So I stumbled over this on FB as well. Got to hand it to social media nowadays, you can run but you cannot hide any more.
Here is the text that went with the picture:
4-2-22-574- Clydesdale gelding approx 17 hands and 4 years old he has a “hump back” which is most likely genetic but could have been caused by an injury although he doesn’t have any visable scars or signs and it doesn’t seem to bother him. He did take a rider but doesn’t know cue’s picked up his feet willingly.
Note – Clydesdales genetically are prone to this condition It is a convex (upward) curvature of the spine in the area where the loins join the croup (the coupling). It affects collection or lateral bend and the horse will take shorter steps behind, since the vertebrae have less range of motion. The stiffness through the back limits both its up and down motion and its ability to bend laterally (side to side). Some improvement is possible through exercises, but these horses are better off in a companion/light work that doesn’t require collection and/or bending.
here is a picture of another horse with roach back- http://i23.tinypic.com/10xzk9l.jpg
Instructions Placement/Proof of ownership form: http://www.ac4h.com/BOABC.htm
500.00
Video: http://youtu.be/xE6eMH0o294
Payment/Donation link: http://www.ac4h.com/ac4hdonate.htm
To me there’s a really interesting blend of ignorance and knowledge in that descriptive bit. From reading the comments that followed, this poor fellow was purchased by a kill buyer (currently still owned by that kill buyer) for $50. Now, these people AC4H Broker Horses are advertising him for sale for $500 as a ‘light’ riding horse per their video of him. One person comments: I saw this horse and felt him all over at Middleburg sale. He is in an immense amount of pain hot all over and tense.
You’ll have to scroll a little down their FB page to find this horse, but it appears these people sell horses owned by kill buyers. Surprisingly the horse moves way better than I thought he would. Besides the obvious spinal issue, he’s got issues with those back feet. The left one is severely split and I can’t imagine this horse has been able to pick up those hind feet in a very long time to have them attended to.
I don’t know what to say at this point, other than I really do want to pop ‘her’ in the mouth for saying; ‘Look at that animation. He sure does pick them up high.’ Really? Well, I guess it’s a selling feature that he doesn’t fall on his face.
Unfortunately, this led me to another video of a whole other variety, which led me to a website. I seriously do not have enough energy to punch all the people I want to. I would like to know, though, if Clydesdale’s do actually carry a genetic structural defect like this. If so, what lines and what’s being done to get it out of the breed?
Hooves 
Could be the hair, but looks like he might have dropped fetlocks too?
I was thinking the exact same thing. The way he picks up his back feet certainly looks like pain, not animation 😦
I hope when M is finished with the conformation series we can have a more indepth discussion of certain faults, and what they will mean for your horse and how you can overcome them. When I get a decent pic of my mare I will send it to her…Never been able to figure out if she’s swaybacked, or just so butt high and big bellied it creates the illusion. She also looks very different from one side to the other because of her paint markings. I’m sure she’s not ‘built’ for anything, but she’s comfy, always willing, and I loves her 🙂
That one is also reported to AC
Have you seen the video of it…. shockingly sad. The horse is in obvious severe pain and the stupid bitch that’s touting it for sale is wittering on about it’s great action!
She definitely needs a kick in the box!
The horse was bought from auction for $50 and is being sold for $500 to any bleeding heart that’s sucker enough!
Shameful! He needs putting down to save suffering.
I’m with you on that one, both on that woman’s need for a kick in the box, and to put that poor animal down.
The comment section for the video says that a home has been found for him. I pray to God that whomever bought him will not ride him.
In my fantasy world, someone bought him so they could put him out of his misery. 😦
Lots of folks are trying to convince the rescue in WV that is buying him (total of $1,000 raised for purchase and transport) to do the right thing and put him down. Of course, there are also the usual “oh, thank you for saving him!” clueless comments, as well:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=538684632841725&set=a.155379741172218.27934.155065451203647&type=1&theater¬if_t=like
Here
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=xE6eMH0o294&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DxE6eMH0o294%26feature%3Dyoutu.be
Agreed the poor guy needs to be out of his pain. I doubt he’d be comfortable even as a pasture pet. Shame on these people (both the ones that bred him and the ones trying to sell him).
