# Confo? Swayback? hes only 8 yrs old



## my kinda party (Feb 16, 2012)

I own the best horse in the world( according to me). His name is Dexter and he is a rescue horse. 8yrs old, 15.1hh and a tb. He was super super skinny, then was perfect with a weight builder and then summer came and he gained a bunch of weight. But I am most worried about peolpe saying he has a swayback or how he might be forming one. He wasnt used in any overworking lessons or anything before I got him. He was kinda a pasture horse and now (after a year) he gets worked 4x a week. PLease tell me if he has bad confo!!

http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.ph...2188899657666.63812.1702340855&type=3&theater

http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.ph...2188899657666.63812.1702340855&type=3&theater

http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.ph...2188899657666.63812.1702340855&type=3&theater

http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.ph...2188899657666.63812.1702340855&type=3&theater

http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.ph...2188899657666.63812.1702340855&type=3&theater


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## DrumRunner (Jan 26, 2011)

First off.. Hi and welcome to the forum.. I have to say though pictures would be beneficial when it comes to answering your question.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

I'll second the welcome, but we can't see your pictures when you link them from FB. Can you attach them from your computer hard drive? Or maybe upload them to a 3rd party site like Flickr or Photobucket?


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## my kinda party (Feb 16, 2012)

Sorry, I am trying to get the photos up..


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## my kinda party (Feb 16, 2012)

Will this work for photos? I only uploaded a few beauce it took a really really long time...
Flickr: Dexo'chex's Photostream


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## my kinda party (Feb 16, 2012)

DrumRunner said:


> First off.. Hi and welcome to the forum.. I have to say though pictures would be beneficial when it comes to answering your question.


Sorry it took a long time to get these uploaded on flickr


Flickr: Dexo'chex's Photostream


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## calicokatt (Mar 5, 2012)

No matter what anybody has to say about his conformation, he is your horse, and you love him, right? I personally don't think he looks swaybacked at all. He has moderately high withers, which are accentuated in the picture where he is looking away, but nothing that I would find alarming (I'm not an expert though). If he makes you happy, and he's happy, sound, and going well with you, then he's perfect.


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## my kinda party (Feb 16, 2012)

Thanks so much. I just got really scared of hearing people say he might have a sway back by 10 or how he had bad confo. He feel in a ditch when he was 6 and messed up his spine making his right side completly stiff. I sill ride him and it doesnt hold him back but I wanted to know if maybe he had bad muscleing after that. Thanks thou.. Your words are completly true, becuase I really value him above all else.


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## SouthernTrails (Dec 19, 2008)

.

I do not think he is swaybacked at all, he just has high withers.

I have seen a lot of truly swaybacked Horses in saddle fittings, yours is not.

Great job in his recovery, he looks great 


.


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## Clayton Taffy (May 24, 2011)

If I saw that horse I would say, "There is a good looking TB".


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

I don't see a swayback, either. Nice looking horse, and don't listen to people (I'm going to assume other teens) who don't know what they're talking about. :wink:


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## Fahntasia (Dec 19, 2011)

He is very handsome and you have done a great job re-habbing him! TB are known for thier "shark fin" withers, some have it more prominent than others. He is definetly NOT sway backed.

The following pic is a swaybacked horse:









Notice the "drop off" between the withers and the croup? Your gelding certainly doesnt have that. 

Enjoy your horse, who cares what others think.


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## Macslady (Oct 23, 2009)

No, no swayback in your horse and like the improvement from the before and after pics. My husbands paint mare has the high withers a long back and a big round butt. She isn't swayback either. Once you see a swayback horse you will know.


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## chandra1313 (Jul 12, 2011)

I don't see swayback. They are pretty hard to miss when you see one. If your worried that others see something that is making you worry maybe look into things that you can do to stengthen his back.


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## my kinda party (Feb 16, 2012)

Thanks so much! I can put my worries behind me and just focus on him


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## GotaDunQH (Feb 13, 2011)

Yea, like others said...he's not swayback. He does have a dip behind his very prominent withers, but you can build that back muscles and topline with the right work and you would be surprised at how his back can look different. Easy exercise to get a horse to lift the belly and rise up through the back; groom his belly vigorously with a curry, and he'll lift his belly and round his back. I do this with my horse...great for the topline.


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## calicokatt (Mar 5, 2012)

GotaDunQH said:


> Yea, like others said...he's not swayback. He does have a dip behind his very prominent withers, but you can build that back muscles and topline with the right work and you would be surprised at how his back can look different. Easy exercise to get a horse to lift the belly and rise up through the back; groom his belly vigorously with a curry, and he'll lift his belly and round his back. I do this with my horse...great for the topline.


Great tip! I'll remind my own girls to do lots of belly currying with our older gelding with a poor topline!


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

Nahhh he's not swaybacked. Your horse has a back like my horse: prominent high withers and working on a topline.


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## dctack (Jul 6, 2012)

I agree with Taffy Clayton, I think he's a good looking TB.


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## Sweeney Road (Feb 12, 2012)

Dex is a good looking boy! Ignore the naysayers...they probably wish they owned him.


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

I think that he may benefit from a riser pad. If you were to ride him western, he might have some bridging due to his high withers. This is easily filled in with a pad that is thicker in the middle and thinner on the edges. My husband's horse is getting along a few years in age, and she does much better with a "swayback" pad. 

Your horse if fine. High withers can be good. They hold the saddle on.


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## Terre (Oct 23, 2011)

He is beautiful and I think that you have someone that is very jealous of what you have and what you have done for him.


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## Ok Paints (Jun 26, 2012)

Ditto what everyone else has said and he might be just a tad straight in the shoulders which would also draw attention to the fact the he is a bit high in the withers. Good luck with your horse and God bless you for rescuing him, Peg


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## Baylen Jaxs (Jun 25, 2011)

No he doesn't have sway back. Who ever told you that must not know much about conformation in horses. He's just long in the back with a weak top line. Going up hills and trotting up hills will help build his back line back up. For a TB he's actually pretty decent. He's just long in his back. Other then that he's nice!


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## grayshell38 (Mar 9, 2009)

I put my vote in for high withers and maybe could use a little muscle tone in the back. Not swaybacked though. Not usually a fan of TBs, but he's a cutie.


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## Elana (Jan 28, 2011)

He is a pretty nice horse. He is a bit long in the back and his front pasterns appear a tad upright. He is not conditioned to use his "ring of muscles." You can help him a LOT by trotting him upo long hills and over caveletti. Both things condition him and improve the top line. 

Take a look at this site:
Biomechanical Riding and Dressage 1

or put "Biomechanical Riding" in a search engine. 

You have a nice horse here.


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