Kissing spine - should I give up? I don't know what to do for the best

O

opinionuk

Well-Known Member
Joined
4 August 2009
Messages
594
Visit site
My 5 year old has kissing spine, although moderate and wouldn't justify being operated on which I wouldn't want her to go through anyway.

She has had a lot of physio and xrays, all legs are fine but she is still intermittently short on the off hind, riding long and low has helped, also she seems a lot more loose in her movement since wearing a magnetic rug, some days she works really well only in walk and trot at the moment haven't progressed to canter need to sort out the issues in trot first.

I'm wondering if it would be better to put her out as a broodmare rather than have continual investigations, there must be a reason why she is short on off hind but vet and physio can't seem to locate it would having bone scan work or has the xray covered if there are any problems?

Is it possible to stabilise kissing spine or will it get worse at some point and I will continually have to go down this route?

Its getting me really down now and I don't know what to do, I'm moving a few hours away soon and wonder if I should take my mare with me or put her out as a broodmare instead of putting her through a 3 hour journey.

I don't know what to do for the best.
 
Speaking from experience, I think that over time there is a potential for her back to worsen if you are not keeping her in continuous and correct work. I would also feel concerned that as a broodmare she won't be kept fit & muscled to provide support for her back which may then deteriorate and if she is carrying a foal, it is a heavy load for her to carry & for her back to deal with! If she is that young, as mine was, it is potentially genetic and you could be passing the weakness on to her foals. I was advised that it was genetic in my horse's case.

I am not sure why she is not suitable for the operation, a kissing spine does cause hind limb lameness and it may even be that your mare is bi-laterally lame but you are only noticing the worst leg, this is why it took 2 yrs for my horse to be correctly diagnosed as he had on and off lameness. My boy was having a terrible time as a 5yr old but is now 5yrs post op and still doing well.

Even minor cases can be helped by surgery, you could always arrange to have your x-rays sent to someone good like Svend Kold at Willersley and he will give you an honest opinion about the pro's and con's re your mare. I think your mare will cope with the 3hr journey, that will be less stressful that a new home without you.

I obviously don't know you or your horse's history so intend the above as fact not opinion and definitely not criticism. I have my fingers crossed that you are able to make the right decision for you both. I know how stressful and emotionally tiring I found the whole thing so completely understand your concerns.
 
Personnally I would go for the op.

I had a 7yr old who had the op and he came back into work really well. If you go to Willersley they will give intructions on aftercare , walking in hand then lunging with a pessoa.
I can't comment on the breeding side of things but I think Beth speaks a lot of sense.However your vet would be best placed to advise you on that.
All op's carry a risk but if she's insured I would go for it.
 
Just out of interest why wouldn't your mare justify having an operation? and why wouldn't you want her to go through it. I thought my stressy mare would be a nightmare and she couldn't have been more of a model patient.

If you look through previous posts on veterinary re kissing spine and have a look in the veterinary photo gallery you will see images and posts about my mare who has just turned 11. She had the KS op last september to remove 4 tops of her vertabrae ( she had 7 impinging)

She was operated on at Fellowes Farm equine standing up. She had 5 weeks box rst which included turnout 2 x per day on a very small strip of grass while I mucked out. She then had restricted turnout for 2 weeks. ( should have been 4 but she jumped back into her paddock!!!) and then the winter out in the field. In a night. In January I started her on a lunging programe and I am now back riding her in walk and trot and she is absolutely fine. The only thing I need to do with her on a regular basis is stretching and flexing excercises.

My mare would not have been a good candidate to breed from as it is thought that her KS was hereditory and suggest you think about this carefully. Failing that , then if you don't think she has any usefullness to you then you should either loan or give her away as a companion or have her pts. ( sorry to be so blunt) KS will only degenerate over the years especially if the horse is ridden or carrying the extra weight of a foal.

Have you tried the injections?
 
Hi,

It was suggested by the vet that the case was not serious enough for an operation and should be controlled with a cortisone injection every 6-12 months, she has had the injection and seems happier in herself, all rearing has stopped, I had a look at the xrays and 1 vertebrae had fused and 2 are very close although not quite touching.

I have spent a lot of time working her on a pessoa and physio, also a magnetic rug is used and she moves beautifully providing she is ridden forward and long.
I have come to a decision maybe rightly or wrongly, I am going to ride my mare as she seems to enjoy work and start introducing her to little shows, providing she is sound of course and not in any pain, if I feel that she cannot cope with this and is intermittently lame again then I will get her sound and put her out on loan as a companion, although i do think that provided she is ridden correctly by an experienced rider (not me!) she would make a great dressage horse.

