Sinking back down when mounting..why?

[charlie76]

we have a horse on the yard that when you get on he sinks his back down, he does it no matter how heavy or light the rider and whether you get on from the floor, leg up or block. He is worse when at a show.
He has had his back x rayed by the vet and he has a regular equissage therapist. He has also had his backed scanned internally.
What could be the reason?
He has done it from the day he was tried.
He passed a 5 stage vetting with full x rays.

Any ideas?

 

[Luci07]

Something in the saddle? or girth issues? is he sensible enough to see if someone can leg up/be helped on bareback to see if that is causing the problem?

 

[Tempi]

Sounds like he is cold backed to me - get a dead sheep (yes i know!!!!!!!!) lined numnah and a dead sheep (!!) girth cover and use those all the time. Do the girth very loosely before mounting (dont do it up tight), then once on and walking around do the girth up hole by hole and very gradually. I had a cold backed horse when i was younger and the above really helped the problem with him. This was abot 10yrs ago though, so maybe there are some more modern techniques out there these days

 

[charlie76]

Thanks, I will try that. all of our cold backed ones have gone the other way and broncked!
The saddle was fitted by a master saddle and re fitted after flocking 2 weeks ago again by a master saddler. The vet and the massage lady said no sign of back pain, bearing in mind the horse did it 3 years ago when he was tried and has done it ever since, could it just be a remembered reaction?

 

[Louise_88]

I would do exactly what tempi says but also when you get on do so using something quite high so you aren't putting too much pressure in the stirrup and remain of his back while he walks around loosely for a while, long and low and then sit and it might help. I have one like this and find it helps no end. He was pretty cold backed when we got him, not bronko style but severe dipping when mounting and falling over when girth done to tightly. After alot of work on his back and correctly fitting tack and mounting in the way described he is now at the point where you can treat him like a normal horse ie girth done up normal and mounted normal, he had to learn to realise nothing hurt him and it took some time.

 

[meardsall_millie]

I have a mare that's fairly similar - she drops her back when you first get on and for the first stride or two when she moves off, then her back goes up and quite tight for a couple of strides. Also if I girth her too tightly straightaway, she will walk out of the stable as though she's lame behind.

All checked out - no problems.

All of the things that Tempi has suggested have helped with my mare.

 

[Baggybreeches]

Yep I agree with Tempi, dead sheep top and bottom.
The yard I ride out at has a couple of horses that do it, and AFAIK there's nothing wrong with them (one won a P2P last week).

 

[charlie76]

Thanks for the tips, will give it a whirl.

 

[littleme]

I'd hes anticipating something unpleasant - anything could be badly fitted saddle, mega heavy rider i dont know something bad happened to him to do with the rider, probably just anticipating something if he is fine once they are on/moving? I wouldn't worry too much if hes had x-rays and been all checked over, i'd guess its the weight/pressure (however light the rider is) rather than actually being sensitive but maybe fluffy attire is worth a try particularly on girth.

 

[brown tack]

I would also say cold backed. With mine even with the dead sheep and letting the saddle 'warm up' before got on. I used to strech his front legs out on the final girth tightening, it seemed to help much more by doing this then when i didnt

 

[Mike007]

This was abot 10yrs ago though, so maybe there are some more modern techniques out there these days

Common sense doesnt have an "expiry date".

 

[MochaFella]

What kind of saddle does he wear? As well as dead sheep, perhaps something that spreads the weight further might help also. And X-rays don't show muscle problems, although you say other things have been checked too, not everything can be seen or felt on examination. These things are nearly always physical and with time the memory of a physical sensation will fade and the reaction stop, so if the dip is still happening I would suggest it's likely that whatever the problem is is still there. Finding the cause is the tricky part.

Have you checked his joints? Sometimes a problem in a hock or stifle or some such can manifest as a back problem with no other symptoms. Just a thought.