Cold Backed?

On January 7th, I had the awful experience of having to put down one of my horses, Toby, due to a pasture accident. He was twenty five and although long retired, we had a fruitful partnership together. I reflected on our years together and reminisced about the good and  the challenging times.

Toby was one of my event horses and we think he came from a different discipline, probably Hunters since it took some time to get him to be adjustable.  He was a Thoroughbred and not an easy ride but he was an honest and good jumper. We managed to get to the American Eventing Championships several years ago and I can tell you it wasn’t due to our dressage.

The very first time I got on him after purchasing him, he immediately hunched his back and went into a bucking frenzy, promptly dumping me. I had been told he was “cold backed” and clearly he was, but what does cold-backed really mean and what causes it? The general thought is that it is a sensitivity in the back musculature, attributable to many possibilities such as muscle or nerve damage from previous injury, bad saddle fit, teeth, feet and/or lameness issues.

Many cold backed horses exhibit Toby’s behaviors and some horses sink away from girthing, tense up, refuse to move forward, buck and so on. It is important to rule out the most obvious things such as saddle fit, teeth and such. Unfortunately, it isn’t always easy to figure out, but one can be sure that you will be aware of the issue if your horse is indeed cold backed. They are not for the feint of heart!

Sean, my current event horse is exuberant in a different way. He broncs and does goofy and, one might say, athletic Snoopy like ‘dances”  but usually more in the “I’m happy to be alive” vein than trying to unseat me. Of course, there is that on occasion. Toby, however, would hunch his back and make a concerted effort! He had been around the block and had white spots on his back when I got him so I know he had a history of either blanket issues or saddle issues and he was not a relaxed Thoroughbred. I did have my saddles adjusted regularly but I am quite sure my dressage saddle which I had used on my former event Thoroughbred, was not the perfect fit for Toby. Was the cold backed attitude due to anxiety and anticipation from previous saddle fit issues or was it bothering him during the current ride. I can say that it was only in the very beginning of the ride that he would tense up and hunch and then he would settle and relax although not as supple as one would hope for. As my trainer had remarked on more than one occasion, perhaps he had swallowed a telephone pole. Yet, in my jump saddle, he was far more willing and happy.

I have been involved in saddle fit for quite a while now and had I the same amount of knowledge then that I have now, would I have had the same experiences or would they have resulted in less excitement? Toby had regular chiropractic adjustments  and he had ample turnout and I had also tried the usual assortment of medical injections and even tried acupuncture

I’m sure, with his previous history, that he had some related stiffness and I would imagine that contributed to the situation and he was eventually retired due to a subtle lameness that just couldn’t seem to be diagnosed by more than one vet. I know that lameness concerns can exacerbate  back issues but I often ask myself, would he have been more supple with a saddle that fit him better at the time. Most likely, it was a combination of all of those factors. It is certainly something to consider when one’s horse is sensitive; that perhaps it is indeed a physical and not a behavioral issue. In other words, make sure to investigate further and exhaust possible causes of that kind of behavior. Quite possibly your horse is trying to tell you something.

I learned a lot from Toby. He would mush my lips for treats and often nicker when I came out of my door to feed in the morning. He is buried on a hill overlooking our riding ring, and I’m sure he will be keeping tabs on what the other “boys” in the herd are doing. I hope he is running freely now, eating lush grass and that he has a never ending supply of sugar cubes and cookies.

Toby watching over most of the herd as usual. RIP Toby.

Return to top