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  Discussion on Sensitive back
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Member:
Quatro

Posted on Thursday, Jul 8, 2004 - 11:27 pm:

What does it mean when I touch my horses back, or brush it, he sorta collapses it. My other horses do not do this. Is this indicative of a sore back, and should I try to have him seen by a horse chiropractor? I have not been riding him much this summer because of the weather, but he has put on tons of weight since he has been on pasture. Also, He eats allll the time. the other horses rest and he just eats and eats. Should i get a grazing muzzle? I have cut back his grain and am working on cutting down his nite time hay. But jeez! He is turning into a fat toad. He is a 4 year old, with very little work
Any suggestions on the back thing, and how do I get him to stop eating 24/7. He is stalled overnight. I have stopped giving him alfalfa, and only grass hay at nite. We just have soooo much alfalfa hay, I think I was overfeeding him the alfalfa too. Yikes, it seems like all of sudden he is soooo fatttt!
thanks
suz
thanks
suz.
suz
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Jul 9, 2004 - 8:09 am:

Susan is this back sensitivity a recent change for your horse and how does he react to a saddle? Concerning the obesity we have a number of suggestions including a discussion on muzzles at, Care for Horses » Nutrition » Fat or Obese Horse Nutrition.
DrO
Member:
Quatro

Posted on Friday, Jul 9, 2004 - 8:47 am:

Dr. O, It does seem to be a recent thing. I have been brushing him daily forever, however, we have been soo busy here lately, the horses have been put on the back burner (we have a boarding kennel. I have posted another question about recent behavior changes in the round pen. Last nite in my insomnia thoughts. I was wondering if his rolling in the round pen during training was his own way of trying to relieve the pain, and adjust himself. We have only ridden in the round pen. It has been over a month since we rode, and he did ok. He just likes to walk, not very energetic. I have read the obesity article and we are starting diets today. One vet a few years ago ran her fingers down my other horses back and he reacted this way, she said he had a selenium shortage and we got supplements. Is this a symptom of such shortages?
thanks


Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Jul 10, 2004 - 6:26 am:

While muscle pain and generalized skin disease is a symptom of selenium shortage the diagnosis of a shortage from this single exam finding is...well...let's be kind and say overreaching. The decision to supplement selenium should be made in light of dietary evaluation and a knowledge of selenium conditions where your forage is grown, for more see Care for Horses » Nutrition » Selenium in Horses.

The reason I ask if this is a recent change is that some horses are just sensitive to finger pressure and will react this way yet display no other signs of back pain. If this is a recent change and also sensitive to the saddle it suggests a real problem. If sensitive to the light touch of a soft brush: this suggests the skin has become irritated. If the brush is OK but sensitive to deep palpation this suggests muscle pain.
DrO

Member:
Gailking

Posted on Saturday, Jul 10, 2004 - 4:06 pm:

Susan,
Just a word on chiropractic. My 10 year old Arab had always not wanted to turn left and tweaks his shoulder in and neck out to the right going counter clockwise. He carries a lot of tension in his neck and has a hard time relaxing on the bit. He is okay in a saddle but hard to fit (he is wider than the extra wide Wintec tree) so I have been riding bareback for over a year on him. He loves it. I was skeptical about chiropractic, but decided to try it because a holistic vet I like was doing it with acupuncture. On his first treatment she noticed he was sore all along his right side, and one shoulder was larger than the other. He also had something? in both front legs (his gate had become somewhat stiff legged of late) and his poll and neck were sore. He had never exhibited soreness directly though. Anyway, after just one treatment I notice he was much more relaxed and comfortable and his movement was more fluid without fussing. The next month we did acupuncture and that also helped. His shoulders are now the same, no back soreness, hips are even but need small adjustments. He just had his teeth done yesterday and she did one more chiropractic session with him and I think he is fine now. I think he has been carrying a lot of tension in his muscles for a long time and this really helped them to relax. He was the star lesson horse for beginning bareback riders the other day and was just wonderful with them. It really has seemed to work for my horse. I think your horse's sensitivity sounds like a new problem. Maybe chiropractic will help him. Good luck. Gail
Member:
Quatro

Posted on Saturday, Jul 10, 2004 - 5:55 pm:

Thanks Gail. We do have a veterinarian around here who does chiropractic adjustments. I had him work on my older horse years ago. He did seem to feel better also. I will have to check to see when he gets back in our territory and have him work on the boy. He may have adjusted himself with his rolling. He does not seem to be ypersensitive today! He is a young goofy guy, who is always playing and getting into trouble, so I could see how he could put himself out of wack.
thanks
sue
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Jul 12, 2004 - 9:33 am:

As is my duty I must point out that it is uncertain what is meant by "adjustments" with equine chiropractics as there is no accepted equine chiropractic diagnostic techniques nor are the treatments well studied. Though some have noted positive effects, it remains uncertain what is happening.
DrO
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