Cold backed/ issue with saddle/girth.

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SamanthaG

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Ok sorry if this is a little long

I have a new 13 year old Tb ex point to pointer, we have only had him 9 days so are still getting to know him.

He wasn’t is the fittest condition and a little thin but with a belly.

He has been worm counted, wormed and is having his teeth done on Monday (tomorrow) ad have sorted his diet accordingly.

I wont be starting much work with him until his condition is up as I don’t want to work off what condition I do get on him, but for the time being I am hoping to be able to lunge him for short periods twice a week, then moving on to light schooling. He is looking better already weight wise.

Now he has an issue/sensitivity with his back/girth. He passed a 5 stage vetting before he came to us, and the vet did comment that he bit the fence in front of him when the girth was tightened and nips at the girth between his legs, apparently he stops this when back in work, the vet said she has a good check of his back and there doesn’t seem to be any issues there ( I wasn’t at the vetting due to the distance).

Now I know it could be 101 different things. And could be just a sensitivity to being tacked up e.g. maybe he was pinched with the girth before, he is fine with you brushing the area and actually loves it. But as soon as you please a saddle pad on and he starts (without the weight of the saddle). He is the same when I put my hand in his rug to pull it forward or to say check his rug bib underneath he nips out at what ever is in front of him as if he is anticipating pain.

I put a saddle pad on him with a neoprene pad on top, then the roller with a neoprene girth sleeve (so it was all soft) and slowly did the girth up, he did nip out, but once he had worn it for 5 min and I tightened it a little more, I am sure he wasn’t so bad.

He does have a bold patch on the top of his withers from what I think was an ill fitting rug, but again he loves it being rubbed as its itchy.

I have hard the term cold backed recently a lot, but someone else also said there is no such thing and it can be a wide variety of problems, I was wondering is a magnetic back pad may help him but I am not sure how long he is allowed to wear it for and whether its just a waste of money.

Now, I am wondering what the best thing to do first is, get the back man out? I have to look at how his saddle fits? I haven’t had chance yet to pop the saddle on him yet, and I think it needs re flocking, but I don’t want to go out and get him another just yet as his shape will change when he is back in work, and it was my plan to get him a new saddle in the summer.

Any advice and input would be gratefully appreciated.
 
Ulcers can cause iritation on doing up the girth. His condition, breeding and previous use as a racehorse all point in that direction. You might test what five days on 12 tablets a day of Tesco Ranitidine does - one packet split six in the morning six in the evening. It is a drug that was used in horses before Omeprazole became available. Ranitidine is non-prescription, you'll find it in Tesco alongside the Rennies. If his behaviour changes when you try it, then have him scoped for ulcers and treated properly with Omeprazole. It is available online, but I understand that it is illegal to import it.
 
My first thought was ulcers.
My boy is slightly cold backed and I've had to teach him its okay to have saddles/girths done up with with bribes. He's also funny about someone getting on his back, but he arches his back rather than hollowing it, which is him just being a silly billy. After a lot of TLC he's absolutely fine now, so if the vet is right/he doesn't have an ulcer I'd imagine it's just anticipation of pain.
 
Thanks, yes thats something I thaught about also, but I didnt know I could treat him for a short time to see if he improves, thanks for the tip
 
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My boy was a little cold-backed when I first got him, he's a sensitive-skinned grey. I resolved the problem by using a sheepskin numnah and leaving him blanket-clipped in the winter. I also girth him up in stages. It really isn't a problem now but I would be wondering if, because of the rub marks, your new horse has had an ill-fitting saddle causing pain which has become ingrained??

I would have a saddler out to check the fit of your own saddle as he has this problem. Good luck! :):)
 
SamanthaG said:
Thanks, yes thats something I thaught about also, but I didnt know I could treat him for a short time to see if he improves, thanks for the tip
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Ranitidine won't cure the ulcers* but it will drastically damp down the stomach acids that make them hurt. If it works, it's likely to alter his behaviour within 48 hours, by my experience, but I would try five days just in case. That'll cost you less than £15 and may give you a big pointer (no pun intended :) ) what direction to spend more money looking for your answer.


*it will, but only by dosing at intervals that are too inconvenient and omeprazole is a much better drug that has a different, and better, action.
 
Ulcers are certainly a consideration due to the high % of TBs with them, esp from racing.

In the meantime whilst you investigate this I would certasinly get his back checked- I rarely see a racehorse/rx racehorse without some back pain. Partly due to thin skinned/lack of topline and also as racing saddles are generally used on any horse in the yard and hence not an amazing fit on all horses, depending on their specific musculature.

As for your saddle, you should def get it seen before you work him under saddle. I would seriouly advise an adjustable saddle such as a Thorowgood- saved money in the longterm as you can keep having it adjusted as he changes shape. Othereise it will cost you a fortune in reflocking/changing saddles as his workload and shape changes.

