Cold Backed - Whats that all about??

holistichorse

How could I forget Mr Buckley He was quite weak in the lower back and around the pelvis, and needed some strength work. You worked on strengthening that area to make work easier for him

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Heifer

what a memory So that was likely teh cause of his cold backed behavior.

So manageable, but not desirable. And perhaps cureable depeding on the cause!

holistichorse

Yep, yep and yep

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Gaia

Hmm, depends on the extent of the "cold backed". One of mine is what would be considered cold backed, and let me tell you, you wouldn't want to get on him!! I have had him for 10 years and would NEVER pass him onto someone as a riding horse. That said, I have worked with him over the years, and had EVERY different treatment, vet, massage, chiro, spirtual healing, you name it, I have done it. I still ride him, BUT, I know him and would never even consider putting anyone else on him. His "cold backed" is 4 feet of the ground all at one time. One reins stops? Forget it! You put any pressure on his head and it gets worse. I have learnt over the years when it is safe to get on and when it isn't. I have given up numerous times and leased him out as a companion. We are back to riding now, but i would never take it for granted that I can just chuck a saddle on and hop on. I have only ever taken him to 2 ridden shows and have had to ask everyone to clear the way when I saddled up lol.
Anyway, I suppose if they are giving it away then the problem may not be worth dealing with? Just think carefully and if you go to look at it, make sure they are the ones that work him through it so you can observe and make up your mind if you want to mount or not.
Goodluck

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Pride yourself on your future plans, not your past mistakes.........

Cornflower

I guess the only thing you can do is go and look at him. Make sure you are there to watch him be caught and saddled up. Let them do what they normally would with him, and just watch what happens. Just tell them to do things as if you weren't there.
Maybe take someone more experienced with you.
When you watch, you'll be able to see if he's just not happy, hunches a bit, or really has a bee in his bonnet.
Once warmed up, and by the time you get on him, if he is fine, then it might only be a muscle related thing. But if he is still unhappy by the time you get on, then i would have doubts about the seriousness of the problem.

As Holistc said, a lot of horses are cold backed due to easily fixable or manageable problems, like feet, or correct exercise.
The problem comes because you don't know until you buy him and do the work with him just how deep his issues run.

I honestly don't think you can make an assessment until you see him. If you really like him and he doesn't appear too bad, then the next step is a vet check. And if so, make sure you tell the vet about him being cold backed so the vet can do all the proper checks.
Off course, a vet check can go as in depth as you want it, right down to x-rays, nerve blocks, etc, etc, etc.
But that's what i would do. Go see it, then go from there. There's no harm in seeing the horse.

Caroline

Cold backed is commonly a sign of "cinchiness" or girthiness.

Sometimes this means the horse was not started correctly or rushed.

But more often than not, it can also indicate the horse is suffering back problems, often sacro-illiac issues. There are muscles and nerves in the girth area that can appear sore and touchy when being girthed up. This is actually refered pain from the hind end, so this is a pain indicator!

I would not recommend anyone purchase a horse displaying this behaviour, regardless of what may have created the issue.

Such horses usually remain cold backed throughout their life to some extent, even with regular riding. And these horses will buck because of the pain.

Buy a completely sound horse for your own safety.

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Standardbreds are the new Warmbloods!!

chick_with_a_chainsaw

my sisters horse could possibly be seen as girthy.
he did a bucking bronco impersonation with me just after we bought him.
if id known better i wouldnt have got on him at the time but im older and alot wiser now.

he was sent away for training and alot of work was done and he seemed to hate someone being higher than him. hes only once bucked while mounting since but tenses up most of the time

more so with me to the point where i dont ride him,

hes also a very nervy horse so we think its not pain related (have a good farrier and hes not lame, no obvious back pain either)

SMR

Throwing mascarpone cream...lol. It seems that some people easily take offence to brew's comments, but they speak a lot of truth (perhaps they aren't always what people want to hear???) Unfortunately, you can't screen people's opinions when you ask on an open forum

SMR

Oh, and Chick with a chainsaw, just because your farrier can't find anything and there is no obvious back pain does not mean that he is not sore in his back nor his feet In fact, nervy behaviour often goes hand in hand with pain

chick_with_a_chainsaw

oh i know but i ment to the degree that we can test.
as in hes got no lumps or bumps on his back
or abcesses etc

he may well be a bit sore but doesnt show it, i think he was quite roughly handled just how he behaves