What success have people had with back problems?

[miggy]

Have suspected my mare has a back problem for a while. She is really antsy about cantering and it all got worse when I was having lessons with an instructor who told me to really sit deep in the saddle in canter. I did have a physio and she thought there was some stiffness and did a couple of visits, which helped a bit. also swopped to a treeless saddle which she prefers.
Has started getting worse again now though (as in she bronked me off when I asked for canter on one rein yesterday :eek: )
have got a "highly respected" :) saddle company fitter coming in a month. Am thinking of no riding but lunging 2 or 3 times a week with a pessoa.
Do you think I should get a physio/chiropracter/african witch doctor-what have people had best results with?
BTW you would not know otherwise that there was a problem, can brush her all over, tack up etc, no faces. Just quiver a bit if firmly palpated along back but not nasty faces etc. Am sure it is though because she wasnt being silly or messing about otherwise and this is a problem that has been brewing.

[CurlyWurlyRach]

i had a McTimmony practisioner out to Curly a few months ago, she showed no signs of real pain but was hollowing when being ridden. Turned out she had deep tissue damage, a misaligned pelvis, badly fitting saddle and something wrong with her scarilliac joint. These are all on the mend and she instantly drops into a beautiful long and low outline now - so different from my old giraffe :D worth every penny!

[julia gulia]

I have seen fully qualified , certified chiropractors work miracles with horses therefor...I am a big believer in them. To be honest with you? In the case of my own horse? it wasn't necessarily what I noticed before the chiropractor worked on him...but more the amazing difference afterwards. I don't think it is a one time thing though....I have a chiropractic visit about twice a year . At first? my chiropractic worked on Barney a few times and then scheduled visits for maintenance. Ask around for recommendations .:)

[trieste]

I would definately get someone to look at her, we just have "the back lady" who was recommended to us. She has been a godsend, my friends horse Flint would quite possibly have been sold as he bronced and got me off and neither of us wanted to ride him. (Other people said he was just being naughty beacuase he didn't do it all the time) Because of all the wonderful advice I had been reading on here I said to my friend I think there's something wrong with his back and hey presto there was. Helen (back lady) said he was in a lot of pain but managed to cope most of the time.:o :o
I am so glad that I spoke up and really enjoy riding him and hopefully I would spot if he wasn't right in future, we do have his back checked every few months.

[martini55]

Definitely get someone to look at her, having an osteo out to my horse did her a world of good! She was a completely different horse afterwards, relaxed, balanced and more importantly rideable! We had put down her problems to lack of schooling (I had been told she was no good at dressage) and after a year of lessons there was a lot of improvement but not as much as we would have liked to see. An osteo often visited our yard and so I decided to have her look at her and found that at some point in her life (whether it was with me or before) she had endured a big knock to her hind quarters. Due to it being uncomfortable when ridden, she held herself in a way so it wasn't as bad which resulted in all our problems- lack of balance, tightness etc.

[Fizz]

mine get a sports massage ever 6 months & jay is about to finish his bowen treatment, seen a big improvment in him since he had it done:D

[martini55]

Fizz who is it that you use for Bowen and do they cover Fife? I've always been interested in it as apparantly it is good for laminitics :)

[smaggi]

I didn't even know that Cisco had a back problem. On his pre purchase exam he wiggled a lot when the vet ran his finger along his spine. He said it was fine and that some horses were more sensitive. Well last summer after we were trail riding with a vet friend of ours, he noticed that Cisco's left hip and also his left shoulder were about 2" lower than the right side. He did some acupuncture tests and heated some needles and put them in his back. As soon as they went in Cisco lowered his head and his lip quivered a bit. He gave me this Oh baby that feels good look and was so relaxed that he drooled a bit. :p He also used some kind of machine that drew a bit of blood above his back right hoof. Then he used two rubber mallets and did 2 chiropractic adjustments near his tail.

Ever since he did that you can run your fingers down Cisco's back and he does not flinch at all. He is also behaves better and is more relaxed when riding him. Amazing what some pain relief will get you.

I felt so guilty not realizing that he had a sore back for about a year when I first bought him. Who knows how long he was sore before I bought him as a 4 year old. :confused:

[Ms Kitty]

I haven't personally had a horse with back problems, but many of my friends have. They swear on getting a chiro or a physio to come and help them with their horses. They come about 1-2 times a year, depending how the horses are doing. The change is amazing!