If I don't do this I will always be thinking what if, if I do not give her this chance rather than retire her as a 5 year old.

seems
 
I think I just might still seek that 2nd opinion, sounds to me like she is a good candidate for the op and then you have solved the problem rather than having to manage it and panick about keeping her in constant work, I got to the stage where I felt guilty about taking a weeks holiday with mine in case he lost muscle and went lame again! And I do accept I am capable of being a little neurotic when it comes to Ryan! May just be worth asking the question. Good luck
 
Many Thanks, its very easy to get paranoid about these things, slightest change in her stride and thats it must call the vet bound to be a problem! lol
I just want whats best for her, to be honest with regards to the op and this may sound harsh but as well as her well being i can't really justify spending £5k on an operation for a mare thats worth £3500 especially as shes not insured, sounds really bad I know I've spent over £1000 already.
 
Fully understand, it's a terrible decision to make as you feel wrong if you do and wrong if you don't.

Just for your info Ryan had 3 spines cut, op and care/livery at Willersley for 11 days was approx £2500 but that was 5yrs ago but i don't think the cost is wildly more than that now. This particular surgeon is clever with this op and has a good technique, if your mare is a minor case it may well not be too bad a bill as not so long in the op theatre which reduces the cost. You can always call and ask before you decide to get referred, that way you know realistically what the financial impact will be, don't forget to add in horsebox travel and follow up vet checks and physio, but even if you don't operate you will poss end up paying for that stuff anyway.

Either way, i wish you the very best of luck and hope that you do get to have some enjoyment riding your mare - fingers crossed for you.
 
well Opinionuk, it seems that actually you have your head screwed on with regards to your mare and are doing your best by her. The op for my mare came to over £5k as unfortunately she developed a nasty infection caused by an allergic reaction to the sutures. I had to give her injections of a very powerful antibiotic every day for a month! Her op was covered by insurance.

Before my mare had her op she had the summer in the field. I personally didn;t feel it was right to ride her as on the lunge she had a definite bilateral lameness and bucking was her thing. When left in the field to her own devices she was as happy as larry though.

I can't say what I would have done if either my mare couldn't have had the op or wasn't right after the op. She is a bright and beautiful horse but needs to be doing something. That became highly evident when I started to ride her again as she is just loving doing stuff again.

Some horses are happy doing nothing and some not. You may even find that she can be ridden lightly from time to time on bute..

At the end of the day when finances come into it you just have to do the best you can afford. Good luck though
 
As my mare is a fantastic mover when she is sound do you think dressage would would help maintain the topline or just put more pressure on her? I know that in order to keep her sound I can't let any muscle drop off her she would be with a intermediate dressage rider and they would want to work through the grades with her (slowly!) wondering if this is the way to go.

Any advice about doing dressage on horses with kissing spine ....
 
This is purely my opinion but absolutely! I completely rebacked my horse after his op and concentrated on absolutely correct classical dressage (look up the TTT "training teachers of Tomorrow" Trust on the kent/surrey border) no gadgets, just concentrating on the riders correct posture and the horses nautural way of going, encouraging self carriage.

I do loads of long lining with him to encourage long and low stretches and try to have his head correct in line with his breeding, i.e., absolutely not overbent, but very slightly in front of the verticle. He is not a showy dressage horse at all but the physio's love him as he has superb muscle in all the right places, I truly believe this way of working a horse has been a major contibutor to saving him!

Just for your info too, my surgeon recommended some work in a pessoa at the start of his rehab after surgery (not too tight tho!) which I used with the long lines and he also encouraged use of ground poles to get the back end elevating a little.

Hope this helps am very happy to chat to you if you want any more info.
 
opinionuk said:
I just want whats best for her, to be honest with regards to the op and this may sound harsh but as well as her well being i can't really justify spending £5k on an operation for a mare thats worth £3500 especially as shes not insured, sounds really bad I know I've spent over £1000 already.
Click to expand...

My boy had the operation on January 4th this year under standing sedation and it came to a total of just under £1700.

I too think you should get a 2nd opinion, as you said you dont want to put her out as a companion wondering what if. What if she can have the op? Potentially you are looking at having her back in work in as little as 6 months.

We have just been given the go ahead to start rebacking my boy :) He had 1 dsp removed so his was a pretty minor case too.

Good luck in whatever you decide, it is a truly upsetting and stressful thing to have to go through.

xx
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top