No “cure” as far as I know. Get a back on track square pad and put it on while you’re tacking up to warm him up a bit. Get a professionally fitted saddle and tighten the girth very slowly, one hole at a time. The one cold backed horse I ever rode was the only horse in the barn allowed to walk away from the mounting block (but he walked nicely, not bucked) and did a good 15 minutes of walking and 20 minutes of trotting on a loose rein before doing any real work. He’s a 1.30/equitation horse and does well, but just has to be accepted for who he is 
I agree with the saddle fit, comfortable girth and all that, but I have had success with the magnetic blanket with these types. I had one that turned out to have a bunch of bone chips at the withers.
You talk about his back being tense when you get on, but have you palpated his back with no tack on to see if its sore? Cold backed to me is a signal of being back sore. Especially since the takes off bucking. In either case(sore or not), I’d recommend acupuncture and chiro. It did absolute wonders for my horse. I also use a Thinline on him, but it more just helps maintains what the acupuncture and chiro have helped. I’ve heard really good things about Back On Track products too.
I currently own one of the best horses I have had the chance of showing…and only because I could afford her because she is cold backed and no one (inculding the Irish trainer) would get on her to show her to me when I went to look at her (he had been launched off 2 weeks before for the last time).
She is a ISH mare, with great confo, no pain, not hormone issue and not a mean bone in her. She was a bronco the first time I tacked her up at old barn. Brought her home on trial and spent first two days just taking my time to tack her up, fuzzy long double elastic girth loose (as in barely touching belly) I would walk and tighten until keeping saddle in place. Then lunge, tighten, lunge…and so on. I just worked on getting on and off (no stirrups at first because I wasn’t sure if she had just launched up or reared).
Three months later she is a gem… BUT I always follow the same tacking up routine, always the same girth (even though I hate showing in fuzzy). I don’t lunge anymore, but still walk her out while girthing up. I also (people may disagree but she is a jumper and gives her all everyday) gasp give her a treat when I thighten for the last time before mounting and a treat from right side once on. I know her well and watch her eye and back/breathing. At one show I had a groom tack her up and took me 20 minutes to get on that day and the next 2 days because girl had used a 48’ instead of 52’ and girth got tightened too fast.
She will always be cold backed and I have to keep that in mind, but she is very easily managed (even after a week off after a heavy show schedule she didn’t need a lunge).
I am still in shock that other trainers could not figure her out, but to my advantage. I would have walked away after hearing the horror stories they told of her…but after seeing her free jump I had to try 
and I am very glad I did.
They main thing to me is that if it a true cold back horse do not try to “get after it”…it’s a fear/phobic/pain (in some cases) response…
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[QUOTE=Daventry;5777308]
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]
Agree that going forward and bucking are easy. Seen that many times.
Disagree about the saddle fit being the only reason for a cold-backed horse. In theory then, anyone with a cold-backed horse should be able to hop on bareback just like any other horse then? So, other posters… how many of you would be able to give your cold-backed horse a couple weeks off and then hop on bareback? Not ours. With no saddle causing an issue, then saddle fit really isn’t the problem.
Also, same topic, if saddle fit were the issue, I would expect the problem to get worse with consistent everyday work. I had a saddle-fit issue with a horse and this was the case, the more often you rode, the worse he was. Give him a week off and he’d be fine, next day not so much… saddle was causing pain. New saddle, problem gone. But a cold backed horse gets BETTER the more you ride, not worse. If saddle fit were the only issue, then a cold backed horse should be fine if you gave him a month off. I guarantee, the other posters here with cold-backed horses would not be hopping on straight away after a month off, without some longing or hand walking.
Third point, yes the elastic on both ends is good for a lot of horses that are sensitive, but each one is an individual so it’s worth experimenting with different tack to find out what works best. It’s no different than experimenting with different bits.
I recently have been dealing with this issue so can share by experience with what I have done. The first thing I would ask is why is your horse reacting like this when you get on? Yes, some horses are naturally tense for no apparent reason, and will be that way and you have to deal with it, BUT, I would not assume that is the case until you rule other things out. Taking off bucking is not an acceptable reponse to mounting even for a naturally tense horse, he’s likely trying to tell you something. Most of the time the reaction is being caused by the horse being sore in some manner or has been sore in the past so has picked up a habit and instinctual response. So, the first question would be, have you had a vet examine the horse? Not only examine the back, but do a thorough lameness eval to make sure it isn’t a secondary issue. E.g., if the issue is actually in his stifle, and the horse is compensating in a way that makes his back sore, then you will need to address the stifle in order for the back to get better. Also get them tested for Vitamin E/Selenium levels to rule out any deficiencies. Any horses who have muscle issues should be on a magnesium supplement also. Magnesium is so important to muscle function, and will often decrease symptoms of soreness/tightness, google a bit and you can find a ton of info about it’s function in the horses body. Also, if you have insurance on him (or can afford it), I would have his withers/spine xrayed to make sure everything is in alignment, could rule out kissing spines, and make sure that the bone structure is not compromised. You’d have to go to an equine hospital or equine imaging center to do this since portable xrays can’t get good images of the spine, and it’s pricey, but insurance should cover it. A bone scan is another option. Once you go through all the diagnostics, your vet should be able to help figure out the best path forward. Robaxin can often help, but again, as an example, if the issue is in the bony spine and can be treated, why have your horse live on robaxin if the cause of the issue can be treated and he can live happily med free?
I am a firm believer in diagnostics (obviously!) to try to see what the issue is coming from. I see too many people treating issues incorrectly because of incomplete diagnostics, and while diagnostics may be expensive to begin with, they will save money/time down the road in either identifying an issue or ruling something out. All the other suggestions were great as well…saddle fit, light lunging, slow girthing, accupuncture, massage, special pads, etc. But before spending money on treatments, I’d do everything you can to try to identify (or rule out) the source of the problem. Good luck!
This is an old conversation, but my very first mare was cold backed. Bucked like crazy. My grandfather didn’t think we’d ever get her broke. Then one day, a friend told him that she sounded like she was cold backed. He said to back her several steps each time you pulled the cinch a little tighter. Said it would smooth out the skin and muscles getting pinched under the saddle. Mare never bucked again.
- time off
- treatment with Robaxin
- Saddle that fits
I had one that didn’t buck, but walked of at an astounding pace and for a good while before she would settle. I started putting her on the longe after tacking up. One direction, she was ‘normal’,the other way she had to buck and play. But she never bucked when was on. It was often no more than two minutes and all would be well. It was mainly a strength issue because once she was in the program and learning to lift and push, this ultimately went away.
Medication and rest do help if the horse is overworked and improperly tacked. I’m not sure you could call that problem cold back. My horse was young and healthy. She was a nervous horse who tensed up. All I can say is it worked and she was 100% sound. She was born at home and a great ride her entire 25 years, once we found a solution to her problem.
You talk about massage and Adequan. However, you don’t mention diagnostics. Sure, you can start with saddle fit, but I would strongly recommend that you have this horse seen by a lameness vet/clinic. I’d want a full lworkup and definitely back xrays, though it could be referred pain.
I’d bet dollars to donuts that there’s a pain issue here and until you fix the primary source, the horse won’t improve.
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