Good luck with him :) (I have had my ex racer 13 years- still pottering around at 20)!
 
My 4 year old mare is very sensitive when having her saddle and girth on. She did have ulcers which were successfully treated, however the sensitive issues remain so I now know it is simply a reaction to having it done up etc. She is a very hot and sensitive mare anyway, so this does not surprise me.

I will always have her scoped for ulcers every so often to ensure we are still clear, but the work she is producing is showing signs that she is clear.

I think sometimes it is also a habit or learned behaviour, perhaps from a time when there was some discomfort.
 
He had his teeth done yesterday which were shocking not been done for at least 5 years, after that last night he was even worse about his back withers, he usualy swiches his tail loads when doing rugs but he was even more swishy last night.
 
SamanthaG said:
Ok sorry if this is a little long

I have a new 13 year old Tb ex point to pointer, we have only had him 9 days so are still getting to know him.

He wasn’t is the fittest condition and a little thin but with a belly.

He has been worm counted, wormed and is having his teeth done on Monday (tomorrow) ad have sorted his diet accordingly.

I wont be starting much work with him until his condition is up as I don’t want to work off what condition I do get on him, but for the time being I am hoping to be able to lunge him for short periods twice a week, then moving on to light schooling. He is looking better already weight wise.

Now he has an issue/sensitivity with his back/girth. He passed a 5 stage vetting before he came to us, and the vet did comment that he bit the fence in front of him when the girth was tightened and nips at the girth between his legs, apparently he stops this when back in work, the vet said she has a good check of his back and there doesn’t seem to be any issues there ( I wasn’t at the vetting due to the distance).

Now I know it could be 101 different things. And could be just a sensitivity to being tacked up e.g. maybe he was pinched with the girth before, he is fine with you brushing the area and actually loves it. But as soon as you please a saddle pad on and he starts (without the weight of the saddle). He is the same when I put my hand in his rug to pull it forward or to say check his rug bib underneath he nips out at what ever is in front of him as if he is anticipating pain.

I put a saddle pad on him with a neoprene pad on top, then the roller with a neoprene girth sleeve (so it was all soft) and slowly did the girth up, he did nip out, but once he had worn it for 5 min and I tightened it a little more, I am sure he wasn’t so bad.

He does have a bold patch on the top of his withers from what I think was an ill fitting rug, but again he loves it being rubbed as its itchy.

I have hard the term cold backed recently a lot, but someone else also said there is no such thing and it can be a wide variety of problems, I was wondering is a magnetic back pad may help him but I am not sure how long he is allowed to wear it for and whether its just a waste of money.

Now, I am wondering what the best thing to do first is, get the back man out? I have to look at how his saddle fits? I haven’t had chance yet to pop the saddle on him yet, and I think it needs re flocking, but I don’t want to go out and get him another just yet as his shape will change when he is back in work, and it was my plan to get him a new saddle in the summer.

Any advice and input would be gratefully appreciated.
Click to expand...

My first thought was possible kissing spines as one of the symptoms of that is girthiness. I thought that was the case with my boy who as it turned out actually needed a decent saddle fitting to him as his old wintec was ill fitting.
 
I see a lot of horses who present uncomfortable within this region. (vet physiotherapist)
It can be a tightness through the muscles/fascia in the area which is causing a restriction.

Can also be a sign of ulcers esp if a horse has been in training.

I would ensure your saddle fits correctly, then speak to your vet who will be able to recommend a qualified therapist to come out and see your horse. Who will be able give an overall opinion on your horses musculoskeletal system.
 
Everyone thinks back problems as soon as a horse goes grizzly when being girthed up, but check the descending and ascending pecs. You may be surprised!
 
Would definitely agree with others who have said ulcers. Stress aggravates them, so moving home and having the dentist could be why his symptoms are worse. I had a horse with ulcers, he would get worse as his competition/training regime increased. Also had really dry skin, bloated tummy, and was cold backed/girthed, including when he was rugged. I completely changed his management to make sure he gets lots of turnout, with company and made sure he had hay to trickle feed most of the time. It prob took 3 months for symptoms to go completely but he is now like any normal horse.
 
Is he fully clipped? My hunter only makes faces in the winter when being girthed - this season I have left a saadle patch of hair on rather than his normal full clip, and have had no problems so far.

Good luck and hope you find the cause.
 
Have booked someone to come and look at his back, I was looking at him from behind last night and he is very obviously not level over his quarters, poss twisted pelvis. He passed a 5 stage vetting so how the hell did the vet miss this? And if it turns out to be bad how do I go about talking to the vet about their mistake?

Also having his feet looked at as I am sure he is shod wrong
 
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