Kissing Spine

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Athena055

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Okay so my 5yr mare has SUSPECTED kissing spine and she was going to be my future eventer. I know of the surgery that can be used to treat Kissing spine but I want to know of the outcomes of anyone that has had a horse that has had Kissing Spine as I am so upset and worriied about my baby.
 
Athena055 said:
Okay so my 5yr mare has SUSPECTED kissing spine and she was going to be my future eventer. I know of the surgery that can be used to treat Kissing spine but I want to know of the outcomes of anyone that has had a horse that has had Kissing Spine as I am so upset and worriied about my baby.
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Has she had xrays done? What are her symptoms? The operation is the only real cure for kissing spines. It has a very good success rate for horses that have no other conditions. My gelding had the op a year ago to remove five of his spinal processes. He moves much better, and is obviously more comfortable in himself, but sadly has not returned to work as he remains explosive after the girth is tightened. I now suspect that something other than the KS is causing this. I hope that your girl does not prove to have the condition as it really is a heart wrenching thing to go through. What I can say though is that the op itself and the recovery, is nowhere near as bad as you would expect. It is the rehab afterwards that is the difficult and heart wrenching thing.
 
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Hi OP. Sad time for you :(

First things first, make sure she's xrayed and you know for definite. No point getting worked up about it if its actually something totally unrelated!

The only CURE for kissing spines is surgery. In layman's terms, they open the horse up, and literally cut out the parts that are 'kissing'. Thus removing the pain. It requires a lot of rehabbing afterwards but it is mostly successful in curing pain in horses.

Vets have differing opinions regarding the successfulness in competition horses. The successful reintroduction to high level competitions does seem to be quite low - however, there was a horse at the Badders trot up that had clearly had KS surgery and he looked fantastic! So it is possible. It will very much depend on your horse's specific issue.

This is what kissing spines looks like:

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgu...741xULGDFInS0QXpzoHIBw&ved=0CEgQ9QEwBg&dur=81

There are some situations where the operation is not possible as the 'touching' part touches too close to the spine to be removed. However again this is totally dependent on your own horse.

There is a relatively new surgery for kissing spines:

http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=20545

...which seems to have a very good success rate, but the insurance won't pay and again its not suitable necessarily for all horses. However it is much much cheaper than the other surgery option.

The other option is injections and shockwave treatment. They are only successful in a certain number of horses, but you'll know pretty much instantly if it is going to be successful. The successfulness of these does eventually become less and less until its not working anymore - but this process can take anywhere between 6months to 5years.

We've rehabbed a horse with Kissing Spines before and she is happily ridden again once or twice a week now. However, she would not be suitable for competition (although she never really was!). Best to speak to your vet and get the best advice you can.

Good luck. xx
 
Thank you for your replies. She should be having a x ray next week. She usually is a sweetie but over the past month or so she has been bucking like crazy everytime i ask her to change her gait or give her a wee nudge. Im praaying to god it aint KS
 
Hiya :) My mare (12 y/o, international show jumper from the age of 5) was diagnosed with KS earlier this year. She got cortisone injections and a lot of physio. I decided not to put her through the heavy surgery because I don't need to compete her anymore, but she is doing magnificently 6 months later. If you want to jump your horse in the future, do the op. If not, get cortisone injections done and lots of physio and lunging. The op is very heavy and rehab is extensive. They do get better without the op, but won't have a competitive future. Good luck to you! Xx
 
There is some evidence that MOST horses in work have kissing spines to some degree ( in certain studies up to 70% of the control group had kissing spines on X-ray despite having no clinical symptoms.I think incidence is higher in TBs than other breeds)

What symptoms is your horse actually showing? I'd want to be 100% sure it was the back causing the issues before I did anything as it's pretty major surgery.
 
jesstickle said:
There is some evidence that MOST horses in work have kissing spines to some degree ( in certain studies up to 70% of the control group had kissing spines on X-ray despite having no clinical symptoms.I think incidence is higher in TBs than other breeds)

What symptoms is your horse actually showing? I'd want to be 100% sure it was the back causing the issues before I did anything as it's pretty major surgery.
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I agree with this. My boy obviously had something else going on which is still causing the most troublesome symptom of flipping out after the the girth is tightened. Don't know if it's physical or mental, but had I known before the op that he would still be the same, I wouldn't have bothered. I'm going to have him scoped for ulcers when he comes in for the winter, but after that, if there is nothing found and no change, he will have to retire.
 
