Cold back

[GatefieldHorses]

Any one else have a horse with a cold back?
I need some comments from others as we have an irish horse, who when you get on him humps his back, broncs for first 5 mins then all of a sudden works perfectly, jumps and hacks.. We had our back lady out and she said there is no such thing as cold back. just sore back. His back is all fine, saddle fits correct. Teeth are fine.
Anyone else have similar probs?

 

[Emma123]

Known of a cold back mare that i rode in the summer, she wouldn't hump you off or anything just when you got on it felt like her back end was going!

What we did was get on at the mountin block and didn't sit in the saddle until we'd walked her around a bit. This allowed her to adjust to the weight and when we sat down she was fine

Don't know if this would help with your horse?

 

[GatefieldHorses]

as soon as he feels your bum touch the saddle hes gone. But he means it, its not just a "ooh" bronc, its a "i want u" bronc. Hmmmm beggining to think hes just a bit nasty as he nearly had his rider through the fence a few days ago

 

[Heidi1]

Have an ex racer who is a little cold backed, I get on her from off a mounting block everytime, she also wears a saddle cloth and then a wedge as well, this has helped her alot, also in winter I don't clip her out, so she always has a covering on her back. Another good thing is to warm the saddle cloth i.e. leave it on a radiator or near the heater in the car. Good luck and hope you have a break through..............

 

[acolvine]

Only thing i can could suggest is that if his muscles are contracted before you warm up then that maybe a trigger? That generally would point to him being sore/sensitive or in spasm.
If i massage my mare when she has come in from the field or been in her stable then she is reactive through her lumbar and thorax although i put alot of this down to sensitivity rather than pain. However if i do the checks after riding, stretching, bending etc there are no reactions.
Is your horse fully clipped and if so do you ride with an exercise sheet until he is warmed up? One thing you could try before tacking up or while grooming is a hot water bottle or wheat bag. Just place it behind where the saddle would sit for a few minutes, take it off then try mounting and see if you have the same issue.
Might sound nuts but i took the idea from my physio as she uses heat before working on my back. Increases the blood flow and helps to loosen things off before starting.
The hot water bottle is a bit of a balancing act so don't over fill it and make sure it has a thick cover on so as not to burn. I normally lay a rug over the top to help keep it in place.
Also what about lunging for 5 mins to get him warmed up and see if you get the same reactions when getting on.

Other than that i would get the vet out and also get a second opinion on saddle fit.

Hope that helps

 

[amage]

tbh i dont agree with your back lady at all. there is research to prove incidence of what is called "cold-back" in horses. its not a pain issue its part psychological and it can be quite dangerous. the best way to alleviate it is tack up slowly, always keep a rug over the horses bum while tacking up and lunge with tack before getting on board. for the first few mins on a very cold day lunge with rug, then lunge without, then get on board. the horse needs to learn that first of all you are not trying to hurt it and secondly if he does panic he won't get punished. you need a jockey who sits really really quietly especially in the early days of working with this type of horse. anyone who moves in the saddle too much or has an electric arse will just drive him mad. i've worked with quite a few of these type of horses and we have always been able to overcome it. it takes time and patience, some horses will be better in a few days some will never be 100%. no matter what its imperative that the jockey is good and quiet.

 

[UKa]

My mare is incredibly sensitive on her back and I am always careful when tacking up (I had a couple of incidences when I first got her of her falling to the floor under the saddle which then prompted me to call vet and back person) her back was fine but she needs to be warmed up a bit before tacking up and riding.

I dont pull up girth until she has walked a bit and always use a mounting device where I can.

 

[KatB]

Use a big pad underneath the saddle, really makes a difference to some horses who dont like to "feel" the saddle.

I had a horse who used to do this, same as yours, no apparent reason. I used to get on him ask him to walk, if he went off on one used to kick forward for a good few minutes, kind of double guessing him, and not letting him slow up until I wanted him too. He learnt quickly, and used to be an angel to get on once he learnt his biehaviour wasnt getting him anywhere.

 

[acolvine]

Do you mind me asking if your back lady is a physio, chiro, spinal therapist or massage therapist?

When the saddle goes on, the girth tightens and the weight of the rider is added then the muscles will contract and any over sensitivity will send signals to the horses brain causing it to react in some cases quiet dangerously.
Warming up the muscles by massage, stretching etc will help desensitise the horse, increase blood flow and release contracted muscles, after all thats what the lunging is doing.
It can indeed turn psychological if left untreated.
Would be interesting to see what reaction your horse produces if a massage person or such like were to work on the trigger/pressure points in the paraspinal and gluteal muscles. I find these the most sensitive in my mare, visibly reactive as she is so sensitive.
I really have to take my time with her when warming up and have found massage to be of great benefit plus she really enjoys it so it helps to build her confidence and has helped disaccosiate being ridden with discomfort.
Just take things slowly tacking up and if you lunge first then do it with and exercise rug on.

