Would you buy a horse with a pronounced sway back?

sandi_84

sandi_84

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Just saw an advert for a 6yo but it has a really bad sway back going for £500.

Tbh I wouldn't buy one even for a couple of hundred quid :/ I used to ride a pony with sway back and it never seemed to cause him any problems but I have to admit it would put me off.

Would you?
 
In one answer no, for this reason, said pony is only 6 the health problems in late life could get worse, leading to kissing spine, etc, he/she may be cheap to buy but are your ready for future costs? x
 
No, in fact I'd avoid any obvious conformational problem. there's plenty of nice young horses out there that are made for the job, sad but true so why take on a potential problem!
 
A sway back is one of those things that makes a horse a definite no I'm afraid - too many potential health problems, impossible to fit a saddle to well, and it compromises their ability to do most jobs. I would buy one as a companion pet though.
 
No way.. if you have an answer that they have the potential to develop big problems later on in life why not make use of that warning. There are plenty of horses out there.
 
I wouldn't. My friend has a tb x warmblood with an awfully swayed back and she says it hasn't caused her problems, but I think the problems she has had have been caused by it, in a roundabout way. When there are so many nicely put together horses out there as well, no.
 
I wouldn't buy a six yr old with a sway back, no. But then two of the best beginner ponies I ever knew had horrendous sway backs and it never affected them other than tricky to fit saddles. Both were older, and worth their weight in gold - every pony club mum would have bitten off a thumb for a chance to buy one. So I wouldnt rule out a swayback in general, but that kind of money or a six year old that coul yet degenerate and hasn't been proven to withstand work yet... Probably not. But swayback is one o those strange conformational faults that, depending on the cause, doesn't always affect rideability, so it's a tough one.
 
I once bought a 6 year old with a sway back. Fantastic little horse, had a very full and demanding ridden life. It passed the vet and never had a problem. So, no, it wouldn't necessarily put me off. I think we all ideally want to buy horses with perfect conformation, but sometimes it worth assessing the likelihood of problems against the positives.
 
I wouldn't for myself as I'm too heavy and may snap it in half, but I would if it was a kid's pony and a saint.
 
Maybe, I've seen quite a few extreme sway backs sorted with correct in hand exercises, and sorted a lesser sway back myself, but think they do need more work to keep it that way as with time off the old habits can appear (in my experience) if horse ticked the other boxes then I wouldn't turn it down
 
My old horse with a pronounced sway back got to advanced dressage level. Don't think he would have been very good at jumping though. He went on till he was 23, best horse I ever owned
 
there is a welsh d on our yard with a very sway back but he seems to cope fine. Owner has the physio/chiro for him every 6 months just to be on the safe side though. He is a cracking horse :)
 
See I know that sway back doesn't necessarily count horses out of having a full and issue free working life but personally I just wouldn't want to spend money on something with such a pronounced conformational problem. I know no horse or pony is perfect conformation wise and there are conformational errors that are fine (especially for someone like me ;)) but I just couldn't allow myself to spend half a grand on a sway back :/

I would take one as a companion or an older very sensible one as a ridden pony for a child (the one I used to ride was a complete sweetheart, getting on in years and looked after his riders - he held a place in a lot of people's hearts :)) but I wouldn't want to spend more than £100 on one.

I was just wondering if I was being a right stinge ;)

Btw I'm not actually horse shopping, I just like window shopping occasionally :D
 
We had an amazing horse called Forest aka My Only Sunshine (IRE) Look him up- he was ridden by Frankie Dettori.

He died of colic so nothing to do with the congenital sway back. He was a very very odd shape- but it never hindered any ridden activity we did with him. So yes, I would always consider them. Forest won some fair money when he raced and he was worth the extra time spent saddle fitting.

His temperament was wonderful and although he wasn't conventionally the 'right' shape- he was the prettiest horse I've ever owned .
 
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