Roached Back?

Miniature Horse Talk Forums

Help Support Miniature Horse Talk Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

hylights

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2007
Messages
79
Reaction score
15
Location
Maine
patches-1.jpg


minis.jpg


These are 30-31" mini mares I brought home on friday night, saturday I tried to turn them out and I started to lead the young one ( just 2) out on a lead line to show her the fence lines, it was like trapping a wild animal, she has never been halter broke, she fought, reared, bucked etc... I turned her loose, then a thunder storm rolled in and I was out there trying to catch them and get them in the barn. Oh boy, Well sunday went much better, it is going to take time to get them used to being handled, the older mare (mom) is better as she has been trained at some point in her past....

When building their stall I went with the wire filled tubular gates so they could see what was happening around them, at the previous place, I thought part of their fear was the 4' high solid walls of their stalls prevented them from seeing what was happening.

They are settling down and letting me come up to them but they are still so afraid of any quick movements, they have been handled only to be caught and vetted, farrier visits, wormings. I also have to do something about their weight, but first to teach to lead!

My concern is with the filly's back, the first photo shows her set up, the second her head is down eating hay, what is up with her back? does this look like an injury? The vet is coming next week......

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Thank-you

Amy and the pint sized painty girls........
 
I am not one who knows but I think it would be good to see a few head shots. If she is a minimal dwarf, which is what I am hearing here has a roached back, there may be other signs.

I don't mean to suggest she is a dwarf. Just that you can't see the whole picture!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Comment Deleted as I seem to have stepped on some toes and that was not my intention.

Good luck with your mares.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Her back does look roached. Have the vet check her to make sure she's not in pain. Some minis can have a roach back but be pain free. Good luck! Your girls are cute!
 
Really hard to tell from those pictures.

Just wanted to say though please give them some time to adjust and settle in a bit. They go thru a lot of stress when they are moved to a new place.

We usually dont do much at all with newly moved horses. Just let them get used to new feed, new water, new people etc etc.

Then after a few weeks I start working with them.

Kay
 
I agree with Kay about giving them time. I usually just sit in the field with a magazine for half an hour and let them come to me in their own time.

Good luck
 
She does not look like a minimal (ly expressed- I would have thought by now it was obvious what people meant by saying this? Obviously a gene is affected or not, but the expression can vary from obvious to almost non existent) dwarf to me, she looks like a fairly stocky, rather pretty, but not brilliantly conformed, mare.

Well done you for taking these two and for being so caring of them.
 
Thank-you for your impressions,

I can try to get a head shot, not easy until she decides to trust a little, they like me best on the other side of the fence!

Not to worry about me pushing them too hard, I am happy letting them settle in, I do wish the prev owner had better prepared them for life, but I know I can't make up in a week for 2 years of non handling. I just want them to be OK and I know they will need to be able to lead and excerise to get the extra weight off, and maybe some muscle and condition the filly will have better shape?
 
Well done for taking them in and I can't wait to see them in a few months time once you have worked your magic on tthem.
default_laugh.png
 
Not to worry about me pushing them too hard, I am happy letting them settle in, I do wish the prev owner had better prepared them for life, but I know I can't make up in a week for 2 years of non handling.
You might be surprised how quickly some will come around. Several years ago, I bought a yearlinig filly. She was not at all pleased about being caught when I looked at her. She was delivered a week or so later and was totally un-aproachable. I think she was mostly scared of new people and new surroundings. I did not push her, but spent quite a bit of time just being around her. Within a couple of weeks she was begging for attention. She now has her fourth foal. If she thinks you are trying to catch her, she may run circles, but if I am just out and about, she will be up rubbing on me.
 
I'm not saying she is nor isn't. Just wanted to let you know that a bowed (upwards) back can also be caused from tension. It was pointed out to me that my gelding (when we first got him) was standing just outside the arena gate with his back arched WAY up. Someone told me to go walk him around and sure enough in 10 minutes or so he relaxed and down it came. The same thing happens when it's time to measure - we have to be sure he's relaxed before we go up to the desk or he goes into the OVER classes!
 
Just a suggestion- you could have an equine chiropractor look at her. Had a full sized horse many years ago whose back went out (we didnt know it) and it over developed the muscles over her back- giving her an almost rounded appearance! When she was adjusted correctly, it went away.
 
Worst roach-backed horse I ever saw was a 16hh thoroughbred, so it isn't necessarily a sign of dwarfism all the time. sometimes, bad conformation is the answer. I too think that it MIGHT simply be tension; and would give her time to adjust, and have it checked by an equine adjustment practitioner.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Her big belly bothers me too. Feel her back with your hand. If its sticking up she may be too thin. Sometimes its really hard to tell.

I just cant shake the feeling that this is a very unhappy horse or a horse in pain. Every time I look at that picture of her I just feel shes very stressed.
 
I agree with Kay, the mare looks tense to me as well, some will tense up and round their backs which makes them look roached back..

I know on larger horses, this is one thing I look for before I jump on a green horse, has saved me from many of wrecks..
biggrin.gif


Place a bucket of feed and just sit there and watch, give her a few minutes eating feed and see if she settles down some, if not she may be in pain for some reason..

Good luck!
default_smile.png
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Absolutely have a chiropractor or equine osteopath (or both!) look at this mare. They do round their backs from tension but usually that originates in the hips and this mare appears roached far further forward than is normal for that. The pictures scream "physical tension and discomfort" to me and I'd be suspicious that she's got a past injury or other compensatory problem with her back. This can probably be resolved with a little work but first she's got to accept people laying hands on her without fear and more tension.

They're both beautiful girls and seem to have landed in a wonderful home so continue as you've begun with letting them settle and teaching them basic manners. Once they're a little less jumpy, call out a good equine bodyworker to evaluate the one with the back problem and I bet she'll calm right down once she sees that people can make her feel better.
default_wub.png


Leia
 
Thanks everyone fofr your input, to those who see her tension, yes she is very tense and frightened, I spend time three times a day squatting or kneeling down and waiting for her to come to me, she does and I try to scratch or rub her in places she likes, and let her just sniff and check me out. They nicker to me everytime I enter the barn, so they are thinking I'm not too bad, oh they are Mistique (mom) and Capri (baby). Capri is wound very tight, her legs are always under her (like a V) and she jumps easily, so perhaps her back is from being hunched up ready to spring, Mistique actually is also jumpy but she stands square and not hunched up. Time and patience, but I really want to get at those dreadlocks that Capri's mane and forelock are in......
 

Latest posts

Back
Top