 

[MagicMelon]

Yep, my boy has always been cold backed. Ive been dealing with it for the past 3 years now. He doesn't do it EVERY time I get on though, usually its worse / more frequent in the winter when its cold. Some days he doesnt even do it at all. He's bronced me off about 6 times, but has done the humped back quite often, not for long only about 30 seconds then is fine.

Ive tried lungeing first before getting on and it didnt really help TBH. He's had his back checked and saddle (both saddles he has where professionally fitted).

I put my boy on NAF Superflex 3 months ago and I noticed he started to get less cold backed. Then he's been turned away the past 2 months. I got on him today (for the first time again) and normally after this length of time with no riding he is REALLY bad however he was fine!! No hump at all!!! Am rather delighted! I really do think the NAF Superflex is doing something. Dont ask me how as the spine isnt really a joint but he seems much much better. No he's coming back into work Ill soon work out if its a long term solution.

Otherwise, I make sure the first thing I do is put his saddle on so the saddlecloth warms up under his back while I carry on grooming (and I make sure he has a rug over his hindquarters during this). Then I lead him about for a few minutes including a quick trot to get him used to the stirrups swinging at his sides etc. Then I bang my hands on his saddle and wobble it a bit before I get on. Thats just my routine, not sure if it works for you!

Oh and I always use one of those Poly Pad pods between his saddle and the thin saddlecloth which he likes.

Ive also found my horse seems to prefer his Wintec Cair dressage saddle to his other GP one (very expensive one which was fitted etc.) so I think he likes the lightness of it as his GP is quite heavy.

Good luck - its the worst feeling in the world when you feel them rising and the panic as they're about to bronc. x

 

[GatefieldHorses]

You can lunge for as long as you want, he still does it. And if someone rides him, hebrons then behaves...someone else gets on then broncs agian then behaves so thats why im doubting the cold back. He has a thick poly pad underneath.
grrrrr....horses!!!!!

 

[icemaiden113]

I have a cold backed horse! And you specialist is half right, cold back is a syndrome not an actual condition.
My bot doesn't do anything nasty just walks/trots off then settles down eventually. However after the initial time you can get on and off all you want! We have tried all sorts of numnahs etc! But it is a syndrome and mainly in his head! It doesn't bother me however just another one of those things! He did get better when we took his mind off the situation and held a carrot for him while someone got on!!

 

[magic104]

"We had our back lady out and she said there is no such thing as cold back." Just what I was told years ago & my mares problem turned out to be muscel damage.

 

[icemaiden113]

Cold Back is a syndrome! (as i said) Had my boys back cheacked! And nothing wrong with him at all!

 

[Bert&Maud]

This is exactly the same as my old horse. He would be OK for months, and then would go through phases of tensing when the girth was tightened, then when I got on him (always from a mounting block) he would take one step and explode into an unrideable bronco routine which no one would have been able to sit on. Luckily I was never injured, apart from some spectacular bruises. When I got up off the floor and approached him he would be rigid with tension. You always had to sit very lightly for the first few steps, and would feel like he might "go" at any minute, but after a few steps (literally 5-6) he would relax and would then go beautifully, and was never a horse to buck under any other circumstances. His problem always seemed to be worse when the grass was at full strength (ie May and September ish). He was eventually diagnosed with kissing spines, and had surgery at 14 years of age. I rode him for another 11 years, but you always had to be careful when you got on him, however some of that may have been memory of years of discomfort. Although it was about 15 years ago now, I remember John Walmsley (who carried out his op) saying that no horse should be "cold backed" and that horses that had a reputation for being so almost certainly had back pain.
Before he was diagnosed the local "back lady" had told me that he was just being naughty and I should give him a smack!! Unfair on a horse who was the least naughty horse I have owned! Problems like kissing spines cannot be diagnosed by anyone other than a vet using x-ray.

 

[ladylisa]

My mare is slightly cold backed, when i am going to ride i groom her saddle area first then put her saddle on and do the girth up loosely, then i groom the rest of her, do the girth up another hole then pick her feet out and do it up another hole.
I always get on from a block and sit in the saddle and dont move for a minute so she gets used to my weight.
She just dances a little when we set off.

 

[MagicMelon]

I dont think it is a "syndrome" like its all in their head. Like people say, those who've been told their horse is simply being naughty know thats not true. In my horses case (who TBH has only actually bronc'ed me off about 6 times due to it) he is the nicest horse you could imagine - its simply not in his nature to WANT to get me off! As Im sure is the same for a lot of other peoples cold backed horses. Sure, you'll get the odd one who maybe had a sore back one day, got the rider off and then learnt that he could do this whenever he wanted, thats different! In this girls case, it DOES sound like the horse is being naughty since he only does it with her and not other riders.

Ive also been told by a back person "cold backed horses dont exsist". Usually my boy just goes humpy for a short time when I get on - why would he do this? There's no reason to do it, obviously if the horse actually bronc's then they get something out of it by getting the rider off. Do you get what I mean? I just dont see why they'd bother!!