Kissing spine rehab questions

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My poor lad has been diagnosed with kissing spine directly under the saddle and is due to go to Sven next Monday for his operation. I have read the numerous posts on here about the extensive rehab and am fully prepared for a long hard slog.

I've got a few questions and concerns though that I would be grateful if anyone who has experienced the rehab could help me on.

Firstly, my lad is a handful at the best of times and I am fully expecting problems trying to lead him out in hand. Is there any herbal supplements or vet prescribed long term sedation I can give him? ACP/Sedalin doesn't tend to work on him as he fights it. Normal calmers such as the magnesium based ones are also a waste of time.

How long do they keep them at the vets after the operation?

What can I do to keep him entertained whilst in the stable. He usually has his haynets double netted to try and get them to last longer as he box walks and just walks his hay into his bedding if it is on the floor and am I right in thinking he will have to be fed all food from the floor?

Oh boy am I not looking forward to the next four months!
 
He is going to the right place . My old horse went there for the same op. My boy was in 4 days after the op but I visited him. The nurses there are really good and fuss them up no end.
Can't really advise on the sedation side of things as it was not really problem for me but I did lead him out in a bridle just in case.
Yes Hay will have to be fed from the floor as it will stretch out his back and muscles.Really we should feed them from the floor all the time. You could give him the bulk of his hay on the floor and dot the odd small haynet around so he can grab at them to.
It seems a long time 4 months but it will go quicker when you start working him on the lunge. The pessoa or a similar training aid works wonders.It also gets them fit.
I was the crash test dummy when he was first ridden again and he was brilliant. However to be honest he had changed,in so much that as he was no longer in pain, he was now a very powerful irish sports horse whereas before a dope on a rope. I had to let him go to someone who was more capable and could use him to his full potential.

Good luck and hope everything go's well.
 
My horse was very spooky with major behavioural issues resulting from KS so I couldn't take him off the yard, I just walked him round the yard for 10 mins twice a day and some days didn't even manage that so don't panic. Some days i would lead him out of the stable and then have to put him straight back in and although it was a pain, he still came through his rehab really well! It was a bit hard going to start off with but 3 yrs on he is doing brilliantly and being ridden 5 days a week.

The most important piece of advice i can give is to take your time but don't waste it. Get your horse moving, but build him up slowly and surely so that he is strong. Get the walk right and then the rest will follow I know plenty of people that managed to walk out in hand for an hour and some that managed 5 mins, it is good to get them moving before you start the ground work that is the main thing I think.

As for stable ideas, ACP/sedalin doesn't touch the sides with Ryan but Valerian does so I put a small dose of that in each feed. I also split his feeds into 3 or 4 meals a day so he had something to look forward, make sure you feed high fibre and no mix etc or that will just give him energy to box walk! Also try a horse ball with high fibre nuts, swede on a string and I hid sugar free polos around the stable. Also give him a pile of cow parsley as a treat. Ryan is not a horse who particularly likes being stabled but he settled surprisingly well, I am sure your ned will surprise you, if he is horrendous ask if he can go in a pen in the field after 3 or 4 wks. I put Ryan in a large stable size pen in the field with a old ned as a companion at 5 wks and he was like a different horse, he was so much happier and settled straight away.

I hope that helps and best of luck to you.
 
For entertainment try gorse; hang a bunch on the wall or outside the door. (you don't want those prickles getting in the legs). They will play with it for ages.

Valerian is good stuff. With Sedalin, I'm sure you already know that you should give it quite a while before you need it as it can be v slow to work but lasts up to 6 hours. Also you must have the heart rate low when you give it as it can't calm a horse, only keep it calm.

With the leading out, I'd suggest you buy a chifney, if you don't already have one, and have one handler on each side initially.

We have a horse who had a KS op (by Svend) 3 years ago. He's just had top 10 placings in his first 2 BE events with my daughter and she is aiming for Aldon 1* with him (everything crossed) so it IS worth all the effort!
 
Thanks so much for those suggestions. Really helpful. I will try the valerian and the gorse bush sounds interesting. Do they try and eat it?
Luckily my neighbour has offered to help with the walk exercise and I'm sure he will be more controllable with one either side. At least we will all get fit.
 
Hi my boy is in leahurst at the moment,
he has had 6 and a half prosecces removed a lot. the op went well, x rayed after op and all was well. my horse had op under standing sedation, it took him 2 and a half hrs. i am also worried about when he gets home, with the walking out as he can be a handfull at times, also will rear in stable. i have asked for something to keep him carm. My boy is still there he had his op on the 10 june. part of the surgical site hasnt clossed up completly, so i am leaving him there untill he is all better. I think the man who is doing your op does it under ga, but i think the recovery is quicker. dont do what i did and see your horse the day after op, it wasnt nice, please let me know how you get on, as its nice to hear from someone who is in the same position. GOOD LUCK. im sure your vet will be able to give u something to keep him calm.well i hope so as my horse needs something to .good luck again, vicky
 
Hi, having just seen the post from Vicky, i thought I should just say that I saw my ned 3 hrs after his op at Willersley and he looked fantastic, he was stuffing his face on a wedge of hay. He was operated on under GA by Svend Kold at Willersley who I personally believe is the best person for this op.

