So… we bought a horse about 3 months ago and when you would get on him he would take off bronco bucking if someone wasnt holding him. Hes an imported dutch warmblood that is going to make up to a junior hunter/derby horse so its not like we would just want to give him away. We have had him massaged and he is on adequan. He has gotten alot better but if he is not ridden for a few days when you get on him his back get very tense and he feels like at any minute he is going to buck you off. It is quite scary and this is why we would like to fix this. Do you have any suggestions? Has anyone had this type of experience? Any suggestions would help!
Thanks 
My old trainer has a slightly cold backed horse, but he usually only plays up in the winter. Does he do this no matter how you get on/what you do before? I know she would girth him up slowly and walk him around the ring a few times before getting on, and once she got on she stayed up off his back for a few minutes to let him warm up. This worked very well with him, no more explosions, but it sounds like yours might be more serious than his was.
He only does this when he isnt ridden for 2+ days. If we tighten the girth then stretch his legs and have someone hold him he is usually fine but we want to cure it since it is pretty intiminating.
Check your saddle fit. Try a few different ones on him. Then saddle him and stick him on a longe line for 2 minutes before you get on.
A good-fitting saddle and a few minutes on the longe every ride for a year fixed my cold-backed horse. Now I have the good-fitting saddle but can just get straight on and he is totally fine.
Good luck. I am not a big fan of longeing horses to death. The cold-backed one is the only horse I have ever longed before I rode it, even babies. But it really worked for him.
good fitting saddle, and maybe even try a Thinline pad. I wouldn’t exactly call my horse cold backed (she never had any reaction remotely close to yours) but she would sometimes come out tense and tight through her back. I got a new saddle, which helped, but she still had her days. I bought a sheepskin Thinline pad a couple weeks ago and wow…haven’t felt her that consistently relaxed in, well, ever. She comes out head down, and calm. I didn’t put much stock in Thinline before (tried it on another horse and it did jack squat) but I think I might be a believer now 
Back on Track back pad…
I have a very sensitive, tense horse who usually starts to warm up stiff. I bought this pad, which covers up to his loins, and have him saddled for a half hour or hour before I get on. He walks off totally relaxed, a completely different horse. The ceramic fabric uses the body temperature to irradiate back infrared heat, which keeps them warm and loose because of the deep penetrating heat. If you place your hand between the pad and their back after a half hour, you can feel the temperature. It really works.
I was always wary about early morning bucks and spooks but, after using this pad, my horses start of relaxed and willing. I highly recommend it.
It isn’t, in my experience, something you can cure. Unless there is an issue that can be fixed re: saddle fit or soundness, you should consider it part of this particular horse. That doesn’t, however, mean that you can’t learn to manage it. Many of these horses seem to do well with a combination of a “back-on-track” pad, stretching, a short lunge before the rider gets on and/or trotting the horse up in hand. Some also will go better if they are allowed to stand for a few moments at the mounting block to adjust. Others need to move off right away.
Basically, you are going to have to experiment and watch the horse like a hawk until you figure out the best way to manage him.
We have a horse like this at our barn. We’ve done several things which all help, but in the end, it’s just part of who he is. We always lunge him before getting on - something I don’t normally like doing in excess, especially for youngsters. We also exclusively use a synthetic fuzzy girth with nylon on both ends. He is also kept in a sheet or blanket most of the time with a thick elastic band around his barrel, one normally used to keep something in place. Most importantly, I’m always cautious getting on him and take things slowly. They usually give us signals before you climb on
Often horses will react because the girth area muscles are tense… We have a back massager made out of wooden beads, that has a handle on each end. We use this where the girth goes, rolling it back and forth until the horse is relaxed before saddling.
My big guy flung several good riders off before I finally sent him to the cowboys to get him broke.
He is now manageable, but I still have to be extra careful if he has several days off in a row. It is part of him and everyone around him knows about it.
Through trial and error we have discovered the following:
- NO neoprene girths will ever touch his skin again. He even hates fuzzy. Only leather for this boy!
- Every hole the saddle gets tightened, the skin behind his elbow is smoothed.
- Once the saddle is tight enough to stay in place, he gets to walk and keep walking as the final holes are tightened. As I get on, he gets to walk off.
- If he has been off for more than 2 days, he gets walked down the lane and jogged back. If he has been off a week, he gets a light lunge.
- If he does hold his breath and feel like he is going to crow hop or buck he gets kicked forward. A horse cannot buck if he is galloping forward. Then I pull up and pat him.
It is a management problem and always will be. Every horse has idiocyncracies (sp?). In the big scheme of things this is minor, as long as you play by his rules.
Have had a horse with similar problems. It’s just something you have to manage. Make sure the saddle fits, always. Don’t tighten the girth too quickly without walking a bit first.
Start to notice if the horse reacts a certain way when you girth him up. Some days mine would act totally normal and I could get on straight away. Sometimes mine would act really strange (hold breath, tense muscles, etc) and then I’d make sure to lunge her for a little while (5-10 min max) before mounting. Not yahoo lunging, but easy lunging.
I did have to send mine to a cowboy who did whatever he did (don’t bother to ask) so she learned to stand still instead of take off whenever she felt something uncomfortable. I just had to be more sensitive to how she feels and give her the time to warm up.
Massage helps when I had time. Also Robaxin seemed to help quite a bit as well.
