Pre-purchase vetting found sore back

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Frans

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We currently have a 14hh pony on trial for three weeks (here for 4 days so far) and had a vetting this morning. The only notable thing found by the vet that she has a "very supple back" and had a sore point in the lumbar region. The pony has done very little work over the last year and so is not well muscled. The vet seemed to think that the suppleness of her back is not uncommon in larger horses (though not in ponies) and is fine if the right muscles are built up but seemed doubtful that the sort of work we want her for (mainly hacking in fairly hilly country) would result in sufficient muscle to support her back and so we may have ongoing problems and that these problems may be fine in the short term but may become more important later on.
She was seen by an osteopath about 6 months ago though this was presented more as "because the osteopath was there to see another horse" rather than that the osteopath was called specifically for her.
She is a good pony in terms of temperament etc but I don't want to buy one that could end up needing loads of treatment or that would be difficult to sell on. I'm waiting for the full report from the vet but I'd be grateful for any comments or experiences any of you can offer in the meantime.

(NB we are in France and my converstion with the vet was in French so I miss some of the subtleties in what he was saying!)
 
Frans I am puzzled that the vet would think that hacking in hilly country will no build up the back muscles. I live in the Peak Park here in England and I can vouch for the fact that every horse I have here muscles up fit to cause envy in my friends. I hardly have to get my hunter fit to hunt at all, hacking and turning out on the hillside keep him fitter than most of the others at the hunt. If it's a minor thing that really will be fixed by muscle I would not let it put you off a good pony.

Is the pony's back dipped (a sway back?), or did he see a "side to side" suppleness? I'm guessing that he means that the vertebrae have too much movement between them? That doesn't sound too good to me, but I know that good ponies can be hard to come by on the continent where there is no tradition of children riding ponies, so maybe she is worth the risk if you can get the price down???

The most supple back, side to side movement, that I have seen on a pony belonged to a friend of mine. She was 14.2, ridden regularly by a 12 stone adult, jumped like a stag with the child and has gone on to further jumping homes since with no problems. She must be 18 by now and still going strong.

It's a difficult decision for you, I hope that other people have some more definite experiences, good or bad, to help you decide.

Is there any chance you can ring a vet in England and ask their advice??
 
Get the feet thoroughly checked out prior to purchase - as it's often lower limb problems that can result in a sore back.

It's going to cost you some money because you'll need x-rays. But having learnt the hard way, I wouldn't hesitate to pay out if this is genuinly the horse for you.
 
Steer clear - I bought my horse with a 'bad back', thinking that proper work would sort it out, and it did to a point but there are still ongoing underlying issues that appeared almost a year later after no previous problems and we are still working through them. I love him dearly, and he will always have a home with me no matter what, and this pony that you are trialling may well be completely fine. I suppose you need to consider whether you have the time/money to fix any problems, if they are fixable, and what you will do if they aren't.
 
Thanks for the replies!

cptrayes: yes its side to side movement rather than sway back.
Before taking her on trial I was knew that her back was weak from lack of work and was confident of our hills sorting that out! I didn't realise that she had such flexibility though .....

anymay: as for her feet, she seems to have quite low heels but the vet didn't comment on that.

Thinking hard and a little thrown!
 
Could you locate an equine physio? The one I had was vastly superior in her diagnosis and treatment than the vet. That is not to say that the vet was useless, but merely that physios are dealing with problems like this every day and can often pick up something that a vet cannot.
 
If the pony has not been worked much for the last week and still has a sore back I would want xrays as a min to prove that it isn't something serious, i take it the vetting didn't pick anything else up & have you had the saddle checked as that could be the obvious cause
 
I have to agree with Debbie. If the pony has done very little in the past the sore back would ring alarm bells with me. Im assuming you havent hammered it in the 4 days its been with you! :)
 
I'd walk away. There are plenty of good ponies out there without sore backs to warrant spending money on one that has.

Have been through a tough few years with a horse with a sore back. The 1st thing I did when looking for my current horse was to run my thumb down each side of the spine. Any over reaction and I took the viewing no further. It's no fun dealing with back problems.
 
Many thanks for all the replies, its been really helpful in keeping me clear headed.
Have been doing some cross-checking - the type of phone calls I should have made BEFORE taking her on trial! - and it seems that this is a problem that appeared in the last year and has lasted. Whatever the origins its clear that its ongoing and not likely to be fixed without intervention and careful work. Not really what we want to commit ourselves to if we don't need to. She's a lovely pony in all other ways so this will be hard. Its my own fault for taking her on trial too quickly - though there were extenuating circumstances!
 
Well done for finding out at all Frans. I hope you find the right pony soon. I despise people like the current owners who will pass the poor creature on to another home so the pony stays in pain and the new owners face heartache.
 
like some of the others have said a sore back can be a problem elsewhere like hock spavin starting, the list is endless

I wonder if the vet was saying the hill work would not help as a way to say it won't be fixed, walk away ???

That would be how I would take it anyway, certainly not worth the risk
 
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