SaddleSore

Ok, straight from the mouth of a three year old this question comes (although using bigger words ). How often do horses suffer from back strain? The position and shape of the body makes it look like that big old belly hangs down and pulls on the back. Add in a slightly overweight horse, and one adult rider and it seems like horses would very commonly and easily suffer back strain.

showboat

I have never heard of a horse suffering from back strain but I think it would probably be hard to tell. A horse has a different muscular-skeletal structure than we do and their backs are much stronger than a person's. They are seemingly made for carrying people/stuff or otherwise working due to this structure.

highstepper

The saddle is designed to distribute weight along the whole body, not just one section. It takes the pressure off the back a bit. Otherwise, I would expect that horses do, in fact, get backaches. Any muscle or body part that is worked too hard can get that way.

kerrits

You can tell if a horse has back pain the same way you'd see if any other animal with vertebrae does: poke them. Ok, maybe not poke them, but applying pressure along the spine will tell you if there is soreness.

Most horses have good enough structure to be able to carry weight without causing soreness, although things such as ill fitting saddles can cause problems. A properly rounded animal is also less likely to get back pain as the roundness through the spine helps support the rider's weight.

katie

So a horse's belly needs to be rounded but not fat for their backs to not hurt. I had wondered if they got back aches too.

alexis

Would this suggest that riding bareback is a bad idea for a horses well being?

I never knew about the saddle taking the weight across the entire body, I thought it was only for the back area.

SaddleSore

Rounded and fat are two very different things. Rounded means broad, and can involve lots of good muscle structure. Fat, well there's no support there.