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High Withers and bad sway back

3K views 4 replies 5 participants last post by  loosie 
#1 ·
Hello everyone! I bought my horse in November 2020 and have been working to reduce his sway back a bit and build up his top line. I know my saddle and blanket fit well, but it seems like nothings getting better. I work with him nearly everyday and try to do work that would strengthen those muscles. I have also been feeding him weight builder and senior grain and that seems to have helped a bit.
Does anyone have any tips?
 

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#2 ·
You probably should get a vet diagnosis but I think you might be dealing with lordosis.

This article will help you understand what lordosis is:)

 
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#3 ·
I don't see so much of a swayback as a horse that's underweight. If that's a current photo of course. But if you can see ribs through a winter coat, that's a horse that's too thin in my opinion. Sure, his back may be somewhat dished, but his main problem is a lack of weight. If he had as much weight as the black horse behind him (who is probably a little bit fat) you wouldn't notice his back very much.
 
#4 ·
I agree i think he could use some more weight and that would help you. Can’t gain muscle w/o calories. I have easy keepers so I can’t help too much with that but have heard senior feeds and rice bran are good for that. Purina makes some good high calorie feeds too.
 
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#5 ·
Hi, how old is he? How much unridden exercise does he get daily? I don't know about lordosis, but agree that I'd get a chiropractic vet or some such to come check him out, if you haven't done so. I wouldn't call him 'sway backed' but just weak backed. Perhaps he has 'kissing spines' or some other injury, may or may not be treatable or helped with exercise. Could have cushings or atrophy from a previous ill fitting saddle, anything. And even if your saddle fits him well now, if it's fit to his back at the moment, then generally speaking, it will prevent his back from developing & won't fit him well if it does. Hence getting him in (better at least) shape on the ground first, before fitting a saddle & riding. Long walks & trotting on hills are great for building 'topline'.

I wouldn't necessarily think he was particularly under weight from that pic - he looks relatively rounded elsewhere, but with the 'dropped' back & belly, perhaps there is also no good muscle over his ribs either. But who knows from that one pic, he could well be very light-on, or was so in the recent past, so he needs 'condition' as well, to build muscle. So is he thin? & what's the 'weight builder' & 'senior grain' you feed & how much does he get? What else does he get fed? Well balanced nutrition is also an important 'ingredient', so does he get any nutritional supps?
 
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