Interesting thread, I do wonder if the girth tightening reactions are due to remembered pain? I am about to get our mare back who we sold 4 yrs ago and she has been diagnosed with KS. Border line for surgery but has had injections into the painful areas, has been worked on a pessoa and gently hacked out long and low. Seems to be doing alright at the present time. Anyone know if the symptoms can re-occur and cause the pain again after treatment/rehab like this?

Whether she is rideable or not she will stay with us until the end of her days. Wish I had never sold her in the first place, hindsight is a wonderful thing.!
 
Symptoms can definitely reoccur! It's just one of those things where you have to see how they feel every day and adjust your training according to their needs.
 
Thankyou for that. We will just have to see how it goes. Im torn between continuing the re-hab over the winter or whether to give her time off, say 6 months, to just rest and be a horse. It would seem that she has been ridden incorrectly over the last 3 out of 4 years, the current owner found she had the problem in June this year. We dont get her until the end of this month so not sure how she is working yet.
 
jesstickle said:
There is some evidence that MOST horses in work have kissing spines to some degree ( in certain studies up to 70% of the control group had kissing spines on X-ray despite having no clinical symptoms.I think incidence is higher in TBs than other breeds)

What symptoms is your horse actually showing? I'd want to be 100% sure it was the back causing the issues before I did anything as it's pretty major surgery.
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This was also my understanding. My horse, TB, has x-rayed for 3 KS but no typical symptoms, had two further opinions, one from a surgeon who does the KS work and both said highly unlikely he has KS.

So He has gone barefoot and we are sorting out diet, hoof balance etc I also ride him in a treeless :eek:

Be certain ask for and seek other opinions. I spoke to someone recently whose horse went through the surgery but has since developed other problems, therefore leading them to conclude that the KS was secondary.
 
My friends horse just been diagnosed with this is a 7year old TB, previous to this she had been eventing and other than one show where he stopped at a fence which really wasnt like him he shows next to no signs at all!! it was only when she took him in for a leg issue that this was spotted. She had x ray and a bone scan to see just how developed it actually was. she is taking the operation as wants to event him in the future!! so interested to see if anyone has returned to competition after this op and to what level??
 
wildcard said:
My friends horse just been diagnosed with this is a 7year old TB, previous to this she had been eventing and other than one show where he stopped at a fence which really wasnt like him he shows next to no signs at all!! it was only when she took him in for a leg issue that this was spotted. She had x ray and a bone scan to see just how developed it actually was. she is taking the operation as wants to event him in the future!! so interested to see if anyone has returned to competition after this op and to what level??
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So why, if it wasn't causing a problem, have the op?
 
the vets have advised her to have the opperation as although he isnt showing any signs whilst been ridden he can be funny when been rugged and girthed up!! I guess she is just following what the vet best recomends im not 100% on the ins and outs just know this is what they have recomended is best for their situation...
 
wildcard said:
the vets have advised her to have the opperation as although he isnt showing any signs whilst been ridden he can be funny when been rugged and girthed up!! I guess she is just following what the vet best recomends im not 100% on the ins and outs just know this is what they have recomended is best for their situation...
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My horse used to be great when ridden, and was only bad when girthing up. Sadly, this eventually started to affect him ridden too, so I understand what the vets are saying.
 
she hasnt had a second opinion, but has seen both sets of x rays and the bones scan and is definately Kissing spine, it isnt my horse so not my decision to make but i know she will take everything into account when deciding the best option for them.

I just wanted to see if their was any competition horses that have had it done more to try help reassure her with the right management and care their is a chance of her getting back to doing what she enjoys..
 
Since most horses have some degree of kissing spines, to me you need nerve blocks in the area to determine if that does improve the horses way of going. If it doesn't, you then know it isn't likely to be the root cause of the problem. Sacroiliac problems often go hand in hand with ks and are harder to diagnose and treat. It is possible to have ks surgery done under standing sedation rather than ga which could possibly reduce costs as well as the risks associated with general anaesthetic.
 
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