Good luck! Be safe!
Although it’s definitely an individual thing, here are some of the things that worked for my mare:
-Saddle fit, checked by professional, flocking adjusted.
-Thinline pad
-Double ended elastic girth with fleece
-Tighen girth very slowly
-Handwalk a few laps before mounting
-Use mounting block
-Plenty of turnout time
In her case, her previous owner rode her in a saddle that didn’t fit, so she has actually gotten less cold-backed over time as she no longer anticipates that level of discomfort.
I disagree. Almost any horse can gallop and buck at the same time. It’s rearing and galloping at the same time that isn’t possible. (Zucarlos made a career out of doing this very thing with Jay Hayes )
In regards to the cold backed horse, I firmly believe there is no such thing as a truly cold backed horse…just a horse with an ill-fitting saddle. But there are many who disagree And unfortunately, not all saddle fitters are created equal. Unfortunately, once they’ve learned the behavior, it can be hard to cure, and can often only be “managed”.
And I also agree about the girths with elastic at each end. They are wonderful for the sensitive horse!
[QUOTE=Backstage;5776374]
It isn’t, in my experience, something you can cure. Unless there is an issue that can be fixed re: saddle fit or soundness, you should consider it part of this particular horse. That doesn’t, however, mean that you can’t learn to manage it. Many of these horses seem to do well with a combination of a “back-on-track” pad, stretching, a short lunge before the rider gets on and/or trotting the horse up in hand. Some also will go better if they are allowed to stand for a few moments at the mounting block to adjust. Others need to move off right away.
Basically, you are going to have to experiment and watch the horse like a hawk until you figure out the best way to manage him.[/QUOTE]
This. I ride one at school, he was being ridden by a bigger lady who dropped down onto his back every time she mounted. A treat from my trainer when I get on him gives me time to get in the saddle before he takes off cantering. We always longe him for a few minutes before I get on (not because he’s hot at all) and he’s better for it.
Super fun horse, easy to flat jump etc, you just gotta get on him!
I should have been more clear. Petey doesn’t buck he “bronc bucks” – head down between his front legs and he folds up right through his middle. He lands stiff legged and jarring before doing it again. Without a Western saddle with a horn to hold onto it is almost impossible to stay with him. The first time he did it with me (=first time he was asked to walk away from the mounting block) I lasted 3 jumps and went flying. Broke my arm and got a concussion.
Second time (after months with a Natural Horsemanship lady who taught him to look at her out of both eyes… :rolleyes: ) I only lasted 2 jumps and ended up with broken ribs and another concussion.
That was when he went off to the cowboy who finally taught him that his behavior was unacceptable; but he did it without the use of any methods I found unacceptable or cruel.
It took the cowboy 6 months before he would let me back on him. He was the one who told me to kick him forward if I felt him tense up and get a lump under the saddle. It has stood me in good stead for the last 4 years.
And it is why I let him walk away from the mounting block as I get on. “Forward” is always good.
Tighten your girth slowly. I put mine to barely holding the saddle on in the stall /cross ties then walk towards the ring, put it up a hole, walk into the ring, put it up a hole, walk a lap around the ring put it up a hole etc etc etc until your girth is tight.
Next if he hasn’t been worked a few days put him on the line. trot until he relaxes and then canter until the same…usually 5 mins. Then get one ride in a light seat until he relaxes then no bucking! Takes a lot longer then just getting on but it works.
On another note. Have the Selenium levels check. I had a friend to tell me to put a horse we got from Florida on it. He was cold back. We put him on it and within a week I wasn’t getting the same responses out of him it was amazing…
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I rode a rehab horse who was cold backed for a lady. He was her older grand prix/ high AO jumper. The horse was pretty cool to work around but a demon to get on. He had a routine and if you broke it, you’d be bucked off. We always tacked him up making sure we groomed his saddle area reall well first and tacked him up with a loose girth. Then we’d move on to picking feet and wrapping legs. When it was time to get on we’d tighten the girth and the groom held him while we got on. Then the groom walked in one or two 20 meter circles holding him and Voila. he was perfect. The couple of times we just had him held for mounting, you’d get about 20ft before the bucking bronco. Luckily I only had to deal with him in the summer, I heard his winters were worse. We also always had super thick saddle pads under his well fitting saddle.
Some may say he was like this due to our routine. But the routine was developed in his younger years when his cold back was worse. Now it isnt quite so bad but why risk a having a bronco when you know a routine that works!
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Put a professionally fitted saddle on him.
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Longe him for a minute or two both directions before getting on.
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Feed him a treat when he stands next to the mounting block and a treat as soon has his four feet are standing still again after you have swung a leg over. It doesn’t matter if he broncs at first, just feed him a treat when he is standing again and he will start to "look for the ‘stand’’. You can even feed him a couple of treats then, first on the left side, then on the right; give him lots of pats and wait for him to take a deep breath or sigh.
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Let him walk on the buckle, nice and forward, giving lots of scritches on the itchy spots for at least 10 minutes before you ask for any work.
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It can also be good to hop on and hop off a couple of time at the END of the schooling session, still employing the plentiful treats.
Longe, gradually doing up girth, before riding. When I asked a vet if cold-backed horses got worse, he answered, “They don’t get better.”
I do not think you can cure this but rather find out how you can accomadate him. There are many suggestions here on how to accomadate him.
