What is cold backed?

[Whoopit]

What is cold backed?

Is it nerves, muscle weakness, skin sensitivity, ill-fitted tack, is it related to ulcers, bad experience or is it something to call something nobody knows what the cause is?

What would “typical” symptoms be?

 

[Lipglosspukka]

Any of the above.

I think it's just an excuse for something underlying that hasn't yet been figured out.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

As above. Typical symptoms would be hard to saddle up. Not liking girth done up. Perhaps raising back when girthed. Silly when moving off after girth done up. Fidgety to mount and varying degrees of silliness once mounted a walking off.

 

[Kaylum]

Agree with the above.

Could be anything, bad tack, ulcers, bad riding, rubs, sores, feet, limbs there is an endless list.

 

[I don’t like mondays]

Years ago I remember lots of horses being classed as ‘cold backed’, looking back they probably had kissing spine or other pain related issues. As others have said girthy, not wanting to stand at the mounting block, feeling like the back is coming up (and they could buck you off) when you first mount, until they warmed up (all pain responses)

 

[Dave's Mam]

Cold backed to me is any uninvestigated & therefore unknown pain response.

 

[Melody Grey]

Many years ago, I think ‘cold backed’ was just accepted as a thing that couldn’t be changed. Nowadays, we no better and can investigate why.

 

[SEL]

I describe my PSSM mare as cold backed. She needs to walk off the minute your bum hits the saddle, will often stretch down and if she's more sore than I've realised you might get a bit of a hump.

Years ago I rode an ex eventer who'd had a rotational fall and then retired from jumping. If you didn't land in the saddle like a feather you'd get decked. There weren't the diagnostics around then but I strongly suspect he'd done something nasty in the fall, although his owner would say 'he's just a bit cold backed' while I was hanging round his neck

 

[Leandy]

Any of those. It just means they show signs of discomfort and tension when initially mounted. It may be actual current pain of some kind or it may be remembered pain or anxiety due to previous bad experiences of some sort whilst mounting.

 

[sbloom]

Not wanting to be mounted or girthed, with umpteen various potential causes, almost always discomfort/pain or remembered/anticipated discomfort/pain.

 

[Whoopit]

One of the horses in question could 100% be pain related and is about to undergo investigation.

The other one has never been sat on so we’re assuming anxiety. It’s been tacked up with fully fitted saddle by a master saddle fitter but never sat on. It is a bit of a drama queen anyway - touch it with that isn’t the widest of soft and gets fractious, hates being sponged off never mind trying to get near with a hosepipe.

 

[PSD]

I used to ride one around 20 years ago that was “cold backed”. You’d have to tack up and get on then set off ASAP otherwise he’d throw himself to the floor.

Of course back then it was just seen as being a PITA, thankfully we are much more knowledgeable these days!

 

[Sossigpoker]

It's either current pain , remembered pain or anticipated pain. I'd never dismiss it as "just cold backed ". This is usually done by people who don't want to accept there might be a problem and don't to pay to fix or investigate it.