Horse suddenly gone cold backed?

[Llee94]

My mare has started to hunch her back when I first get on her and does the odd leap and buck. After a few mins walking she feels better but still feels downhill.
She is still being treated for ulcers at the moment and started doing this hunchy back thing at the beginning of October. I have had her back check numerous times since and the vets have checked her over and couldn't find any soreness in her back. She didn't start doing this until after the treatment started. Saddles have been checked and deemed to fit (she does it no matter what saddle I put on) and I can't seem to find a reason for her behaving this way. She has had a six week holiday and I had hoped it would resolve itself as i thought it could be ulcer related but although she still has few tiny ulcers left (hence why still being treated but been given the go ahead to ride by vet) the vet has said they shouldn't effect he now in any way. I rode her for the first time today and she still seems to be doing it. She doesn't put ears back or show any other signs of discomfort. She will happily work in a correct shape but it just feels like her bum is inches above her front end. The more she walked today the better she got.
Could this be a pain memory from ulcers or is this something else? I have got my back lady coming out again asap but not convinced it will help as she couldn't find anything last time to cause it and she is going back to the vets for a re-scope in a few weeks time.
Feeling very bad for my girl as she has had a really tough few months so I just want her to feel better again.

 

[FfionWinnie]

If you lunge her before you ride does she do it? What type of horse and how old? Do you give some chaff before you ride?

 

[Llee94]

I don't lunge as have nowhere due to fields being knee deep in mud. I have trotted her up loads for people watching and they can't see it. Only seems to happen when i get on her. She is a 14 year old cob x. She is normally very healthy and never had any problems until this Autumn. She always has access to forage be it grass, haulage or some form of chaff.

 

[FfionWinnie]

Feeding some chaff directly before you get on is particularly good practice to avoid ulcers.

What I was trying to ascertain is if she is warmed up before you get on, does she still do it. Also, you say she improves with exercise, what happens if you get on, work her for a bit, get off then get back on again?

 

[Pearlsasinger]

It sounds as if your vet is wrong. Listen to the horse, she is telling you that she is uncomfortable and as you know that she still has ulcers, they are the obvious cause. I would give her a longer holiday, at least until she has been re-scoped. I would also get a really good physio to work on her, she has been holding herself tensely to minimise the stomach pain so she is bound to be tight in some muscles, at least.

 

[be positive]

I would guess it is whatever caused the ulcers now showing up, either because it has just deteriorated or because having had a break her muscle tone has dropped off a little so it now has less support, where the problem is will be a job for the vets but the obvious places to look would be hocks or front feet, the feet may seem a strange unrelated place but were the cause of one of mine who was at times cold backed and had signs of ulcers, even the vet was surprised at the xrays he took, he originally was thinking hocks but the problem was at the opposite end.

 

[Llee94]

I haven't tried warming her up then getting off and back on. I will try that tomorrow. My back lady is an osteopath. Would it be worth getting someone who does something like sports massage as well?
She is also due to be wormed next week. Do you think worming her now may help?
She was scoped yesterday and Vet has said ulcers are so small now that if I brought her in it wouldn't even be worth treating as they shouldn't effect her. It is only because they were a grade 4 that he is continuing treatment while she is still covered by insurance to get them as good as possible if not gone completely.
I have left her holiday wise as long as I can. She is a very quirky horse and starts to cause trouble for herself and everyone else if left too long. Last year she let all the horses out and I got a call to say they were galloping around the local village (I live on an A road so can't really have them all escaping!). She also likes to lift gates of hinges (all gates are now tied up at both ends) and jump out of the field when bored. Once she starts work she calms right down hence why I have had to bring her back into work now.

 

[FfionWinnie]

Have you changed her diet or other management due to the ulcers?

I wouldn't think worming is going to help. It might make it worse, speak to the vet about it I reckon.

 

[Llee94]

I would guess it is whatever caused the ulcers now showing up, either because it has just deteriorated or because having had a break her muscle tone has dropped off a little so it now has less support, where the problem is will be a job for the vets but the obvious places to look would be hocks or front feet, the feet may seem a strange unrelated place but were the cause of one of mine who was at times cold backed and had signs of ulcers, even the vet was surprised at the xrays he took, he originally was thinking hocks but the problem was at the opposite end.

That's a good point and something I will look into. She did have a mild hock strain earlier in the summer so maybe it could be that again? I will ring my vet on Monday to let him know that she is hunching her back again and see what he recommends.

 

[Llee94]

Have you changed her diet or other management due to the ulcers?

I wouldn't think worming is going to help. It might make it worse, speak to the vet about it I reckon.

Only diet change has been to remove all grains so she is now on just chaff, minerals and her meds.

 

[FfionWinnie]

Only diet change has been to remove all grains so she is now on just chaff, minerals and her meds.

What sort of chaff?

 

[Llee94]

What sort of chaff?

Mole valley's own which is just alfalfa with added mint as far as I am aware.

 

[keepitugly]

Have her back xrayed I would take an educated guess at kissing spine, your ulcers are likely secondary to something else. Kissing spine often gets worse after time off as they lose muscle.

I'd just take her to a good vet for a full lameness work up and see what it throws up.

