cold backed horse = any advice??????? Please!

[paulawilkinson]

Can anyone offer me any advice on my cold backed horse? we tack him up, use sheepskin numnahs etc let him stand tacked up for half hour before bringing him out and have a nice loose girth. Yet he still comes out grunting and farting and bronks like a thing possessed!! even before you've got on board. Saddle and all tack/ back etc have all been checked by a professional there are no obvious problems, does anyone have a "magic cure" or failing that any type of advice is welcome!

 

[splatty]

Dont know if this will help but my daughters pony was cold backed so before we actually put saddle on i used to give her a really good massage all along her back and some good stretches and then put saddle on and gently done girth up and restretched her legs and then walked her about doing lots of little circles on each rein to stretch the muscles, thats what a physio advised us to do and it really did worked on her.

 

[paulawilkinson]

we've tried the circle walking bit, but obviously the explosion from the stable has already happened by then. The massage is a really good one which haven't tried before so could work! actually thinking about it, I generally have to groom him before he'll let me put a rug on so that may really help! Ill give it a go tomorrow! thanks

 

[Baggybreeches]

I had a cold backed pony, did the tacking up 10 minutes before, sheepskin numnah, lunging, magnet rugs and in the end we got a sheepskin girth sleeve. Problem solved!

 

[paulawilkinson]

Yes we have one of those!! I'm just glad we are doing the right things, i don't think there is a magic cure, we'll just persevere! hopefully the massaging will help!

 

[MagicMelon]

You've likely tried lungeing etc.

One of mine (the grey in my pic) was cold backed from when I bought him up until last Autumn (3 years). It was very odd, I began adding NAF Superflex to his feed about a month before then - suddenly his cold back went away! It was so strange, but it went and Ive not had any problems at all since! SO happy its "cured" but dont ask me how. I cannot say if it was the superflex or not but basically thats the only thing that changed. I tried all the usual things / had back and tack checked (like you have) to no avail.

Mine didn't actually go nuts though when he was cold backed. He'd just arch his back up and dart about for about 30 seconds, then he was fine. He did bronc me off twice during this time, but once was with a saddle I was trying out which was too far back on him.

I still ride ONLY with a Bartyl Sheepskin saddlecloth which he seems to love. I also always use an exercise sheet on him if its cold at all, just in case. He also loves his Wintec dressage saddle over his GP because it has CAIR - I dont know if that might help. Have you tried different saddles on him?

You could try the Superflex but I think if it did work then mine was a special case! I asked the vet if it was possible, she said maybe in that it could have loosened the bits in between the spine which then relaxed any problem that may have been there.

 

[Daphnelia]

Check its not lame. That was what was wrong with mine. Took three professionals before it was discovered

 

[paulawilkinson]

I have tried lunging him, but this seems to make him worse! he throws himself around even more and has already broken two lunge lines!. He is on cortaflex at the moment because he's in his teens, but it's worth trying the super flex, I'll try anything at the moment! Hes definately not lame, he's actually a lovely moving dressage horse when you can get on the bloody thing! i would ike to have him clipped, but I'm not sure if this will aggrevate the problem or help resolve it?

 

[TarrSteps]

He's most likely hurting somewhere, although at this point it might well be at least partly "routine".

Horses which are termed "cold backed" are often actually reacting to the girth. There is a great deal "going on" at the midline where the girth rests: nerves, blood vessels, important muscles involved in locomotion - it's eqivalent to your solar plexus. (That's why a suddenly tightened/too tight girth interferes with movement and can actually cause a horse to collapse.) Have you tried VERY slow girthing up? I had one mare with a history of this who needed a special girth long enough (she wore a 56" . . .) so it could literally be put on with air under it at first. Have you tried different girths? Some of the fuzzy ones seem to work better for many horses, maybe because of the relative warmness/softness. If this is the issue it may not fix immediately just with a tack change and it may be best if the horse gets some physio first to try to clear the slate as much as possible.

I wouldn't just assume it's "normal" - the horse is trying to tell you something and it's quite possible whatever is making him behave this way is having other, not so obvious effects. Worth a shot anyway.

 

[paulawilkinson]

He does have a 56" girth at the moment with a sheepskin cover and its elasticated. We always girth him very slowly, the girth barely touches him until we're sure he's happy. He is such a lovely old boy and i hate to see him so distressed because he loves to go out for a nice hack and really enjoys himself once he is settled. I would love to get to the route of the problem, because its distressing for us and him and he always looks a little bewildered while he's thrashng around and is never quite sure what you are doing on the floor afterwards!! i think I will try to find a good physio in my area and get them to try to find the cause.

 

[orsemad]

Have you had his back x rayed? So often horses are labelled as 'cold backed' when actually they have kissing spines or some other form of degenerative joing diesease (common in the facet joints)

 

[MagicMelon]

Mine likes the Stubben Cord (string) girth - its really wide and soft. Might be worth a go as my horse didnt like the usual leather elasticated girths or sheepskin covers I tried!

 

[viola]

I would also say the girth - as wide as possible, some dressage ones are good.

 

[paulawilkinson]

i'm definately going to try a few different types of girths, and the massage technique and see how I get on. i haven't had his back x rayed, it is an option but, I think the main cause is the girth, not the weight on his back. I only weigh 9 1/2 stone and he is a 17.3 id x tb! so i'm not heavy on him and his back has been checked and there was no tenderness at all. thank you all for your help! i'll let you know how I get on.

 

[vicijp]

Im guessing youve had his teeth done?
Try a course of NAF Magic, this works really well to relax cold backed horses.
Also use a really tight breastgirth. That way you dont need to tighten the girth at all, without worrying the saddles going to go.
Has he always been like this, or is it a recent thing? If it is a sudden change, rather than personality, I would get it investigated.
A course of bute will help you determine if it is pain or not, if he still plays up its just him, if hes good theres something wrong.
ets: Also, if there isnt anything wrong, but there was and he is now thinking about it - the bute will help him forget and loosen him up better/quicker.

 

[Stoxx]

My horse is cold backed and I have found ways to keep him happy and make my life a bit easier! He feels the cold so I always make sure he is warm enough, as if he has been left to get a little chilly he also bronks coming out of the stable. In the winter I often leave him tacked up for a bit with his rugs on and leave them on while I walk him round to the school. I also found that if I left him in his stable with his girth too loose then it meant the saddle would move slightly, so I make sure it is supportive enough and use a breast girth. If i clip him I only do a chaser clip so that he has his own fur to keep him warm over his body.
I always always get on from a mounting block that is level with my stirrups (I had to get one made) so that he doesn't take my weight on one side for too long as a lot of his problems I feel were anticipation of how he might feel.
If he seems more 'backy' than usual before I get on then I generally get his physio out and I'm normally pretty spot on with where I think he will be a bit sore, so at least I know he's trying to tell me something.
Good luck

 

[paulawilkinson]

We have had his teeth done recently and he had no problems, we don't have a breast girth on him, so thats worth a try, he has always been like this since we brought him, we've had him about 18 months. I don't think it is his personality, as i said he is a lovely old boy in all other ways, but does seen to have really sensitive skin! he shudders alot and gets upset at rug changing times! He can be quite exuberant when being ridden, but generaly he's a lovely lad, i don't want to give up on him, and would love to get to the bottom of whats causing it.

 

[Artois]

I had a horse that was cold backed and used to find that getting on in the menage was a complete nightmare. So i thought would try in the stable and walk out to the menage and this was much better.
But depends on horse etc and can be dangerous if they go up etc.

but thought i would mention it x