4 year old horse in process of rebacking with potential kissing spine :(

[Billbo]

Hi, I have a 4 year old sport horse that has been with a professional trainer for the last 10 days for rebacking.

They backed him late last year and did a fantastic job, hacked him out and he has been as good as gold, cool as a cucumber so all was good last year. He had few weeks under saddle, hacking solo etc then a winter holiday until now, where they have started working with him again (same 2 people as before 4* Int Event rider/coach on ground and highly competent jockey on board).

He is the same horse, very calm, very happy, lunging is fab and all the groundwork is good. The getting on him part, he is a completely different horse and will not tolerate any kind of weight in the saddle whatsoever; its like watching cowboys ride a rodeo bull and no-one is now getting back on him until he has been x-rayed.

His teeth, back and saddle were checked prior to restarting although he did have a scare with his newly fitted saddle on him which slipped (even though it was fitted to him) so we reverted back to his original saddle and the day before yesterday, he seemed a bit more settled in it.

After his last episode today where jockey could only stay on for so long (been off him 2 days in a row now) as he was literally turning himself inside out, he was put away. Both trainers ran their fingers down his back once in the stable and he has a complete wobble and thrashed out which is totally out of character (he is usually unflappable and loves people touching him and attention) so this has obviously set the alarm bells ringing.

Our immediate thoughts were kissing spine as what else could it be (no issues with anything else, no sign of lameness and no sign of discomfort when working long and low). As soon as head comes up (when rider getting on) or any kind of hollowing, he shoots off into rodeo.

I am ringing the vet tomorrow only as today being Sunday they are not there but preparing for the worst. I have done some research about kissing spines this afternoon, the types of treatment, operations and recovery and rehab but what is concerning me the most is the fact he was only ‘just backed’ last year and this year so far, no one has been able to get anywhere near as close. I can’t seem to get it out of my head ... how on earth is this horse going to accept a rider in say 6 months - 9 months time if he has only partially accepted one a few months back and only for a few weeks? The pain may have gone but surely, his head will say ‘no chance’.

Has anyone had a young just backed/turned away horse that had kissing spines and then went on to be re-backed successfully again? I had originally planned to event my boy but if he just hacks and does some low level RC in the future, I would be more than happy as he is my world and he will always have a home with me for life regardless..

Thank you

 

[brighteyes]

KS is highly treatable, as far as I know, and surgery far more advanced than several years ago. Good luck.

 

[Goldenstar]

Much can be done for KS now a days .
be sure to get a vet experienced that area to look at him .

 

[Bellaboo18]

So sorry you find yourself in this situation. Try not to second guess what the problem is, get a full workup and see what your options are xx

 

[Billbo]

Much can be done for KS now a days .
be sure to get a vet experienced that area to look at him .

Thanks Goldenstar and brighteyes.
The actual process of getting kissing spine treated is not my main worry as I have read it is highly successful and I have friends that have horses that have been through it too. For me, it’s the rebacking process and how successful that will be bearing in mind he just bucks his trainer off now so at this point, he has only had 3 weeks under saddle (from last year). Going through the rebacking process with kissing spine/severe discomfort, could a horse this young and inexperienced, trust to accept a rider ever again or is pain association likely to prevent this horse ever letting anyone on him again?

 

[Billbo]

So sorry you find yourself in this situation. Try not to second guess what the problem is, get a full workup and see what your options are xx

Thanks and yes agree I need to get a formal diagnosis. No one on the yard thinks he is acting up and his back is showing signs of pain when you touch it so we are all pretty sure its that that is causing this behaviour. Hopefully I will have the full picture in a few days

 

[paddi22]

Until you see the xrays you won't know where you are at., I've had a few with kissing spine come through and half of them got injections and were fine once muscle was kept built up. if your one had winter off and lost muscle then that could be causing the reaction now. when the muscle is built back up it could be a different horse. 4 is very young and the spine is still forming. if the correct work is done and strength is built up in the back then you mightn't need surgery/injections etc. a badly fitting saddle on a weak horse can also cause huge issues and remembered pain.

 

[Equi]

Time off and then basically rebacking if the issue is solved should not be any worse than the first backing. The pain is the issue now so actually the fact he has been so explosive for such a short time works in your favour. He was happy in the saddle for a lot longer than he was unhappy. I’d feel worse if he was 12 and had been doing this for years before a vet was involved. Chin up and well done for getting help. Let us know how it goes.

 

[Billbo]

Until you see the xrays you won't know where you are at., I've had a few with kissing spine come through and half of them got injections and were fine once muscle was kept built up. if your one had winter off and lost muscle then that could be causing the reaction now. when the muscle is built back up it could be a different horse. 4 is very young and the spine is still forming. if the correct work is done and strength is built up in the back then you mightn't need surgery/injections etc. a badly fitting saddle on a weak horse can also cause huge issues and remembered pain.

Thank you.

 

[Billbo]

Time off and then basically rebacking if the issue is solved should not be any worse than the first backing. The pain is the issue now so actually the fact he has been so explosive for such a short time works in your favour. He was happy in the saddle for a lot longer than he was unhappy. I’d feel worse if he was 12 and had been doing this for years before a vet was involved. Chin up and well done for getting help. Let us know how it goes.

Yes quite possibly I can only hope thank you. He’s had this reaction for 3 days now getting on 3 times as we’ve just restarted so when the time comes to get back on, starting from scratch building his confidence hopefully he’ll accept a rider again. That’s if it’s KS or whatever is causing pain for him to act totally out of character. He was throwing himself on the floor to get rid of a very stackable jockey so definitely pain!

 

[TheMule]

It's a shame they have let it happen 3 times, but I think it should still be salvageable with swift treatment for whatever is causing the pain as he won’t have a long history of it being an issue.
Did he do any groundwork etc before before going back to the breakers 10 days ago?

 

[Red-1]

One step at a time, he sounds great in his training apart from the pain. I would not sit a saddle upon him, even to 'see' about the new v old saddle, until the pain is resolved.

I would be suspicious that he scared himself with the slipping saddle. Also, it could be that the new saddle presses somewhere that the old one did not, and that is now aggravated.

Pain on palpation bodes well for the bucking under saddle to cease when the pain is gone.

Of course, with a reaction this big, I would also X ray. I would have him referred straight to one of the big hospitals, with expert vets and the best equipment.

Good luck!