Question about a conformation fault

[Molly's Run Minis]

If a horse has a slight roach back will that impair his ability to be used as a cart horse?

also, for those who read my thread on Misty and Honey i have excellent news.....blood tests came back and neither of them is pregnant!

 

[Molly's Run Minis]

bump

 

[Tremor]

Ok...so I'm curious about this too.

I have a 2010 colt who has this same problem. I would *love* to have his trained for cart but I would rather not if it would cause him any pain.

Do any of you guys know how a roach back would affect a horse's ability to do anything? (ie. driving, jumping...etc)

I don't know if Molly wants to post pictures of her little guy or not, so I'll post some of mine. (I think his back has gotten better actually since he's grown, but I don't know...)

 

[JaiteraMiniatures]

I would THINK it would hinder their ability to reach under themselves, but I could be totally wrong. I've never seen riding horse with a rouch back unless it was a trail horse, but I bet it'd be hard to fit a saddle on them (which obviously isn't a worry in y'alls case

) I'm interested in what others have to say too, because I've never really thought about it!

 

[Kelsey - Vandy's Farm]

http://www.horsegroomingsupplies.com/horse-forums/roached-back-101759.html

There is a TB that jumps with a minor roached back...

 

[kaykay]

I personally would not drive a mini with a roached back.

Tremor I would up your guys feed and protein as he looks like he needs more than hes getting. Yearlings need much more protein than a mature horse. Hard to see if that is a true roach back or hes just thin.

 

[JMS Miniatures]

I agree with Kay on your yearling. He looks to have a poor hair coat and pot belly going on. Could be a sign of he is not getting the right groceries and he could also be wormy.

I think you can drive a roached back horse but he won't be competitive in the ring, and I wouldn't go for very long drives.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I agree with the comments on your yearling, Tremor- I know you love your animals to pieces and I have a lot of respect for the way you are headed, I also know that sometimes what they are fed is still not entirely in your hands, so please do not feel we are criticising out of hand!

I have seen him look better, and as you already know he is very rump high, but I do feel, at just one year old, although he is never going to win a beauty pageant, he could get a lot better than he is.

YOu need to feed him like there is no tomorrow until he really starts growing. Once you have reached the point where he is level (which could be as long as two years!) you can tail off the feeding slowly and let him find his level.

I know these yearling geldings have hollow legs, I am feeding two of my own as well as a filly who is sooo gangly I swear I shall never get her looking good this year!

As to the original question- I would think a roached back adult animal would be able to drive, but not competitively and, of course, it depends on how roached the back is.

 

[stormy]

Personally I don't think a roach back will impact driving ability at all, have seen hunters with a roach back, have also seen driving horses with severe lordosis...doesn't seem to inhibit performance at all!! Your guy is fairly minor, best thing is to chat with your vet next time he/she comes by.

 

[Tremor]

Oh don't worry rabbitsfizz! You're just helping me out more!

On the topic of Pete...I've actually been in the process of bumping his feed up. I started that in May. During the winter I was feeding him 0.5lbs of Omelene 300. I was feeding that to all three of my 2010 foals. When I clipped him it was obvious that 0.5lbs was not enough for any of them. So, I bumped them all up to 1lb and then bumped him up to 1.5lbs which is what he is getting the moment. In the past month he's definitely gained weight.

Here's a picture of him 5/20/11:

From what I can see of this picture is that I can see little to not fat anywhere. His ribs are evidant (slightly), his hips and flanks are hollow, his thigh and shoulders need some meat on them, and most definitely his neck. He does has a pot belly.

And of course the picture from yesterday (06/09/11)

I'm seeing no rib, more meat on his hip/thigh/shoulder. I think his neck has thickened up *some*.

I have him on Omelene 300 because of its protein amount of 16%. Plus the fact that he is a growing horse. BUT, I did order Purina's Miniature Horse and Pony feed. I should be getting that today. I'm kind of iffy on switching him over or not. He would not be the only horse that I'd be leaving with Omelene 300. I have a yearling filly who is doing great on it and since its working for her I'm leaving her on it until she gets to the point where I feel her ready to switch.

I also think that his butt has actually started to level out. When I last measured him he was 28-29'' tall. I measured him a couple days ago a 32-33'' tall. He's definitely grown and I think his butt has definitely dropped in the past couple months. It'll be interesting to see him next spring as a two year old.

I've honestly decided to pretty much just leave him be. I had thought long and hard about selling him and had put him up for sale, but then I realized that I'm actually judging him too quickly. Too be very honest, I'm probably going to just let him grow until he's four or five. I'd hate to make him do too much with a growing body like him.

I would love to do jumping with him, to be honest.

What should I do about his coat?

 

[kaykay]

Hi coat will improve when his feed levels improve.

Remember .05 lbs is not enough for any foal.

Are you feeding 1.5 lbs twice a day or once a day?

If its once per day you are still not feeding enough.

Also how much hay and what kind? Pasture?

For sure the amplify fat nugget and the flax oil in the mini/pony feed will do wonders for that coat.

 

[Tremor]

Hi coat will improve when his feed levels improve.

Remember .05 lbs is not enough for any foal.

Are you feeding 1.5 lbs twice a day or once a day?

If its once per day you are still not feeding enough.

Also how much hay and what kind? Pasture?

For sure the amplify fat nugget and the flax oil in the mini/pony feed will do wonders for that coat.

