# A severe sway back..



## wolffeathers (Dec 20, 2010)

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/grd/2434431468.html

Came across this CL ad and the horse is 25, but goodness, I've never seen a sway that far back on a horse. All the sways I've seen are usually behind the withers.

Not bashing them, I've just never seen one like that before and wonder if anyone here has seen a back like that.


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

Not really a sway back, he is half camel. That is a hump.....


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## wolffeathers (Dec 20, 2010)

tinknal said:


> Not really a sway back, he is half camel. That is a hump.....


A reverse hump maybe! A negative humped camel.

(LOL You got me. I'll admit I had to google "humpbacked horses" just to make sure...I also opened it in a very small window for fear what might just pop up on my computer screen in a public place! )


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## jill.costello (Aug 18, 2004)

Yes, that is a swayback I have seen before. Looks like a grand old fella with a kind eye. I hope he finds a peaceful home.


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## wolffeathers (Dec 20, 2010)

I have seen some swaybacks, but they've always had much less of a sway and it was always just behind the withers. 

Does it just show this ol' boy's hardworking life or is it in the genetics?

I agree he's got a kind eye. I truly hope he finds a nice final home.


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## Rogo (Jan 1, 2006)

Look at the bright side -- you don't need a saddle.

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Perhaps ridden too hard when too young?


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## SFM in KY (May 11, 2002)

wolffeathers said:


> Not bashing them, I've just never seen one like that before and wonder if anyone here has seen a back like that.


There is a condition called "low back" ... genetic I think, to some extent anyway ... in some American Saddlebred horses that looks like this. They say he's been a show horse so wonder if that's not what's going on here.


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## jill.costello (Aug 18, 2004)

Look at the first picture in the "saddleseat question" thread......I think that's your answer....too sad...


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## offthegrid (Aug 11, 2009)

Lordosis can be congenital. Or age related, or work related....or all three together. It doesn't necessarily mean he can't be ridden, although at his age I probably wouldn't put anything but small kids on him either.


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## lathermaker (May 7, 2010)

I've seen one that was a lot worse than this poor old gentleman. The vet said it happened because the mare had very poor nutrition when she was pregnant.


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## shakeytails in KY (May 11, 2002)

jill.costello said:


> Look at the first picture in the "saddleseat question" thread......I think that's your answer....too sad...


Oh please.

Generally, a back that low is mostly genetic. The baby is usually born with a straight back and it begins to drop in the first year. It's a wierd gene- you can (and usually do) get a straight backed horse from two low-back horses, or you can get a low-back foal from two very straight-backed horses. 

The horses are no less sound that your average horse, and are ridden just like any other with the addition of a "low-back" pad under the saddle. 

The Truth About Horse Swaybacks


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

shakeytails in KY, bad day??


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## shakeytails in KY (May 11, 2002)

wr said:


> shakeytails in KY, bad day??


Nope, having a fine day. 

I just get tired of people insinuating that Saddle Seat riding is the root of all evil. I have a barn full of saddlebreds, and have had horses in training with three different trainers (all big show barns). RARELY is a horse ever unsound. You don't hear ASB people complaining about their horses being bent on self-destruction or being lame, unlike many other disciplines such as h/j or dressage.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

I must be getting old because I just can't be bothered letting what other people think bother me at all.


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## Cheribelle (Jul 23, 2007)

Interesting article in that link!


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## rabbitpatch (Jan 14, 2008)

He may have been born with a low back.

This mare was. I don't have baby pictures of her but I remember when she was born. We joked that the mare must have been carrying twins because she was sooooooo wide for sooooooo long. Then out pops this crooked backed filly. My grandmother said the filly was too big and over crowded in the womb is what caused it. I am more inclined to think it's pure genetics. I've heard rumors that many descendents of Wing Commander were sway backed, and this filly is in that line. She is broke to ride and my grandmother had a custom treeless saddle made for her. She tried to sell her but no one was interested due to her conformation, so she is a fat and sassy pasture ornament.


























And this is her dam. Undernourished is not something this mare has ever known, a single day in her life. LOL


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