Sway backed horse.. back injections?

[SaddlebredHunter]

So I have a Saddlebred Gelding with a swayed back. My trainer and I have been able to keep his back comfortable so far, but now whenever we canter the second direction he becomes irritated and uncomfortable. He will start to curl his back as if trying to get the pressure off and sometimes does little bucks that honestly aren’t really bucks. He is on a joint supplement and has a ton of padding under the saddle. My trainer and I have found it’s not my riding because I have a good seat for his canter. We have tried chiropractics on his back and that made him extremely sore for days and way worse!

My trainer really believes he needs his back injected, However i would really like to stay away from that as long as I am able to keep him comfortable in a safer and easier way.

I was wondering if anyone has had experience with back injections on a horse with a swayed back.

I’m also open to acupuncture, heat therapy, etc. I just want to make my horse as comfortable as possible. Thank you!

[LookmaNohands]

First get a Chiropractor or Osteopathic vet to work on this horse. I had one come in for training and rehab just 10 days ago. I have dealt with this before. I do TTouch and know that I can improve a sway back but I cannot do what a chiropractor or osteopath can do. So first you have to make sure that the vertebrae and pelvis etc. are where they should be. Then you use back lifts, butt tucks and neck arches to constantly remind the horse how it should be. Just like your mom told you to sit up straight or your instructor reminds you to keep your heels down.

Then you need to build muscle along the top line through correct work and incorporate ground poles and hills to strengthen the abdominal muscles. This work need to be done while the horse stretches down. I teach the horses to stretch on the lunge line and under saddle–actually, I make them stretch. You can make a difference in horses like this. They might not be perfect but some of them can be.

Good luck!

[jawa]

Just because you have lots of padding under the sway back doesn’t mean that your saddle fits. The padding may be creating more pressure on the non-swayed areas.

Does he canter both leads on the longe?

Could he have hock or other pain issues besides his back that are a compounding problem?

If you find that it is truly do to the sway in his back, you could try something like pentosan or adequan as an im injection prior to doing a joint injection.

I had a SB that had a swayed back…until he was in work, then his back became VERY round. If I fitted a saddle to his back at rest, it would NOT have fit when he was moving. This was observable on the longe and under tack.

[Big_Grey_hunter]

Have you taken x-rays of his back? You can’t really do injections without x-rays to show where the problem spots are

[SaddlebredHunter]

jawa,
I am completely certain the saddle fits him correctly both while working and just standing. He does canter both leads on the longe.

The more he turns the more uncomfortable he gets. on the straight ways he is perfectly fine, which is why it makes me think his back is the problem.

The strange thing is that walking, trotting, and cantering the first direction is fine for him and doesn’t cause him pain until he turns even the biggest turn.

[SaddlebredHunter]

Big_Grey_Hunter
No i haven’t done X-rays just yet but that seems like it needs to be done sooner rather than later.

[joiedevie99]

You need a good sport horse vet to come out and evaluate the whole horse. Sore hocks and stifles contribute to back soreness. You may be able to fix the problem there.

I may be wrong here, but my understanding is that there is no point in injecting a sway back without more information. You only inject when the horse has kissing spines as a result. The vet should be able to shoot a few quick x-rays to determine how things are looking in his back, and give you some more information about whether injections will help him.

Other are also correct - you also need to be working him over his back to strengthen his abs, make sure your saddle and making sure that his padding doesn’t create pressure points.

[CrowneDragon]

I agree that you need a work-up and diagnosis that there is actually a problem area or areas in his back that need to be injected. If he is just generally muscle sore, pain medication and muscle relaxants may be helpful, along with making sure your saddle fits well and you are doing appropriate exercises to relax his topline and strengthen his tummy to lift his back.

Is he an older guy with failing musculature, or is this a congenital Saddlebred lordosis issue?

[Pipkin]

I agree that you need a workup, you don’t have to get anything done at this stage, just try and figure out what you are dealing with.

If it’s not bony changes, just conformational, you need to work on strengthening his back. Physio and pessoa work will help. You need his neck low and his back lifting. Devil’s Claw is a good pain relief supplement, might be worth a trial.

Don’t knock steroid injections, I’ve had them myself and they really improved my quality of life! Wouldn’t hesitate to have them for the nag under vet recommendations. Sometimes natural is just not enough.

[Pipkin]

Sorry, just read your second post. Uncomfortable turns would make me think hocks!!

[RedMare01]

Sway back or lordosis? I can see trying to treat a mildly swayed back. Lordosis would be a whole different ball game, I’d think.

[SaddlebredHunter]

Thank you all for helping me! These are definitely things I will bring up to our vet at home and the ones at the university!

[SonnysMom]

My horse has a bit of a low back but not truly sway backed. I have had his SI and hocks injected. Based on x-rays and flexion the hocks were likely the original issue but over time affected his back.
The SI and the hock injections help a ton. He has had his SI joint done 2xs. Twice he had B12 injections into the muscles on either side of his spine. Once in conjunction with the SI injection and once as acupuncture with a chiropractic treatment. (His chiropractor/acupuncturist is a vet).

Just because he did not like that particular chiropractor does not mean it would not be beneficial. Not all chiropractors are created equal. I had one horse not like a particular massage therapist but liked and benefitted from others.

I prefer to have my horse massaged a few days before the chiropractic treatment and then a couple of massage visits after the chiropractor visits. I think it help get the most out of the chiropractic visit and then helps hold the chiropractic treatment.

[WildandWickedWarmblo]

Some horses have lordosis due to conformation. Is the horse having back problems or is it his conformation? Have a vet determine this. Some horses with severe lordosis have been serviceably sound for riding.

[morganpony86]

[QUOTE=SaddlebredHunter;7787368]

My trainer really believes he needs his back injected, [/QUOTE]

What part of the back does your trainer think would benefit from injections??? The majority of intervertebral joints are fibrous joints (with intervertebral disks) that would do nothing with traditional intra-articular injections. And the rest are bilateral incredibly small synovial joints. Good luck hitting those with a needle once, let alone 10+ times to do a large section of the back!

Similarly with the sacroiliac joint; the majority of issues there are related to issues distally first, like in Sonnysmom’s horse.

There are also numerous exercises you can do to help prevent (and maybe improve) sway-back in horses. Most involve getting the horse to lift his stomach that you can do in cross ties with little effort on your part. I’ve done them on my 28 year old for years and he has no indication of sway-back at all.