# 4 year old TB. Am I crazy? Roach back?



## secuono (Jul 6, 2011)

Roach backed, angled pasterns and butt high. 
He's also so thick for a TB...or is it just vs ones I'm used to seeing?


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

I'm not really seeing a roach back I think it's just the angle of his back going up to meet his butt because he is butt high but he's only 4 so his front end will likely catch up. Those pasterns though would make me think he doesn't have a future of staying sound.


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## blue eyed pony (Jun 20, 2011)

I don't like those front pasterns and he is VERY rear high which is only putting more pressure on them. I would agree he's mildly roachy.

I'd keep looking, and I just bought an extremely awkward looking young TB!


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## blue eyed pony (Jun 20, 2011)

secuono said:


> He's also so thick for a TB...or is it just vs ones I'm used to seeing?


A bit of both. He's uh... rather fat, but he's also on the chunkier end of the spectrum build wise for the breed. I have a TB mare who is 16.3 and built like a Mack truck, and my new boy is an awkward gangly noodle who is 17h (as a 3yo, so he will grow) and has no substance to him yet. They vary quite massively in build.


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## 4horses (Nov 26, 2012)

Is it possible he is standing on a hill in those pictures? I think I would like to see the horse in person. It's also possible the horse's rump is closer to the camera then his forehand. 

A friend took my picture today. It made my horse look very skinny/long with a big head. Simply not a good angle and she was standing crooked to begin with.


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## Horsef (May 1, 2014)

Sorry, could someone please explain what "roach back" means?

Not a native English speaker and google is returning adverts for bug spray.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Horsef said:


> Sorry, could someone please explain what "roach back" means?
> 
> Not a native English speaker and google is returning adverts for bug spray.





It means that the area where the spine joins the pelvis is rounded upward.


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## Rudytoot (Feb 14, 2020)

tinyliny, As long as I had been around horses, the term roach back was never used in this part of the country. As I read it; I was just about to ask the same question.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

I don't see a roach on your horse. This is a pic of a real bad roach back. Your horse that you're asking about looks short backed, and slopes up to the point of croup. Being short backed can cause saddle fit issues but otherwise isn't a problem. Since this is a growthy 4 yr old, some of that could level out.


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