coldbacked? help!!

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blackhorse37

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My 16.3 ISH, 5yo has always been a bit tricky to girth, if i dont do it gradually he will groan and dip, but now, as soon as i get on he does a mini rodeo and is extremely tense through his back. (i have had his saddle, back and teeth checked) After about 5-10 mins he is his normal relaxed self again! I have tried massaging his back and tackin up 10 mins before i mount and it helps a little, i have also tried walking him in hand first. If he is ridden every day then he doesnt react but if he has had a day or 2 off its much worse.This only started in late autumn, initially i thought it was excitement so i tried change of feed and calmers but his general character hasnt changed so i doubt this. So;four questions...1-is it possible for a horse to suddenly become coldbacked? 2-what else could this be? 3-any ideas on what else i can do/whats helped your horse?
I would really appreciate any help on this! Thank you
 
I would still suspect saddle problems. I have twice come across master saddlers in the past 4 years who have virtually crippled horses through badly fitting saddles whilst charging an arm and a leg for their services. Could you post any pictures up of thesaddle on your horse from different angles without a pad?
 
At 5 he is still developing so yes it is certainly possible for him to develop difficulties. It possibly is the saddle so there are a few things for you to check but if it continues it needs looking at professionally.
 
Coldbacked is such an old fashioned term - it sounds like a quirk, but it really means 'back lameness'. If your horse is groaning and dipping and rodeoing he is showing signs of extreme pain. I would discount your previous back and saddle checks as horses don't pretend or fake it.
Sue Dyson at the Animal Health Trust in Newmarket is probably the leading authority on backs , which are not always easily diagnosed. Would your vet refer you for scans? At least then you would know exactly what you are dealing with. Good luck!
 
IME 'cold-backed' is just a term which means that a horse has back problems. It isn't a specific condition. I would have all checks done again by someone else.
 
"ok, will do. But would he then be fine after 5-10mins and work beautifully if there was a saddle issue?"

Yes. That is a classic symptom of a badly fitting saddle, as is him being worse after a few days off. That is why I suspect saddle. If you have ever had a pair of shoes that rubbed, you will know how much more they hurt when you first put thm back on. I suspect a tree that is too narrow. As he is so young his muscles will recover a bit between rides and so the saddle would be tighter when first placed on his back. If you do post pictures can you post one showing his back without saddle? Does he have hollows (however slight) either side of his withers?
 
blackhorse37 said:
Thanks all, The vet (equine) checked him in dec and had equine osteo out 2 weeks ago so would like to think that ONE of them would pick up on something!!
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No, I don't think it is him with the problem. Something is causing him pain. Seriously, I had a horse aged 18 at my yard that I was supposed to school. Was told he was grumpy and girthy, wouldn't work in an outline etc. He had an expensive £1200 saddle that had been fitted 2 years ago and checked only a couple of weeks before he arrived at my yard. I could tell immediately he had terrible muscle wastage (in the shape of a saddle!) and his saddle was way too tight. I refused to use it and put my wider saddle on him. He worked perfectly in it, so owner got a different saddler. Although he agreed the saddle was too tight he said the horse was narrow. I had to fight tooth and nail to get a saddle fitted with a wide tree and extra flocking to take up the wasted areas. The saddler eventually conceded that I was right and that he was really a wide horse that had been made nrrow by cripplingly tight saddles. He took a template. Within 6 weeks the new saddle was also too tight so he came back and took a new template. The horse had filled out an inch and a half each side of his withers! And he was eighteen. He removed some flocking and returned for the final fitting 4 months later. The result, a nice happy and less grumpy horse that worked beautifully in the school.
 
thanks Wagtail, i will find another saddler in the area ( a good one!) My boy doesnt have any "dips/hollows" and to my eye the saddle fits well (but im no expert!) I do have a wintec with interchangeable gullets which i used on him when i first bought him, do you think i should try that in the meantime?
 
That's good about the lack of dips as it means he probably doesn't have any wastage. Does the saddle look horizontal on his back? Imagine someone sitting in it. Would it tip them forwards or backwards? Do the side panals feel parallel with the slope of his sides if you slip your hand in between them and the horse? Does the saddle stay snugly on his back in all paces when you lunge him? Does the back of the saddle fit nicely either sie of his spine? If in any doubt I would probably put him in the wintec and see what he's like. Did this problem start after the fitting of his current saddle?
 
The new saddle was fitted in july, the problem started in november and lasted for a few days it disappeard until he moved to new yard (he did it once) in dec and then started again in mid january (after 10days off because of the snow)
I have checked the fit of the saddle in depth and, like i said, im not an expert, but it seems to fit very nicely and doesnt move when lunged, i put a friend in the saddle so i could check what it did with a rider onboard and it still looks good and doesnt tip her position at all. Having said all that, after your advice i will definately get another saddler out to be sure!
 
My best friend's horse had always been 'cold backed', but not to the extent of yours... (he would put ears back or pick up a leg when the saddle goes on) he's an ISH too, but is a veteran and has always had back trouble due to slightly poor back conformation. He's had the vet and a few physios check him out, and has started on glucosamine and mctimoney and improved no end, is now fine with having the saddle on.

Well done for looking into it, as people don't seem to realise what a problem backs are, and often treatment is left too late to be so effective...
 
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