Back Pain in Sport Horses

In recent years the addition of the back examination to a routine lameness exam has become commonplace. With vast amounts of information available on the internet and social media pages, it can be daunting to understand and clarify “back pain” in the sport horse. This article will organize the clutter of information into a clear picture for riders and owners.

Most Common Causes of Back Pain

Anatomically, the mid/caudal back of a horse is comprised of bone (eighteen thoracic vertebrae, six lumbar vertebrae, and the sacroiliac articulation to the pelvis), linked by soft tissues (ligaments), which together form joints that are propelled into action by muscles.

Muscle and Soft Tissue Pain From Incorrect Saddle Fit

Horses can become locally or generally sore from an ill-fitting saddle. Horses, like humans, can change shape as they grow and develop more muscle, even during the show season. Just as we need to adjust our gear as riders, the horse must have tack that fits correctly in order to succeed.

Diagnosis & Therapy: Ill-fitting tack can lead to pain that can present acutely or as a low grade, longstanding issue. This will usually present as the horse being unhappy with saddling, areas of rubbing, white hairs, hair loss, saddle slipping, and/or areas of bruising-tenderness-swelling, which can be felt. Clinical examination is usually sufficient for diagnosis, but incorporating radiographs and ultrasound can aid in ruling out other common issues.

Usual therapy is one to three weeks of back free exercise, topical or oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and careful saddle fitting. In our clinic, we routinely use laser therapy and/or light therapy with acupuncture to help relieve some of the tension that has developed

Diagnosis & Treatment: This condition can be suspected in horses with pain on palpation, saddling, walking, trotting, and commonly in the canter. It can be diagnosed and graded by the lesion seen with radiographs, ultrasound, or gamma scintigraphy (bone scan) and by the presentation clinically (mild, moderate,