Kissing Spine experiences please :)

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Roberto14

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Hi all!!

So my horse has not be right for a few weeks. Very uncomfortable under saddle (to the point of rearing) not going forwards ect. He looks intermittently lame on both fore legs but not enough for my vet to say yeah lets go ahead an nerve block.

Vet thinks he is sore over his back and I think shes thinking KS. He had xrays on his back in 2009 so shes going to go back and look at them ( different vet did the xrays ) then probably re xray.

I know there is lots of things you can do now so im not panicking (too much!! )

Basically just looking for anyones experiences that they have had with there horses and the varies treatments and recovery rates so im clued up.

Thanks
 
there was a lot of discussions on this recently, so if you do a search for 'kissing spine' they should come up.
 
I would disagree with your vet if the horse was mine and get the front feet blocked and probably xrayed before doing anything else, it may not be that lame but if it is bilateral blocking one may give a clearer picture so you can either rule the feet out completely or look into them further.
I asked my vet to xray front feet a few years ago and he was puzzled as the horse appeared sound, we did't bother to block, xrays showed a fairly significant inbalance that was not obvious at all externally, he was surprised how bad they were so that would be my first port of call rather than the back which will be sore if his feet hurt, ours was sore in his back which was resolved once his feet were sorted, I had suspected KS, we had had him scoped for ulcers but the problem was the feet all along.
 
the intermittent lameness sounds odd. I'd look into that before paying for ks xrays. i've had a few with kissing spine over the years, but it never impacted the front legs. I'd look into the feet and front legs first before paying for back xrays again. The back could easily be sore just because the horse is tensing and compensating for legs pain.
 
Guess it depends on where the kissing spine is on if it will impact the front legs.

Mine had kissing spine in the 17/18th vertebrae. His back legs steadily got worse although not noticeable to anyone but the vets once his back was incredibly sore. He wasn't lame, but he was off on his movement and holding his tail wrong. This tension in his back from the pain caused tension everywhere and it also made his front legs look odd in movement because of it. Once the pain got very bad, he was bucking and rearing with other riders but not me.

I wouldn't rule it out just because front leg lameness is unusual. Everything about mine was unusual, he literally went overnight from no pain to even running a finger lightly along his back made him flinch. His back legs would swing outwards before in trot, he is now trotting correctly. Xrays aren't too expensive either and best to just start from bone and work your way out, that's what we ended up deciding.
 
Probably not explaining it very well he goes from looking short on the left fore to looking short on the right fore to looking fine on both then back round again. Not lame lame and not enough to say yes that's the problem

The point on his back that is sore is part of his withers and then slightly further back.

I will be getting everything looked at but I was just wanting some success/failure stories to stop me sitting and googling.
 
Roberto14 said:
Probably not explaining it very well he goes from looking short on the left fore to looking short on the right fore to looking fine on both then back round again. Not lame lame and not enough to say yes that's the problem

The point on his back that is sore is part of his withers and then slightly further back.

I will be getting everything looked at but I was just wanting some success/failure stories to stop me sitting and googling.
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That's what mine was like. He looked like he wasn't moving one leg as much as the other, front and back. Short, but not lame.
 
Roberto14 said:
What treatment did your horse end up having? Has it been successful?
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He had steroids injected into his back and then a drug given intravenously over an hour that helps remodel the bones. It's what they give to humans with osteoarthritis as well. No surgery needed so far. He is also getting acupuncture and regular physio work. Back riding him now slowly obviously but the pain has gone and he is well behaved to ride again. He used to spook a lot with me and spooking meant bolting generally. But now he's gone back to the look of terror then realise he can't be bothered to do anything about it.
 
I think with kissing spines, the success or failure largely depends on whether the horse has other issues. I have had two with KS. The first was really bad but apart from problems with canter right on a circle to begin with, I was able to work him through it by stretching him over his back and doing lots of back strengthening work. He was a very useful horse and never had any treatment other than correct work. The second horse I had for four years and only managed to ride him around 20 times in that period. He had ten processes rubing together or fused and I opted to have him operated on. Unfortunately, his issues continued exactly the same after the op, but he also had bad hock spavin and I think this made his back sore. I have also had two livery horses with very mild kissing spine. Both were treated by cortisone injections which made no difference, but both had other limb lameness issues. One is now retired, the other kept going with hock injections and regular physio. However, she always looks unhappy working to me. I also have a friend who has had her horse operated on and the horse has made a full recovery and out competing, but it's a young horse with no other issues.
 
I should warn you, I hope you are insured as treatment for this gets pricey fast and my horse wasn't even operated on. The drug he got costs £600 alone, and the vets said he may need it again in a years time. Hopefully not but you never know with horses. In a years time as well the insurance definitely won't pay for it again so it will be me digging for gold to pay for it haha.
 
If you are offered the ligament cutting operation please research it very carefully. My vet last week told me that she recently attended training on the treatment of kissing spines and that operation is showing to damage the stability of the spine long term. I know of one which had it done last year but it has not resolved her problems and she is no longer in work.
 
ycbm said:
If you are offered the ligament cutting operation please research it very carefully. My vet last week told me that she recently attended training on the treatment of kissing spines and that operation is showing to damage the stability of the spine long term. I know of one which had it done last year but it has not resolved her problems and she is no longer in work.
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I have read about this operation and it does concern me for this very reason. Trying to do some research into it but there isnt much I can find apart from it has varying success rates like all surgery
 
My boy has just been diagnosed with Kissing Spine, he is completely sound after every test (including flexions... so at least I have ticked the soundness box!).

His symptoms are very sore to pressue in that area, reluctance to go forward, total inability to work correctly over his back (whatever we do!), rushing over fences, stopping, dropping his back when mounted (almost the opposite of the usual 'cold back'). He is have the bone remodelling operation next week, in three areas to give the processes the space they need.
 
The hooligan has 5 very close processes that showed evidence of them having been in contact (damaged areas). This, on top of his navicular, I opted to retire him. The vets were confident that he is not in any pain at rest and out grazing, but the touching may have been occurring under saddle, hence his explosive spins and tension.
 
Agee with Amymay that a lot depends on whether there are other issues as ks is often linked with other things e.g. Ulcers, hocks, SI and lameness generally. I'd def explore the front limb lameness as well. Best to get a full work up so that you can have a full treatment plan and rehab as needed. Steroids can work on some for ks but a good rehab is vital. Vets don't seem that helpful on the whole in terms of rehab, but there's lots of info out there, and a good Facebook page horses with kissing spine. Good luck, I hope it gets resolved for you.
 
my old horse had KS the treatment was good but he did not come right. normally the KS is the start...there is normally something else as well so I would really start with the front feet and work up. There is a facebook page horses with kissing spine there is a lot of advise on there.
 
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