Swaybacks

[JennLM]

Now I have to pop in here because on an unrelated board swaybacks were broguht up.

I have a friend who adopted a Newf from me and is on the east coast. She was visiting a Thoroughbred Farm and the lady had a sway backed one and told her that by riding it, the horses back will get better. I can see doing exercises to build up the back but to ride? She wanted to know what normally causes swayback in horses.

[Heidi]

Weakened muscles? Weakened spine?

My Appy gelding began developing a sway in his teens and we continued to ride bareback because saddles were too uncomfortable for him. He lived to be 29 before he was euth/buried and we rode up until the day before the e/b.

I have seen only one SEVERLY swayed horse. This horse was over 35 years old and her back looked like a "U". Ever see the Three Stooges episode with the sway backed horse? Very similar to that. This mare's back was so swayed I wondered how she EVER got down or back up again...
Heidi

[JennLM]

Does riding them too early have anything to do with it? I would think that combined with a specifi horses conformation could create a swayback/ Maybe some horses are predisposed for it because of genetics?

It's a farm that races horses. Which means before they are even 2 they are ridden.

I could maybe see a light rider but my friend is pretty darned heavy and tall herself. I would be afraid to do more harm then good myself personally.

[motorgypsy]

Here's an interesting article on the problem. It says there are three types and explains each of them. Two are found at birth and in a very young horse and the third, usually in old broodmares.
http://www.horseshoes.com/farrierssites/sites/rooney/lordosis/lordosis.htm

[JennLM]

Since this horse is a 2 yr old (unsure if Gelding or Stud) it would seem it is not from being a broodmare or age. And not an ASB. I would think it falls into the category of the juvenile or neonatal.

Interesting reading.

[Tracey]

I got my mare when she was around 14, she wasn't sway backed, but it looked a little low. She had not been used as a broodmare, but also not ridden much and I don't believe on a 'pasture'.
I started riding her and she is on a large hilly pasture, and now she looks normal, so hers was just from being out of shape.

[Terry Wallace]

Riding them too early, rarely causes a swayback. I have a really good article on this...I need to find it!

Extreme sway-backs are generally genetic or disease related.

Not to be confused with kissing spines syndrome, which can also cause a sway-backed look.

[Monty]

Hmmmmmm , got me thinking - I don't think I have seen too many sway backs now - not like I remember when I was a lot younger -?????
But then most were farm horses that were working -

[stella]

I have one mare thats an extreme swayback, but it was caused from eating something toxic while I was away at a show, when she was about 3 1/2-4 months old...the vet got some of the oil in her lungs, complicating it into double pneumonia, which lowered the immune system and prolonged the effects of the toxin in her system- it was one that attacked the nervous system, as she and the other mare affected(that had a week old foal at her side) seemed discoordinated in their hind ends at the time...

Whatever it was, affected their ability to metabolize calcium- for the older mare, her foal's teeth were about a week retarded in development-she was sold before birth, too- we helped it with come Clovite, she recouped fine....
But Dahlia was "down" with the pneumonia for a month, and thats the age of alot of growth, but she wasnt getting enough calcium to form strong enough cartilage.....luckily, her lordosis was very even....I kept her for a broodmare, because the next foal was already also sold in utero, and her mom was one of the last direct Eblis daughters(a double one at that).

Interestingly enough, Dahlia foaled much more easily than other mares, but in her early 20s - I always worried she'd perforate, but they just seemed to slide out in no time!
Only lately have I seen getting up being a bit difficult from arthritis and such, but she is 26 years old, and deservedly retired (well, she's sad about it, her 24yo buddy Diva has a filly)
All her foals shown were conformation winners and her "replacement" daughter, Appasionata, was 3rd National Champion in Confo out of 22 horses in 2000...and yes, is the mom of "Eblisa!"

Swayback is often the consenquence of extreme high-headedness,high necksets, where its enough to create a concave area in the spine, right behind the withers....then, over time, GRAVITY takes its toll(as it does on all of us!).....so it is often seen in 3 gaited Saddlebreds, more so than 5 gaited ones(they usually dont have as high a headset, are more convex in their backs, and so can stay in gait, whereas their 3 gaited brethren may have more of a "peacock" headset, but the sacrifice is inability to bascule enough to stay in gait, hence the high gaited TROT, but only trot.

I think if you compare the trocha and trote/gallope horses, you will see that the difference in their toplines vs the pasofino gaited Pasos, is just like the difference between the 3 gaited and 5 gaited Saddlebreds.

If a horse cannot displace its forehand weight to its rear enough, then it cannot totally come out of a diagonal/forehand support system to balance itself. Its simple physics as it relates to structure.

[moonrize]

Also, some horses which appear slightly sway backed are actually butt high. This makes the normal small dip in some backs exagerated - but causes no harm to the horse nor generally his riding useability. On the flip side, an extremely high withered horse can also appear to have sway issues that aren't really problematic at all either.