses' back at present. I want to put the emphasis on slightly before I get yelled at - there aren't any signs of pain as such, I just have a niggling feeling she's not right. She is fine in the field and on the lunge - its purely a ridden problem so I think her saddle might be to blame.

The thing is - I'm skint at the moment. I'm wondering if I could get away with turning her away over the winter - that way I could save money on shoes, leave her unclipped and save money on rugs and feed too. Will it hurt to delay treatment or is it likely to get worse if she's holding herself funny/using the wrong muscles?

If you all think it will be risky to leave it I could probably find the money from somewhere but it will be a major struggle - I was going to loan her out or maybe sell but I'm not going to pass on a problem although I'm not really in a position financially to sort it out.
 
What is it that makes you slightly concerned?

My mare has had 5 months off and had blossomed physically from it. She used to to step short at the back and be a bit stiff in her stifles. She now over reaches! i am bringing her back into work slowly and carefully, keeping everything balanced and controlled. Hopefully this will give us a good muscle base and stop her getting stiff and sore again. I personnaly think every horse needs a good holiday now and then.
 
If you need to save money and you're not going to miss riding her for a few months then yes, I'd chuck her out in a field. Not going to do any harm and may iron out whatever it is
 
a hard one and I can fully empathise as I was in that situation very recently.

I would say yes it would hurt as in the interim the horse compensates for any discomfort and in doing so causes more wide spread discomfort.

Sorry.....

you could try turning her away, as rest is always the best cure for a lot of things,
 
Personally I would get her back checked first and then turn her away.

I know of a horse who had a niggly intermittent back problem that went untreated and his spine actually fused resulting in it being untreatable, well not without huge expense.

Sorry, but I feel leaving it unseen to is just ignoring the problem.
 
Moody mare- She is hollowing under saddle where she used to work in a nice outline. Thats all really - she has some one-sidedness issues and finds rein back difficult but these are long standing problems so she might have had something niggling for a while. She is fine on the lunge though, and her teeth have been checked recently so aren't to blame.
 
Is she insured? If so, call the vet out and check her over. It may be that you have to pay the excess, but if there is something wrong with her, then it is best to find out sooner than later.

The behaviour you describe is consistent with a lot of things. Does she object to be rugged? tacked up? girth tightened? Pressing firmly on her back are you able to manipulate the muscles or are they "frozen"? Does she dip away from pressure - bear in mind that there should be some reaction to pressure but she shouldnt be sitting on the floor. Is she happy the have her tail rotated? does she hold it to one side when you are riding her?

It may be that her saddle doesnt fit - it may be a false economy not to get this checked as it may just need reflocking etc. Otherwise you still have the upkeep of a horse over winter without being able to ride/loan her out.
 
Hi Ziggy, in my experience i would have her back checked by a chiro/physio before turning her away and then sort her saddle out as soon as you start working her. This will then let her rest while everyhting is in the correct alignemtn avoiding any problems de to compensation. I would then advise having her saddle checked as soon as you start working her under saddle (if this is causing a problem you don't want it to come back when her back is weak before she is fir) then have the saddle checked a couple of months further down the line when she is fit. Hope this is some help please feel free to PM
Rachel
 
From personal experience I would have a physio check her then turn her away for the winter and get your saddle re-fitted when you want to bring her back into work. Back problems are very difficult to deal with and the best cure is rest and physio then very slowly bringing back into work, however it sounds like yours isn't too serious!
 
CB Anglo - her back muscles are not frozen and she doesn't dip away from pressure. her tail swings from side to side when ridden and she is happy to have it rotated. She does pull faces when rugged (always has done) and girthed up but strangely enough not when saddled! She works through her back when ridden and overtracks in walk and trot.

Was wondering if it could be a neck problem? Never really heard of that in horses though. it just seems like the back end is fine and the problems are from the saddle forwards?
 
I'd probably get a qualified back person to have a look...a human physio, or a McTimony practitioner, before turning her away (if your vet agrees as you need to have a referral
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But your question is impossible to answer, until you know what is wrong, and of course, you won't know that without treatment...
S
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Ok, fair enough I will get her back checked out, and if its a saddle issue she'll have a holiday over the winter and start again next spring when I'm not poor as my saddle fitter charges a fortune!

Thanks for the replies everyone - and I know all you can do is guess but if anyone has any more suggestions of what could be wrong I'd still like to hear them.

Thanks x
 
In my experience poll tension is a sign of tension in the pelvis.

I have one horse with KS and one with a SI strain so have had my fair share on lameness issues. It was very easy to diagnose both of them though through their ridden work but of course it depends on what your horse's general condition is - one of mine was very fit and the other just coming back into work.

The fit one didnt display any abnormalities until I stopped riding him everyday. Suddenly I had shortness in one hind, locked back etc etc. I am a saddle fitter myself so knew his tack was fine. First 2 vets said he was fine - just needed to be worked through it. At the back of my mind I thought first bone spavin and then KS - 3rd vet confirmed KS.

With the one with the SI strain he was one sided, had difficulty bending on the right rein and exhibited poll tension when cantering. He was stiff as a plank as had been off 6 months but after 6 months of suppling exericse I noticed a very big difference in the right rein - he would lean, resist the contact and fall in badly. He then slipped in the field and came in on 3 legs. Was clear to see he had a SI strain. Previously he was only in light work so you couldnt notice he was unlevel. It was only when he was doing 4 hours of schooling and 3 hours of hacking a week that he began to show unlevelness in the canter as obviously that amount of work was too much for him. And that was only after about 4 weeks of that type of work. I have given him 6 weeks off work and am now going to bring him back into work, starting with lunging long and low and over poles building up to being ridden in 3 weeks. But he will only be worked every other day. He was very stiff the first couple of weeks off work but I have not noticed any change in him over the last couple of weeks so I will bring him back into work and see how he goes. Vet says there is nothing else that can be done for him except physio (which he gets monthly) and building up topline as much as possible. There are days when he forgets himself though and just wants to gallop everywhere but I have definitely adjusted his workload. Time off really didnt do much for him with his type of injury and in fact the vet advised against any time off for him as it is important to keep the topline strong but infortunately he came in lame and had a deep abscess so there we go.
 
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