problems with loan horse

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spike123

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As most of you know I have taken on a horse to ride while Candyman was off work.He is now back in work and I am happy to continue working the 2 horses. However I have come across an issue and not sure how to tackle it. The loan horse came in to be ridden a couple of days back and before I had even got my foot in the stirrup she bolted.I managed to stop her and get my stirrup and she then backed up really fast and span to bolt again. I got off and checked her over and could find nothing amiss that concerned me,got back on and went out for a hack with no problems other than a joggy fresh horse.I put it down to just that but contacted her owner to make her aware that there was something not right. Today I brought her in and put a lighter friend on board to see what they thought. Immediately she was on the horse reacted but I noticed she was dipping her back end and reacting as though something was really bothering her. My friend got off straight away and I checked along her back and have found that she is sore both sides about an inch either side of her spine where the back of her saddle sits. By sore I mean dipping away quite severely when a little pressure is applied to the area. There is no heat or swelling so I suspect this could be an ongoing issue which given she has no topline at present has been aggravated by being ridden. I am going to give her some time off,get my physio to come and see her which could take quite a while and ask the vet to have a look next week when he comes to do her next vaccination. I have made the owner aware of all of this and will also get the saddle fit checked once everything else has been.However I am a little concerned as to whether I may be too heavy for her given she has no topline whatsoever.She is a very lightly built 16h mare and I am just over 10stone. I have had her for 3 weeks and before that she has spent time in the field doing nothing. I have ridden her a total of about 8 times and on average for 20 to 30 minutes each time. I am reluctant to be spending money out on a horse who doesn't belong to me if she has an ongoing issue that her owner has not been honest about. Everyone is telling me send her back and part of me is agreeing with them but the other part is saying well it's just a sore back and she will be fine once she has recovered.However how do I know that my weight is not causing part of the problem and once she is no longer sore me getting back on again is going to cause further issues.
 
I don't have much in the way of advice but I find it hard to imagine that 11 stone (accounting for the weight of tack etc) is too much for any 16hh horse. That said, I did know a 13.2hh pony a few years ago who wouldn't let certain riders get on him - he'd bronc like crazy until they were off. Exhaustive tests and experiments with different riders of all ages, shapes and sizes and we concluded that he wasn't happy with anything over about seven stone. No physical reason why he couldn't carry the weight, he was a stocky wee thing but he wasn't happy about it and let everyone know! Perhaps if she's had a long time off work and has previously carried very light riders she may be feeling your weight, but IMHO its unlikely.

Personally I'd want to have a good chat with her owner and try to get the bottom of whether this has happened before. If you think the owner is being dishonest, send her back.
 
Sounds like a back problem. I'd start with the vet and then get a physio out to work along side him. Has the saddle been re-fitted since the mare came back into work?

If it's soreness rather than an underlying issue, I would imagine she'll come right with rest, physio and a well fitting saddle. Whether you want to spend all that money on a loan horse is another matter...
 
Booboos said:
Sounds like a back problem. I'd start with the vet and then get a physio out to work along side him. Has the saddle been re-fitted since the mare came back into work?

If it's soreness rather than an underlying issue, I would imagine she'll come right with rest, physio and a well fitting saddle. Whether you want to spend all that money on a loan horse is another matter...
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Have a good discussion with owner. Although this may be hard, It's something you need to do! If this horse has a problem, it obviously needs sorting out with vet, physio etc but do remember, it's not your horse! Don't take on the expense of a problem horse on loan. I recently had a horse on loan and much as he was a lovely horse, he had numerous problems which had not been addressed by his owners. You presumably have loaned this horse while yours is out of work. Look for something else and let her owners deal with her problems. Hard but necessary!
 
I don't know much about mares, but could it be her overies i think i saw something about being sore just behind the saddle on both sides when having the 1st season of spring.
 
she had her first season here a couple of weeks ago so don't think it is connected to her season. I really am in 2 minds now. It is definitely extra expense which I don't need just now especially as I have just had to pay out for Candyman to have lameness investigation and his vaccinations plus I have the loan mares 2nd injection due next week as well. If it was to be connected to her season then I certainly don't want the hassle of having a mare I can't ride at all every few weeks.I have had a mare like that of my own in the past who became a complete nightmare when in season to the point she had to be kept in away from other horses and couldn't be ridden. I also feel paying out for investigation by a chiro or physio and saddle fitter for her is really the owners responsibility given that I have only had her a few weeks so not really sure whether it would be for the best to send her back.
 
This could just be very unfortunate timing, not necessarily any=one's fault. My mare is off work atm with a back problem. I rode her on a 5 hr sponsored ride last August about 10 days later vet came to do vaccs and checked all backs. He said she was fine ( he treated one of the others). By the end of September we had had a few 'episodes' and she was very difficult to ride. As her back had been checked so recently I got the saddler out. She said the saddle could be the problem and took another saddle to adjust to fit her (long story). The 'new' saddle helped a bit but we didn't do much because of the weather, then after the snow on 2 occasions out of 5 she bucked me off (unheard of normally). I got the vet out and she is now having treatment for what I am hoping is just a muscular problem. We have no idea what started this.
Having said this, I can't see the point of you keeping another horse that can't be ridden. But then I bet the owner wouldn't be too pleased at getting back a broken horse, if it was fine when it left her. I'm sorry but it does sound like a dilemma. I think you have to have a discussion with the owner.
 
I have kept the owner up to date and all she has said is that she has never done anything like it before and that taking her back is difficult because she has lost her livery space where she keeps the other horses she has. I have told her I will get my vet to look at her next week when he comes to give her 2nd vaccination and see what he thinks. I have also told her that if it is anything more than a simple problem then she will have to take her back but I will give her time to find somewhere else to keep her and not just turn up with her unexpectedly.
 
You may find that where she hasn't been ridden for a while she's slowly been developing blisters where the seat sits. This happened to a horse I brought that hadn't been ridden for ages. Then I brought him, rode him quite a bit and after a week I was grooming and he started to dip his back where the seat sits. Anyway I gave him time to heal and then on always rode with a gel pad under the saddle just to make sure it didn't happen again.

Personally I wouldn't rush to call back people/vets out just give her a week and try again with a good pad under your saddle. :)
 
My old tb was a very poor doer and we struggled to keep topline on as she was frequently off with injury. Once, on bringing her back into work I had a similar problem. She seemed fine for a bit, then suddenly I was on the floor from a mad bronc attack that came out of nowhere. She could be difficult, but I knew her well enough to know bucking was a rare occurance and broncing had never happened before. So I called the vet.

He instantly diagnosed back pain, but referred me to a specialist. Said specialist explained that her topline had wasted so much from the frequent spells of box rest that she had little muscle depth left under the saddle area, making it difficult for her to support a saddle and the weight of the rider. We were given a lunging exercise to do for a month to build the muscular strength up, after which she was fine.

So it is possible that the time off is making it difficult for her. That being said, my mare was an extreme case. Personally I'd get the vet out to check her over, and go from there.
 
Take one thing at a time see vet, ask all your questions, I have horse out on loan and would expect you to do this much for horse and if found to be no-ones fault and horse is going to need much more done then I would get it done and anything not covered by insurance I would pay at yours if you still wanted to keep horse or take back home so its great to hear you are not kicking horse out the stable door and giving owner time to find livery.
 
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