I'm feeding him 1.5lbs once a day. I cut it in half and feed him twice a day.

I have him on free choice grass hay. We have a large bale of hay for the three yearlings and a broodmare and her filly. No pasture yet, as it isn't cut yet. We're letting it grow so that we'll have two cuttings of hay this year.

If I were switch him over to the mini/pony feed how much should I be feeding him? He weighs a little more than 150lbs. How much should I feed a 75lb yearling filly?

I have one filly (my dwarf) who weighs 75lbs (we weighed her at the vet clinic on the dog scale a couple months ago). I feed her 1lb of Omelene 300 but her top line hasn't improved any. Yet, I have another filly who is gaining weight great on it.

Gosh feed is confusing.

My plan is to slowly switch all seven of my horses over from Strategy GX and Omelene 300 to the Mini/Pony feed.

EDIT: I don't know if that first decimal is right. I was feeding 0.8lbs. Half a pound.

 

[minimomNC]

This is my colt that was a year old in March. He is 27" and he gets one four cup measuring cup of Mini feed twice a day. That adds up to about 4 - 5 lbs a day. I don't feed a lot of hay. When he was getting ready for a show in April, he was getting as much as 6 lbs a day. He is dewormed every other month. While he is a bit fat right now, he also isn't showing any more this year so he has been cut back some. The one thing about feeding babies, is they need to eat a lot.

 

[JMS Miniatures]

According to Purina for a yearling thats 150#s he should be getting atleast 1.6 # a day of the mini feed and atleast 1.5 # of hay. For your 75# yearling filly it says .8 of grain about a pound of hay a day.

Also whats your worming program like it can also come into play of his condition, including hair coat. If he is anemic it could also make his hair coat look dull.

 

[Tremor]

Well....my worming program is just now kind of getting under control. Previously I had just been doing Safeguard.

Feb. 29th: Safeguard

April: Equimax

June: Ivermectin

I'm trying to get into this program, but the June one didn't work out. I couldn't find any of the brands mentioned, but the lady you owns the tack store suggested the Ivermectin:

January/Februaryfenbendazole - a safe and effective wormer paste for the control of large and small strongyles, ascrids & pinworms in horses. Panacur, Anthelcide EQ, Safeguard

March/April

1.87% ivermectin - Paste wormer and boticide that controls bots, ascrids, large and small strongyles, pin, hair, stomach and threadworms. For use in all horses of any age, including pregnant or nursing mares. For safe effective control of 34 species & stages of worms and bots. Foals should be treated initially at 6 - 8 weeks of age and routine treatment repeated as appropriate. Equimax, Equimectrin, Zimectrin or IVERMECTIN GOLD**

May/June

pyrantel pamoate - Removes internal parasites in all types of horses and ponies: large strongyles (bloodworms), small strongyles, pinworms & roundworms. Horses and ponies ( over 8 months) should be treated every 6 weeks. Mares should be treated 1 month before foaling and again 10 days after foaling. Foals dose (2-8 months of age) every 4 weeks. Strongid Paste, Strongid C, Rotation 2, Exodus Paste

July/August

fenbendazole Panacur, Anthelcide EQ, Safeguard

September/October

1.87% ivermectin Equimax, Equimectrin, Zimectrin or IVERMECTIN GOLD**

November/December

pyrantel pamoate Strongid Paste, Strongid C, Rotation 2, Exodus Paste

 

[Minimor]

I think the coat will come; if a horse is in good health and on good feed he will generally have a nice coat. He have little trouble getting shiny, soft coats on our horses, and most of them are not on grain. You could try adding BOSS to his grain--a 1/2 cup of BOSS per day should add some shine to his coat.

 

[Tremor]

I just wanted to update you guys.

Last night I started to switch Pete's feed over to the mini horse and pony feed. It should take me a week to get his total feed amount switched. Afterwards I'll start bumping it up

I'm also switching the yearling fillies, a gelding, and a mares' feed too.

 

[Eagle]

Clipping a yearling is very important to see how they are doing so good for you. My yearling colt was slightly roachy this spring so I had a worm count done and this seemed to help, I also Increased his food and added sugar beet a sunflower oil. He gets 2lb of nuts ( same composition as purina mini) plus a full cup of sugar beet and a small Italian coffee cup of oil twice a day plus hay morning and night and about 6 hours out on limited grass.

Tomorrow i will take a pic for you to compare.

 

[maestoso]

A roached back will certainly hinder a horse from moving with free and fluid motion, weather they are attached to a cart or not. Will it hurt the horse? Maybe not..... But I would think it would require the horse to work harder than it otherwise might have to, which could cause fatigue or soreness. If you are a person who suffers from a back problem, running is naturally going to be harder for you. Same with the horse.....

I don't think it would hurt to try and see what happens...you'll know rather quickly if the horse can handle it or not. I would just check frequently for any soreness. If soreness develops, I definitely wouldn't continue.

 

[maestoso]

It seems like there are a few people here who are not entirely sure what a roached back is. It is not something that is caused by poor feed or conditioning. A roached back is a fault in the bone structure and feeding will not fix it or make it worse. It's something that is within a horses genetics. You can't stop it from happening, make it worse, or make it better. A roached back will look worse on a thin horse, but that is because there is no fat or muscle across the topline, not because the bone structure is changed because of poor nutrician.