Cold backed horse-girths

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sykokat

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Ok. Big dopey one is cold backed. Had ALL checks and saddle fitted by martin wilkinson. he is fine until you mount and do the girth up a hole. He then sinks his back down and walks off as if he has 3 legs. He will then hump his back up and this will last for 10-15 minutes. Tried all the usual, walking in hand before getting on board. keeping light seat when first moving off etc. Pretty sure its a girth issue and want advice/ideas as to what girth may be suitable for him. I was thinking about the wintec cair girth but its a lot of money if its no use. If there are positive comments on it then its definitely worth it. Ideas??? :)
 
sykokat said:
Back, teeth, saddle, had physios, vet check. all ruled out any other problems. he has what they call classic cold back reaction which only lasts a short while
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Scoped for ulcers? X-rayed for kissing spines?
They seem the common ones for unexplained cold-backedness (is that a word?? lol)

Trina x
 
sykokat said:
Back, teeth, saddle, had physios, vet check. all ruled out any other problems. he has what they call classic cold back reaction which only lasts a short while
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My TB does something similar... Same checks too... He dips when mounted and stands really baby like with his legs all over the place - then needs to literally warm up with some slow walking around - he has a really short stride and goes no where fast... After a few minutes he starts to loosen up a bit, his back rises and he's able to really open his stride up, tuck his bum under - and promptly over reaches/forges... :rolleyes:

Vet thinks he's 'just cold backed' or his muscles take time to loosen because when he's warmed up his gait and back are as they should be... Physio lady and saddler have the same opinion and suggested I trial one of the heated massage pads (can't remember the name) for a week and throw it on for half hour before he goes to work to warm his muscles up... I've not gotten around to it yet as the weather here has been a bit of a nightmare - but it's a plan for when he can hack or school regularly... Fingers crossed it might help him...
 
sykokat said:
Back, teeth, saddle, had physios, vet check. all ruled out any other problems. he has what they call classic cold back reaction which only lasts a short while
Click to expand...

My horse was checked by a physio, chiro and two vets. All said his back was fine. I insisted on xrays. He was found to have kissing spine in ten places. His initial symptoms were shown when moving away after the girth was tightened.

There is no such thing as a cold backed horse. There is ALWAYS a reason. You need to get this investigated further.
 
I would suggest scoping for ulcers, since we have got rid of those our mare is muchbetter, although she does still get a bit funny. But she also had a sarcoid near the girth area, and although gone now there is still a mark. However, we use a girth sleeve with her now, and she is much better.
 
Wagtail said:
My horse was checked by a physio, chiro and two vets. All said his back was fine. I insisted on xrays. He was found to have kissing spine in ten places. His initial symptoms were shown when moving away after the girth was tightened.

There is no such thing as a cold backed horse. There is ALWAYS a reason. You need to get this investigated further.
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I asked the vets specifically about KS... His view was that there was no girth issue, no back sensitivity, no avoidance behaviour, irritability or anything else to indicate pain, he's not at all unhappy when ridden and it 'self heals' in that once his soft tissue has had chance to warm up, his back levels up perfectly... He likened it to some people being a bit less 'loose' and needing to warm up a bit more than others... Back lady said his muscles were very different before and after he'd done a bit of a warm up...

I totally take on board what you're saying...similarly their explanations sounded quite reasonable... It's a tad confusing... :o
 
Mine used to be cold backed, I'd use a sheepskin lined saddlecloth (which I still do) and a Stubben string girth as its wide and very soft. On a different note, I'd suggest trying feeding NAF Superflex. I dont know what happened with mine, he was cold backed for 3 years from when I got him as a 5yo but I started to feed him Superflex and after a winter on it he stopped being cold backed! Very bizarre and still dont see how it worked but I hadnt changed anything else so can only be it. Worth a try anyway. He's been perfectly normal since.
 
Ladydragon said:
I asked the vets specifically about KS... His view was that there was no girth issue, no back sensitivity, no avoidance behaviour, irritability or anything else to indicate pain, he's not at all unhappy when ridden and it 'self heals' in that once his soft tissue has had chance to warm up, his back levels up perfectly... He likened it to some people being a bit less 'loose' and needing to warm up a bit more than others... Back lady said his muscles were very different before and after he'd done a bit of a warm up...

I totally take on board what you're saying...similarly their explanations sounded quite reasonable... It's a tad confusing... :o
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My horse started that way. He had no reaction to being girthed at all. It was just as he moved away afterwards. He would be 'cold backed' for around ten minutes and then work fine. He was great ridden. The calmest horse on the yard, yet nice and forward going. He would however, have the same reaction if girthed up without a rider and lunged. Very tense for a few minutes and then worked really well. This went on for around a year before one day I tightened the girth from on board. He didn'tbat an eye lid but then when asked to move forwards he was reluctant. I pushed him on (as I usually did) and he just exploded! Even after this, the vet was unconvinced saying there were no signs of pain in his back at all. I really had to insist on xrays. Not saying that is what is wrong with your horse, just that the vets can get it wrong. Follow your gut instinct. I did. There MUST be something that your horse is finding uncomfortable to react the way he does for the first part of your riding session. I hope you find the cause. I too went the route of finding more comfortable girths and pads before the penny dropped.
 
Thank you for all of your replies. I have ridden him bareback and he's absolutely fine. Fine with a roller on for lunging etc. It just seems to be that last hole of the girth when you tighten it. Will look in to the stubben girth. Thankies :)
 
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