saddleback

windyr · Postby **windyr** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 8:12 pm

I have a 2006 colt who has a fairly pronounced saddleback. He is an otherwise outstanding individual with a super pedigree. His half brother by Langfur sold for $240,000 as a yearling.

What prejudices are there against saddlebacks? Do they generally make good racehorses?

zinn21 · Postby **zinn21** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 9:15 pm

Saddleback is a new one for me. Do you mean swayback?

Evenheaven · Postby **Evenheaven** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 6:48 am

Zinn.... I'm glad you asked because I was wondering the same thing

nythoroughbredvz · Postby **nythoroughbredvz** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 5:18 pm

me too! ???

TBLADY · Postby **TBLADY** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 4:22 am

SADDLE BACKED?
Or maybe the term is COLD BACKED?

zinn21 · Postby **zinn21** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 6:57 pm

Cold Backed? That's another new one for me. What is cold backed?

madelyn · Postby **madelyn** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 11:39 pm

When I have heard the term cold backed, it referred to a horse that persistently stiffened up when saddled and often bucked at the beginning of the ride, or at least crowhopped.

jellac · Postby **jellac** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 12:20 pm

As I've heard the term "cold backed" it's referred to a horse hyper-sensitive to having anything on his back: saddle, blanket, bareback rider. Usually it is related to a soreness/pain that the horse is either experiencing when his back is loaded or it's a defensive learned reaction based on prior experience when the horse was sore or experienced pain from being saddled, etc. In some instances I wonder if it might just a case where the inital 'backing' training of the horse was rushed/incomplete and this behavior, which mimics that of a truly sore-backed horse, is the horse's compromise with handling procedure he's never really quite accepted. Madelyn has described above the most common behavorial presentations to this condition - others are a horse that swings - violently/relentlessly - away from the saddle as it is hoisted in an effort to place on his back. You may have experienced or observed this: where a saddler is literally engaged in a tight circling maneuver with the horse he/she is attempting to saddle, while holding onto the reins in their left hand. Another that goes hand in glove with the shortening of the back - sometimes so dramaticly as to appear 'swayed' and to be felt as a prounounced 'dropping' or deepening of the horse's back by a rider - is for the horse to become very prancey on the front end as he's asked to move forward/out, almost/partly rearing while continuously deviating from traveling on the straight. I'm wondering if the original poster for this thread might not be referring to a horse who's backbone is higher than his back - a ridge-backed horse? I've seen a few TBs with this condition and some who were good racehores but I don't know that I'd breed to a stallion with this trait. However, I knew a stallion that stood here in Texas that was such a horse and I don't recall any of his offspring that I saw with the 'ridgeline' backbone.