AC4H is notorious for reselling crap to bleeding heart sorts for an incredible mark-up. They are on par with Rebel and $am…
Makes me so sad. Poor beast needs to be put down…
Yea, I don’t really follow rescues, so I don’t know anything about this one, but I read on another site comments about possible manure in the tail, and for any “rescue” to promote a horse without even cleaning him up a bit just “stinks to high heaven.”
I don’t know if this is a genetic defect, I have seen this on various horses. But right now there is a filly being sold in my area with this problem, I am sorry I cannot provide a direct link.
Craigslist, inland empire farm and garden
Drum horse $4000.00 – $4000
Here is the link: http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/grq/3700632898.html
and they’ve taught her to dance…..people suck.
Yes, she’s not yet two years old. Looks like a Percheron to me. Very poor conformation even just ignoring the spinal problem.
Yea, when I first saw this, it’s hard not to want to go rescue this little gal. But because of the drafty influence and the roach back, I thought it might add to the conversation about this gelding. Let’s hope no one ever breeds this “special horsie”.
Clydesdales don’t carry any such genetic defect. Though there’s a lot over there have shitty hind legs!
Well, I didn’t think they did, but since they are a breed I’m not particularly fond of (because of how they’ve been bred ‘over here’), I don’t follow them in general.
NO, I did a check and even in the States this is not a problem in the breed. They do have PSSMI, but not …well, I hesitate to call it “roach” back – it is a severe scoliosis really, roach doesn’t quite cover it. If it is a true scoliosis it will get worse with age…….the mind boggles. As everyone keeps telling me “you can’t fix stupid” to which I shall add “there is one born every minute”
I agree. I boarded my pony for a year on a Clydesdale Stud, and we used to have long, passionate discussions on conformation, breeding and defects. If an issue such as this was common, it would have come up.
Did anyone notice that he moved like a Big Lick behind? His hinds drive way up underneath him, pelvis is not working properly, fetlocks might be dropped and he appeared to have diarrhea stuck in his tail. Poor guy, he should’ve been euth’d after birth. If he wasn’t in pain, fine, make him a pasture pet but if he hurts, keeping him alive is cruel and selfish.
I think kicking is overrated….I still love a good old fashioned bitch-slap.
Why
would
anyone
even
*think*
of
riding
that?
Poor beastie.
I think the woman should be put down as well as the poor suffering horse.
I think Merc’s idea of just kicking all these people in the head is the best I have heard in a long time- we should coin a slogan!
I suggested the kick…. come up with a good name and I might even patent it 😉
how about ‘crap kicked’ ?
I’m pretty sure it was Merc that started it all a couple of posts ago with a “kick between the eyes” or something very similar. Whoever it was, anyway, is not really an issue, we need to get it “bannerised” and as you say,. patented. How about “the kick of shame”?
I liked the term that was coined over on Fugly: “Ownerhole!”
“So many idiots to kick, so little time….”
Just be sure to wear safety shoes/steel toes while doing it! 😉
I can’t imagine he’d even be comfortable standing in a field with that back, even if his other issues were taken care of 😦
And I’ve never heard of any breed having a tendency toward roach backs. I’m assuming that’s just verbal vomit they’re spewing to make it seem less terrible.
My heart breaks for both of the horses. How in the Hell can anybody with a brain look at them and not want to have them put down? But, there I go assuming some people have brains.
Sadly, a dangerous thing to assume.
Isn’t that blood on the inside right hind. If that horse was sold at auction then I would also go to that auction yard and have a little discussion with the management. They are not supposed to sell animals that are in such bad condition. They should be arrested.
