I’m in Virginia, sellers are in North Carolina 
He seems NQR in outside hind and certainly seems to be plaiting when he moves away from the camera. I would be concerned about his ability to collect and use his behind to jump. I would be concerned about longer term soundness. But horses being horses, he could be sound as a bell.
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I’d never have looked at a horse with a roach back til I knew one who ultimately did GP dressage brilliantly for years. That’s serious work!
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I know a gal with a TB that has a serious roach back, almost cringey it’s so bad. Horse is a phenomenal jumper and sound sound sound.
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I see what you see - there is a significant disconnect and lack of carry through and symmetry of movement through the hind. Could be SI, could be inflammation in the lower back, could be sciatica…
I’m currently spending a lot of time and money on one of these. This horse is a well-accomplished horse with a nice multi-disciplinary show record. Our end goal is to have a happy horse free from pain - the vet can’t specify what that may include (dressage, jumping, pasture life?). The treatments are extremely expensive, but we love this horse and we are committed to his comfort in whatever form that may be. It also takes a vet that can see there is an issue. This was part of my problem - my horse went through 3 vets and a specialist, including a surgery, before we found the right vet who could see the root cause. And we are lucky we found him!
But for the OP, the real question isn’t about whether the horse can do the job as is - the question is “is it fair to ask this horse to do the job being asked in the first place?” I would argue that in this state, it shouldn’t even be cantering as it’s reinforcing the lack of motion and carry through, which will exacerbate the rather obvious issue. This horse would need an appropriate fitness and rehab routine before I’d put a lesson rider on it.
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Yep, I’m well aware of that. Obviously, one wouldn’t expect a horse to be used in a lesson program until it is ready. Fitness, training level, mental assessment. If I could afford to buy the one that’s able to do the job right this moment, I would absolutely do so. Prices being what they are, I’m trying to be creative by looking at prospects.
But this one is already sold, so it’s a moot point.
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Who and where did you find the vet who sorted your horse out? Thank you!
Dr. Fowler in Ocala, FL is the vet who finally looked beyond what looked like the obvious to everyone else and was the only vet who wasn’t stuck in Occam’s Razor thinking. Sometimes the simplest explanation is NOT the correct one!
It was very interesting finding him.
We had chiropractors and bodyworkers saying my horse had a rib out, or vets telling us his girthiness was due to ulcers, his RF lameness was due to a bone fragment (which I removed and didn’t solve the issue). I always saw LH as being an issue, but RF was asymmetrical so everyone focused there. I paid for ulcer treatments, MRIs, surgery, injections, chiro, you name it. The horse saw multiple vets, an orthopedist, his radiographs were read by an internationally renowned radiologist. I was finally told by a specialist that as my horse had been on and off lame for over a year that it was likely that we would not resolve this as we’d tried everything logical.
So I phoned a friend who used to perform chiropractic work on my previous gelding back in Atlanta to ask for ideas. Her SO is a skilled farrier who worked a miracle on my last horse, and I thought maybe they could collectively take a look as they did with my other gelding. She was living in Ocala and my horse was there with the specialists for his last evaluation. She offered to take him to her farm and have her SO look at my horse, but she also recommended getting Dr. Fowler involved. It’s been a little over 2 months and 4 appointments. Dr. Fowler found all kinds of interesting things going on. From my horse’s neck being stuck in a lowered position, to severe lower back inflammation, to LH sciatica (who knew?)
We changed my horse’s front angles, kept shoes off his hind to allow his hoof to expand so the hoof could better absorb concussion, and placed larger shoes to give him more support. But the root cause is somewhere in the lower back/SI region and we are still peeling away the layers of the onion. My friend also has worked with a nutritional expert, so we put this horse on a non-GMO diet, added Equine Chia, put him on Equine Resvantage, and also treated him with ReBalance because of its success in combatting spinal inflammation. He may or may not have had EPM - we will never know as we didn’t test for it. But we’re doing 90 days of that as well and the inflammation is nearly gone. We are doing everything we can to reduce the potential for inflammation.
The last visit Dr. Fowler told me he couldn’t guarantee what the future held, but that I had a “very happy kid.” And seeing this horse improve and evolve into an absolutely delightful horse on the ground and under saddle has been amazing, because it shows just how uncomfortable, yet stoic he was being all this time. When I tacked him up last time, he made some silly faces when I tightened the girth but nothing terrible. He had no pain anywhere during grooming - not even sensitivity as he normally would have. His soundness was vastly improved.
One thing to remember with neurological findings is that it if it’s gone on for years, then resolving the issue is a long journey to undo those years of damage and it won’t happen quickly, if it can happen at all. In 2 months we’re just now trotting this horse and he will be trotting only for a long, long time while we work to rebuild the connection along his back. I sometimes wonder what would have happened to him if someone else bought him as their dream horse and didn’t have the same desire, drive and financial means that I’ve had to get to the root of the issue and help him find comfort.
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Thank you for this!!!
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@atl_hunter Can you either send me a PM or post how I can get in contact with Dr. Fowler? I’ve got a horse that has stumped a couple of vets, looking for someone who thinks outside of the box. I tried to PM You but your public profile is hidden. Sorry for resurrecting a zombie thread…
Google Dr Greg Fowler. His cell comes up.
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