"Sway Back"-Auction Term

[PaMike]

I was at the auction tonight and hear the ring man yell out a term I never heard before. He called the animal a "sway back". Can anyone fill me in on this one. Never heard it before.
Thanks

 

[msscamp]

A swaybacked animal will have a definite, obvious dip in the topline - usually beginning at the withers and extending to just in front of the hipbones - resulting in the withers being distinctly more prominant. It is usually accompanied by a sagging belly, due to the lack of correct bonestructure/supporting ligaments. I have seen it more in horses than cattle, and there can be a number of reasons for it - breaking a horse too early, heavy riding before the horse is ready for it, age, and improper nutrition during the developmental years to name just a few.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Just the opposite of a hunch back. :lol:

 

[hrbelgians]

A swaybacked animal will have a definite, obvious dip in the topline - usually beginning at the withers and extending to just in front of the hipbones - resulting in the withers being distinctly more prominant. It is usually accompanied by a sagging belly, due to the lack of correct bonestructure/supporting ligaments. I have seen it more in horses than cattle, and there can be a number of reasons for it - breaking a horse too early, heavy riding before the horse is ready for it, age, and improper nutrition during the developmental years to name just a few.

Don't you think most of that will come from poor genetics???

 

[dun]

This swayback, I've never seen it quiet this severe in cattle.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Shucks dun, invert that and you'd have a camel.

 

[msscamp]

A swaybacked animal will have a definite, obvious dip in the topline - usually beginning at the withers and extending to just in front of the hipbones - resulting in the withers being distinctly more prominant. It is usually accompanied by a sagging belly, due to the lack of correct bonestructure/supporting ligaments. I have seen it more in horses than cattle, and there can be a number of reasons for it - breaking a horse too early, heavy riding before the horse is ready for it, age, and improper nutrition during the developmental years to name just a few.

Don't you think most of that will come from poor genetics???

In cattle - yes. In horses - it depends on their background, and how they were handled.

 

[5minpins]

The horse Dun pictured has Lordosis, it causes the sway back and research has not proven it hereditary or not. They are still trying to pinpoint the gene that causes it and it is a born with defect. heavy use can cause some backs to dip a little but not to that extent. Horses with Lordosis can have two apparently normal appearing parents but the thought is that they both have to be carriers of a gene that causes it. I own and breed some horses.

 

[cfpinz]

This swayback, I've never seen it quiet this severe in cattle.

That horse is worth a fortune, you wouldn't have to have a saddle to ride it!

 

[dun]

This swayback, I've never seen it quiet this severe in cattle.

That horse is worth a fortune, you wouldn't have to have a saddle to ride it!

Be tough roping without a horn