Nina x

[Libbyo]

chiropractor lady worked wonders with Cilla. Different horse after her first treatment, literally 5 mins after. 2 treatments and all done, she will be checked after 3 months.

Nokie got a little check as his usage has changed from ride to drive.

She did say that lunging to much strains them, its letter to have sessions of lunging, walking in hand and long reining, if not riding.

The lady is from Dorking. PM me if you want her phone no.

Libbyo :)

[Bebe]

Contrary to the other advice, I would get a vet first and foremost. It sounds like this is an ongoing problem that physio and a saddle change hasn't particularly helped, which to my mind indicates a bigger problem. Bucking/broncing in canter was one of the main symptoms of my horses sacroiliac strain and whilst chiro & Bowen now keep her problems in check the initial injury required a years field rest. No amount of poking or prodding will help if there is inflammation or damage to the ligaments surrounding a joint and you won't know this until you've had a vet check her out.

[JOJOBA]

Read The Mammoth Jack Update for my experiences regarding back pain and treatment.

xxx

[Fizz]

Fizz who is it that you use for Bowen and do they cover Fife? I've always been interested in it as apparantly it is good for laminitics :)

lady i used is training so we where case studies,i will ask if there is a local one:D

[horsey1]

I had a Mctimoney chorley lady out to my last horse she was fab:D she also does sports massage too :D

[eml]

We had amazing results with my daughters mare and a shiatzu (sp) ie accupressure practitioner who a showjumper friend recommended. Basically we bought the mare with an unlevel pelvis, worked like a giraffe through back tension and assorted leg problems having raced as a two year old. (and before you all say it we bought her cheaply, untried, on feel that she would 'come right')

She is now successfully working at novice eventing , SJ being her weakness..they are so boring they fall down :D . She hunts, hacks, shows, dressages well on good day, bold and brave cross country and we could probably but never would sell and get about 4 times what we paid for her.

On the other side we had another cheap purchase of a young mare, lovely static conformation but movement all wrong. We thought she might grow into herself and asked our Shiatzu lady to have a look. The generally kind and gentle mare tried to kill her and she rightly said there are major problems here. The mare is now hopefully going out on loan to a companion home where she will be loved but not expected to be ridden. Miracles do not happen and there are problems that cannot be resolved.

[julia gulia]

Contrary to the other advice, I would get a vet first and foremost. It sounds like this is an ongoing problem that physio and a saddle change hasn't particularly helped, which to my mind indicates a bigger problem. Bucking/broncing in canter was one of the main symptoms of my horses sacroiliac strain and whilst chiro & Bowen now keep her problems in check the initial injury required a years field rest. No amount of poking or prodding will help if there is inflammation or damage to the ligaments surrounding a joint and you won't know this until you've had a vet check her out.

Over here? Certified Equine Chiropractors are vets:)

[virtuallyhorses]

You should probably just start with a vet. Although they can be total dorks when it comes to some injuries they can also surprise. Look for a good equine vet. Then at least you will know if you are dealing with some of the more serious injuries - like a SI strain or sprain. If you are really interested and have the resources look for somewhere with scintigraphy or other high tech equipment to see if there is a serious spinal or other joint issue.

From there I would look for a physio or massage therapist to check out what is going on. Just because you have changed the saddle once doesn't mean that it fixed the problem - nor does it mean that all the previous problems were sorted by just two visits. Trigger and stress points can take a LOT of work to alleviate. Look for someone who is prepared to give you advice on rehab work you can do yourself.

[Zingy]

My advice on back problems would be to persevere and be prepared to try different therapies.

I'm sure my experience with my horse is a bit extreme, but I tried:
the vet (found nothing),
a physio (said he was "weird" but had nothing wrong),
a chiro (first visit treated trapped nerves in poll and shoulder and a misaligned pelvis, second visit treated trapped nerve in shoulder),
2 saddle fitters (first said existing saddle fitted, second fitted new saddle),
acupuncture (couldn't find any site of pain, though movement improved after treatment),
an aromatherapy/ massae/ physio person (said he was stiff, but told me nothing I didn't already know)
another vet (by this time diagnosed arthritis),
another physio (said back problem was so deep rooted it would take a long time to improve).