Oh so this is a horse rescue then…. I didn’t see that at first. You see this is why, in general, we should not be supporting this. It is just another way for people to use animals and abuse animals. So many cats spend years in cages – can’t people see how that is wrong. That alone is cruelty just as it is to keep a horse with a broken back alive so that some person will save him and do the right thing.
Its a “rescue” with a horrible reputation locally, I personally would never support them and I know many of my barn friends feel the same way. They are lining KB’s pockets and perpetuating the cycle–for every one, overpriced horse the ‘rescue’ from the kill buyer, that buyer is able to pick of three more to go on the truck.
Sadly, I’ve come to the conclusion that since we can’t help every horse who needs it, it is better for me to turn away from poor guys like this Clyde and send my support to someone who will actually do right by the animals they take in.
Who tapes riding demos bareback? really? Watching the vid for the swaybacked TB mare and just disgusted at this heavy, sloppy rider flumphing around bareback on a hard frozen rode on a swayback horse. I didn’t see a foal date for the mare, but I’m assuming she’s ancient.
Lordosis (swayback) can happen on a very young horse as well, they are born with it – and is not actually a hereditary problem as far as we know (most people just would not breed from such and animal so there is not a huge amount of info available) We had an Arab filly born this way- she was actually strong backed and as fit as a fiddle. I think we found her a home somewhere- it is so long ago now I cannot actually remember- I think I would have euthanised her, but it was not my call.
I’ve got a 5 year old Arab right now that was born with Lordosis and has turned in to a stellar little driving horse. I probably would have made the same decision as you to euth had I been here when he was born, but now I’m almost glad I wasn’t. Having worked with him, I feel like the swayback can be more easily overcome than the roach, and it’s never seemed to cause him a soundness issue.. Driving has actually helped pick his back up quite a bit. I had one vet tell me it was hereditary, though neither of these bloodlines have ever shown it. The other vet told me it can be caused if the mare runs a fever during pregnancy, and apparently is more common in Saddlebreds? Was news to me.
I guess I’m just reading into it condition and the rep these people apparently have for trying to foist unsound horses off on unsuspecting people. I know its winter and she’s furry, and she came from an auction obviously, but something about her just screamed oldster. And is that the auction tag still on her hip?
A friend of mine had a swaybacked morgan who she swears was the comfiest ride, and was never lame or sore a day in his life (lived to thirty +, may still be alive for all I know!). He was a real cutie, but when I rode him bareback once I felt like I was riding an overstuffed couch…he just wasn’t my cup of tea!
Pretty sure they will be lining their own pockets, as well….
I’m sure that they do have a bad reputation but the problem with a bad reputation is that not every person will know about that AND some people will be affected by seeing this atrocity and shell out the dough to put him down. I would be tempted to do it myself. In fact I am tempted to do it myself LOL. In the end they get the money as they wanted and who cares about the animal – see the problem. The auctioneer should get at a minimum an earfull and if possible a fine or worse. Animal control should have the ability to shutdown a ‘rescue’ that does this. It’s just not fair to do this.
I agree completely. At the moment I don’t have the means to help any rescue, but if I did I truthfully think I would have to force myself to think logically about who would receive my money–I hate to suggest condemning this poor Clyde to more suffering with a well meaning adopter, but I’d rather let this one go one to a less that ideal situation knowing that if I helped him, I’d create the same situation for three more horses. It sounds heartless, to say I’d turn my back on suffering horses, but since I can’t help them all I will chose to help the ones who are in the hands of people who’s practices I can agree with.
Poor things. What distirbs me is that for the horse to have that bad of a back, its parents were probably terribly formed as well. Some out there bred a horse that looked like that^ without even thinking, it seems.
God I want to sedate that horse for an 30 minutes and just stretch him out and get him some chiro work. I’ve seen some amazing equine massage therapists be able to work with horses and in an hour of work the before and after pics are amazing.. I say sedate cause this animal just needs a giant relaxation que to kickstart his system…people have to remember, their not done growing at age 4 by a long shot. If he got in the right hands and a pond to go swimming, you could have a much better off horse.