Signs of back pain in the horse

SIGNS OF BACK PAIN IN THE HORSE 

I have been working with horses full time for over 10 years now, both as a Spinal Manipulation Therapist and now also as a Vet Physiotherapist dealing with injured horses going through rehabilitation. During this time I have seen a LOT of horses with back pain, it is the main problem that I deal with on a day to day basis in my work, whether it’s a couple of spinal joints that are sore, or the muscles have gone into spasm, or the other end of the scale is kissing spine in the horse. 

So I wanted to put together a list of the common signs of back pain that I see, to help you as owners and riders to learn how to identify back pain in your horses by their behaviour. 

One of the problems we have is that some horses can mask pain quite well and carry on without any overt signs of a problem, or they only exhibit various subtle signs that would not necessarily raise any alarm bells.  

Other horses are more demonstrative about pain, especially back pain, making it quite clear – these ones are of course easier to identify – so the list of common signs of back pain covers both obvious and subtle signs. 

Common signs of back pain: 

• Bucking 
• Bolting 
• Throwing rider off
• Moving away from the mounting block
• Not wanting to be tacked up for riding 
• Nipping or face pulling when girthing up saddle 
• Moving away from saddle being put on back 
• Tensing up when saddle being put on back 
• Holding breath when being saddled up 
• Going to back of stable when he sees his tack 
• Twitching when grooming his back 
• Dipping back when rider mounts
• Difficulty working into contact
• Rides with hollow posture 
• Grumpy attitude to ridden work 
• Difficulty bending through ribcage 
• Stiff in the neck 
• Issues in the canter 
• Refusing to jump 
• Decrease in usual performance levels 

It can be easy to write some of these signs off as ‘normal for him’ or ‘he’s always done that’ or ‘he was spooked by xyz (pigeon, crisp bag, crocodile etc)’, or even not notice them as an issue. Some of them you would really have to look for, BUT they are all important clues if you can notice them, that your horse may be suffering with back pain. 

So have a think about this in relation to your horse, can you identify with some of these signs? 

Next time you’re getting ready to ride, maybe have some of these signs in your mind while you’re tacking up. 

The quicker you can identify back pain the quicker you can deal with it for him, and move into a management plan to improve his posture and make him more comfortable.

I hope this article is useful and please get in touch if you would like any more help.

Jenny x