I finally felt like I had a sensible answer, but it took 18 months and cost a small fortune (couldn't claim on the insurance until the arthritis diagnosis as until then there was supposedly nothing really wrong) :eek: Since then (over a period of 5 years or so) I've tried physio, chiro, TTouch and distance healing in various forms but nothing has worked well enough to get any kind of consistency, so I've had to write him off as a retirement case.

I don't mean to suggest that this will be the case for you, but just to point out that it's not always a case of someone turning up and tweaking a few things every so often. No matter how good someone's qualifications are, if they don't find anything wrong it's always worth a second opinion ;)

[Bebe]

Over here? Certified Equine Chiropractors are vets

Not so here, I'm sure there are some who are both but in the main a vet is a vet and a chiro is a chiro.

Echo Virtuallyhorses advice. Even if the vet doesn't find anything initially you will need them to have physically examined the horse if you need to take the route of an insurance claim, without their input your insurance co are likely to refuse to pay out. If the problem is more serious than a single physio/chiro treatment can resolve the bills do add up (talking from experience here) and you'll end up unable to make a claim relating to that area at all, regardless of whether you've made a claim or not.

[Giveitago]

Ditto some of the other stories.

It has taken me years to find out what was actually wrong with Harrys back/legs. He had seen, vets, chiro, shiatsu.

He would go lame on fronts, caused by pain in the hinds. It would take around a month for him to come sound again.

When I moved yards I met a lady called Beth who managed to diagnose every area of pain/discomfort. Gave me some exercises and stretches to do.

Things improved, his topline started to grow and develop muscle. We were only hacking in straight lines, hill work, doing carrot stretches and asking him to lift his belly(he has a saggy belly).

However, I have not been in the best of health lately and find it difficult to ride him enough to keep up the good work. I have also had to postpone the carrot stretches as he was starting to 'mug' me every time I was close to him. I Then met a different vet who showed me how to do the stretching without the bait and this works well.

I am going to try and follow a general fitness programme from a Susan McBane book, I'llk spend the next month at walk, an hour at a time and then progress to trotting etc.

Question; I was thinking of asking for an outline every 10 minutes or so and ask him to hold it for a few minutes at a time whilst we increase the fitness?

Question; I ask him to use his hinds with my seat and lower leg, light and low hands, and keep the pace slow and short. But, I'm not sure if I should be riding a light seat, higher hands (read that somewhere) to incourage him to hold his saggy belly up?

Harry is a fairly forward going horse, very flexible, and will cover the ground easily but not physically that strong at the back. He has also develpoed some clicking in his NS hock joint but the vet tells me this is only a clicking ligament or an air pop. It certainly doesnt seem to worry him.

Seems I have now got in a muddle with all these different aids! I'm sure I can get Harry to be fit again (he's 15 this year) but am lacking the confidence to have a suitable plan or time scale.

Advice please

[HairyCob]

Miggy, would this 'highly respected' saddle co fitter that you have coming also be a bowen practitioner and a regular contributor to New Rider by any chance?!

If it is who I suspect it is, get him to have a look at your horses back.... Dolly was seen by a chiro a couple of weeks before I bought her and proclaimed as having nothing wrong with her back, the vet didn't pick up on anything wilst doing the vetting, or on a later visit, but I knew she was uncomfortable in her back and the 'person in question' confirmed this when he came to 'do' her saddle, and treated her... and wow! What a difference it made:D

[shanghai_missy]

My horse had similar symtoms to the ones you describe and i took her to see a man called John Warrick. He done something to her back similar to accupuncture and stood her under the heat lamps for a while. It turned out her saddle was badly fitting and was squint. Even though her back had been 'fixed' she still remembered the pain and so i had to change my routine with her to encourage her to see that using her back muscles was no longer painful to her. It took a little while but shes all better now and you would never know she was injured. So id deff get her checked out and when first cantering her again for the first time after shes better if poss change her suroundings to encourage her not to behave on habit

[horse_lady43]

i have a back lady every 3 months to check mavericks back,as he has a lot of muscle and quite often they go into spasam,2 weeks ago his neck locked and he couldnt lift his head up or turn to the left,had vet out, he gave him jab of acp and bute,then i had to take him for a scan,which showed up the start of athrities in the base of his neck,which also sent his whole body into spasam,back lady sorted him out,his ok now and i can carry on riding him ,just need to manage athrities,at least i no now why he goes into spasam,i have a magnectic rug for him which helps,my back lady is my vets wife which helps a lot.