 

[orionstar]

Your vets are missing something. Horses dont become cold backed, if they're displaying signs of discomfort, thats because they're in pain or they're uncomfortable with what you are doing.

 

[Llee94]

Have her back xrayed I would take an educated guess at kissing spine, your ulcers are likely secondary to something else. Kissing spine often gets worse after time off as they lose muscle.

I'd just take her to a good vet for a full lameness work up and see what it throws up.

Would my osteopath not have picked this up? Don't have any experience of KS so hadn't considered that.

 

[Llee94]

Vet practice are specialist equine vets with the highest level of accreditation due to the standard of vets who work there so I would hope they would have picked up on something if it was there.
She doesn't show any discomfort when pressure is put on her back and along spine from the ground and is sound on a hard surface on both a tight circle and straight line.
Would teeth be another thing to consider? She isn't due until the new year but maybe that could be causing something.
I will be ringing them on Monday but I just want to know everyone's thoughts so that I can talk to them about all possibilities.

 

[charterline]

I'd also suggest you need to get her into the vets for a full work up. Vets can be well qualified, but as I have found to my own disadvantage, they don't always do what owners want.

Your horse could have anything, it could be from the feet up to her having kissing spines.

If she's being re scoped for ulcers then that's an ideal time to get the rest of her looked at as well. Back, hock and hoof X-rays shouldn't set you back too much as a start.

 

[Sukistokes2]

Just throwing in another suggestion on top of the other excellent advice given here. You said she now feels down hill. Has she changed shape to to the different management of her treatment and is the saddle now dropping forward making her uncomfortable.

 

[EQUIDAE]

Would my osteopath not have picked this up? Don't have any experience of KS so hadn't considered that.

It is only identifiable by xray, the same with sacroiliac problems. I would only ever use an ostepath once a problem has been diagnosed by a vet, never before. The vet should be doing the diagnosis, the osteopath, the treatment.

 

[mega spoilt ponies]

It may be that treatment for stomach ulcers (if using omeprazole) has disturbed digestion and caused a problem in the hind gut - this is quite common.

 

[Llee94]

She is on peptizol. I rode her this morning with the aim of my mum filming her doing it to show the vets and bizarrely she didn't react at all. She felt like her normal self, uphill again and moving very happily and freely. Will still be speaking to the vets tomorrow to see if they can shed anymore light on it. Thanks for all of your suggestions!

 

[whiteflower]

Have her back xrayed I would take an educated guess at kissing spine, your ulcers are likely secondary to something else. Kissing spine often gets worse after time off as they lose muscle.

I'd just take her to a good vet for a full lameness work up and see what it throws up.

this. ulcers are often caused by pain else where. the symptoms you describe are exactly how my horse felt and also became apparent after some time out. he had mild kissing spines but the main issue was sacroiliac problems - the downhill feeling you describe, almost feeling as though they are bum high went completely once he was treated.

i would go for a ridden assessment at the vets so they can actually see what you are feeling. this is what i had to do in the end as mine wasnt actually lame.

 

[whiteflower]

I rode her this morning with the aim of my mum filming her doing it to show the vets and bizarrely she didn't react at all. She felt like her normal self, uphill again and moving very happily and freely.

i also had this problem of it being intermittent, infact the first time i took my horse to vet he went amazingly and i think they thought i was mad ! however the good days became less and less and we finally got the sacroiliac diagnosed

 

[Slightlyconfused]

Would my osteopath not have picked this up? Don't have any experience of KS so hadn't considered that.

No thus wouldn't. I have had a chiro or physio look at my horses for years and they said backs are fine but two have been diagnosed with KS
One three years ago and one two weeks ago.

Muscle wise they can tell.you if something is wrong but they don't have x ray vision.

 

[Slightlyconfused]

Vet practice are specialist equine vets with the highest level of accreditation due to the standard of vets who work there so I would hope they would have picked up on something if it was there.
She doesn't show any discomfort when pressure is put on her back and along spine from the ground and is sound on a hard surface on both a tight circle and straight line.
Would teeth be another thing to consider? She isn't due until the new year but maybe that could be causing something.
I will be ringing them on Monday but I just want to know everyone's thoughts so that I can talk to them about all possibilities.

The tb who has just had a KS diagnosis was sound on hard ground in hand straight lines plus circles but when ridden he was lame right hind. We could feel it. Would not have known about the KS without the rh lameness

 

[PolarSkye]

The tb who has just had a KS diagnosis was sound on hard ground in hand straight lines plus circles but when ridden he was lame right hind. We could feel it. Would not have known about the KS without the rh lameness

This. My boy was sound when not under saddle - hard ground or soft, circles and straight lines . . . no physio or osteo found anything when palpating his back, but he was intermittently lame/sound under saddle - until he wasn't - and then he couldn't tolerate a rider on his back at all.

It might not be KS or SI-related - I wouldn't want to speculate - I'm not a vet . . . but neither are your physios/chiros/osteos. If your horse is telling she's experiencing pain under saddle - and it's intermittent - either pester your vet to uncover the cause or change your vet to one who will.

Best of luck - and please keep us posted.

P