Vicky, I am so sorry you had a bad experience seeing your horse, I hope he goes from strength to strength and hopefully like Ryan the bad behaviour will start to lessen once he is on the mend and not in pain any more, Ryan was terrible to handle but i have just got back from an hours hack out on my own having a lovely canter around the fields, something that would have been impossible before his op

I think they all deal differently with this op, some are much more sensitive about it than others, but i do think he was very well managed at Willersley and they got his pain relief spot on. I had also heard that it was best not to visit for 2 or 3 days but when I asked Svend about it he told me my horse would be delighted to see me and he was bless him, he just could not have been in safer or more professional hands, I cannot recommend Willersley hightly enough for the quality of care he received.

My post is just really to give some positive feedback on what I found was a pretty tough journey. KS horses can be very tiring so keep your chins up and I hope it all works out well for you.
 
Its so nice to hear such positive stories as yours Beth.
I hope both mine and Vicky's will be an equally succesful outcome.

I think for me, it is not so much the operation that fills me with dread but the months of rehab afterwards. I do not have facilities, I am on my own yard by myself and cannot afford to move to a livery yard so all the walking will be me getting dragged around the lanes (which are all hilly so I hope that will be acceptable) and I will have to walk him to the nearest arena to lunge him every day. I've even looked at buying a lunge pen or field paddock but they cost so much and I'd also then have to get a surface as I wouldn't want to lunge every day on grass. At least I will get fit!

Beth - how long did yours stay at Willesley and how soon after coming home did you start the walking out? Also did they take the shoes off at Willesley and how soon can you put them back on again? Sorry for all the questions.
 
I agree that it's been great to hear some really good success stories about KS.

My mare is starting her 4th week on box rest after the operation. Her staples came out on 15th June, and she's doing really well. She's a poppet to handle, so she's coping with box rest really well. We walk out for 10 minutes or so twice a day, and I hand graze her for 15 - 30 minutes twice a day if possible as well - in a halter - she's just a superstar.

I think she's showing me her real character for the first time since we got her about a year ago. She's always been a brilliant performer and very well behaved, but a bit reserved and introverted. You could have put it down to having fantastic manners, but it was more like she wasn't quite there - easy to see this now I've seen the difference.

I think she had been living with low grade back pain for so long she had retreated into herself. She still did everything that was asked of her - but no more. Interestingly she didn't have any major symptoms to point towards KS - we started off investigating a mild forelimb lameness and ended up with back X-rays.....it was quite a long story.

But now we've had the op and things are looking good - long road to recovery, but we have high hopes for the future.
 
hi for all you people that are dealing with kissing spines, i just wanted to tell you about my horse.
he had the op at animal health trust 5 years ago, i was recommended to try the solution treeless saddle, i did and havent looked back, i can show and dressage in it, there is a jump saddle aswell.
 
Ryan was at Willesley for about 10days, I come from Kent and the journey was about 4hrs but I only wanted Svend to operate. He would have been there about a week but they decided he should stay a little longer to heal more before the long journey back. I booked a hotel room for a week so I could see him everyday, the staff at Willesley were very happy for me to turn up and visit him, so each day so he got a brush and a fuss.

I took his horse ball with me for familiarity and they were happy to give him that to play with each day, I also took a lightweight fleece in case it got chilly at night.

I started walking him out the day after the op just for a few minutes and gradually built up although for me that was the hardest part of the rehab as he can be quite awkward at times! The most important thing with the walking out is to be safe, so if you feel happier just walking him around the stables do that, it may be boring but is better to be safe than sorry, make sure you use a bridle or chifney if you are on your own.

I was amazed at how long 10 mins took to pass when I was just walking up and down the yard but trust me the weeks will go quickly and I actually thoroughly enjoyed the ground work much to my surprise, I long reined a fair bit which worked a treat there are ways of making the long reins work in the same way as a pessoa which will save you £100, you are welcome to pm if you want any ideas or tips. But I learnt so much it has helped make me in to a much more effective horseman.

Ryan's shoes came off just before he went on the lorry (i have a lovely farrier who turned up at 7am so Ryan wouldn't be uncomfortable overnight!) and went back on i think around 2-3 wks after the op. Willesley will be able to give you that info, just make a list of questions and give them a call they will be happy to answer them.

Best of luck next wk, I hope all goes well and as I said pm me if you need any help, it is a tough and lonly thing to do on your own but you will get through it with a bit of determination.
 
hey jo,
my boy is doing so well, we are 4 wks afer op. cant tell you how much better he is, to be touched where surgical site is. cant belive how much he has improved over 2 days, he will now allow me to touch all over the area. im walking him out 3 times per day for 10 mins each time. he is being so good bless him. we did have a little trouble one day, bucking rearing ect, but apart from that he has been brilliant.my vet came out today and said how well he is. he can go out nxt tues, in play pen for 2hrs, cant wait. good luck jo. send me a mess as deleted old mess by mistake x
 
hi all, would just like to say, when i went to see my horse the day after op, he was really good in him self, eating and happy, glad to see me. its just when i was there they put a splint on surgical site, well tried to, he was not a happy boy, was trying to bite his back, and was trying to go down to roll. i panic as i didnt want him to hurt him self, any way he was sedated, so thats why it was not good for me. any way we are 4wks in, and still walking out in hand, bit scary at times, as we have had a few moments, just dont want him to hurt him self. He has come on so well the last few days, will let me touch him on the back. he can go out for a few hrs next tues, cant wait. he needs to be a horse again,
good luck to any one going through the same.
vicky
 
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