Kissing spines before and after xrays

Wagtail

Wagtail

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For those of you who are interested. Here are the before and after xrays of my horse's spine. In November he was diagnosed with ten spinal processes touching and had five of them removed:

Before 1
preop1.jpg


After 1:
postop1.jpg


Before 2:
preop2.jpg


After 2:
postop2.jpg
 
Wow, how very interesting, I had no idea they took the whole spinal process away, I thought they just shaved them.

How does the horse feel post operation?
 
Andalucian said:
Wow, how very interesting, I had no idea they took the whole spinal process away, I thought they just shaved them.

How does the horse feel post operation?
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We have only just started ridden work but he feels loads better than before the op. His paces have improved too.
 
Thats amazing. What symptoms did he have? I used to ride a horse that reared or collapsed when you put the saddle, I've always wondered if she had the same. She was eventually retired from riding because she was obviously in trouble and was turned away for retirement.
 
so happy for you - mine has eight touching - just posted her xrays on another post - only had injections so far and may have to have the operation to remove four so at least I know yours has had worse and come thru the other end!
 
Great news, I went to a vet talk on this condition the other night, by comparison your xrays are much less worrying than some post operatively, so fingers crossed you'll have a real success here.
 
timelord said:
Thats amazing. What symptoms did he have? I used to ride a horse that reared or collapsed when you put the saddle, I've always wondered if she had the same. She was eventually retired from riding because she was obviously in trouble and was turned away for retirement.
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My horse would freak out when he tried to move when the girth had been tightened. I had to ride him with the girth so loose, you could get your fist in!. As the desease progressed be became more and ore reluctant to canter, and then finally, he became unridable. Would explode if ridden.
 
kezimac said:
so happy for you - mine has eight touching - just posted her xrays on another post - only had injections so far and may have to have the operation to remove four so at least I know yours has had worse and come thru the other end!
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Good luck with her. Her spines don't look as bad as my boys were, but the condition does tend to get worse with time. We have two other horse with KS on the yard. Both have had the injections. One had it really mildly and is completely cured, the other has not been ridden for 4 years and the owner is sending hi for re-backing soon. I would usually do the backing, but not with this one!
 
Andalucian said:
Great news, I went to a vet talk on this condition the other night, by comparison your xrays are much less worrying than some post operatively, so fingers crossed you'll have a real success here.
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Do you mean the operation looked badly performed on some others?
 
Wow! Here's to continued success Wagtail he must have been so sore before. x

I have to admit I'd be scared riding after that op. Did you have to do lots of muscle building exercizes etc?
 
amandap said:
Wow! Here's to continued success Wagtail he must have been so sore before. x

I have to admit I'd be scared riding after that op. Did you have to do lots of muscle building exercizes etc?
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His back has muscled up since the op even before I started the pessoa work. Before getting on him, I did five weeks pessoa work (6 days a week). I am only walking at the moment when I ride and only for 10 miinutes or so. I plan to do this for a further 2 weeks every other day and then start trot work.

Yes, I was very nervous the first time I sat on him post op! :o
 
Wagtail said:
His back has muscled up since the op even before I started the pessoa work. Before getting on him, I did five weeks pessoa work (6 days a week). I am only walking at the moment when I ride and only for 10 miinutes or so. I plan to do this for a further 2 weeks every other day and then start trot work.

Yes, I was very nervous the first time I sat on him post op! :o
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I suppose it shows how much he was protecting (not using) his back before that he muscled up after the op prior to the strengthening work.

Don't be embarrassed, I'd have been terrified of hurting him. :D
 
very interesting post, my horse has kissing spine, 3 vertebrae effected, he has had a tildren infusion, daily lunging in the pessoa, 4 months in, lots of physio and a new saddle i should be getting on his back within the next few weeks!! good luck with your horse, will be interested to know how he goes.
 
Wagtail said:
Do you mean the operation looked badly performed on some others?
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No, not badly performed, but in some cases, more than alternate dorsal processes were removed, i.e. 2 together removed. That looked too much in one place when considering the future riding potential for the horse.
 
Andalucian said:
No, not badly performed, but in some cases, more than alternate dorsal processes were removed, i.e. 2 together removed. That looked too much in one place when considering the future riding potential for the horse.
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How strange! I wonder why this would be? Surely the whole point of the operation is to remove every other spin so that the impingement was eliminated? I can only think they made a huge mistake. I can't think how a horse's back would be able to support a rider if more than every other spine is taken out.
 
Wagtail said:
My horse would freak out when he tried to move when the girth had been tightened. I had to ride him with the girth so loose, you could get your fist in!. As the desease progressed be became more and ore reluctant to canter, and then finally, he became unridable. Would explode if ridden.
Click to expand...

I had this with my one, who's spine was touching in 7 places.

He was fine, then would feel off if I rode him two days in a row, but fine if he had time off for a day, and then back to square one. Vet said try osteopath, osteopath said there was nothing wrong and just to get rid because he was a wuss, then after trying osteopathic treatment and time off, he was still bad. I had a new saddle, anything to try and make him more comfortable, we thought he might be cold backed.

He wouldn't step through from behind and so I never got a true contact and he NEVER worked through his back properly. I thought it was a really strange that we would come back from a gentle hack and he would lie down in his stable. He would occasionally crouch when you got on too. Then he became more and more reluctant to canter, until I couldn't get him to canter on one rein on the lunge on one day, and that's when I got him referred to Liphook for scintigraphy, which highlighted spinal problems. He had the operation and is now fine with someone else.
 
Dotilas said:
I had this with my one, who's spine was touching in 7 places.

He was fine, then would feel off if I rode him two days in a row, but fine if he had time off for a day, and then back to square one. Vet said try osteopath, osteopath said there was nothing wrong and just to get rid because he was a wuss, then after trying osteopathic treatment and time off, he was still bad. I had a new saddle, anything to try and make him more comfortable, we thought he might be cold backed.

He wouldn't step through from behind and so I never got a true contact and he NEVER worked through his back properly. I thought it was a really strange that we would come back from a gentle hack and he would lie down in his stable. He would occasionally crouch when you got on too. Then he became more and more reluctant to canter, until I couldn't get him to canter on one rein on the lunge on one day, and that's when I got him referred to Liphook for scintigraphy, which highlighted spinal problems. He had the operation and is now fine with someone else.
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I expect a lot of horses that are thought of as 'cold backed' in fact have kissing spines. I don't think there is such a thing as cold backed. It is just a convenient term that people used (including myself) in the absence of a diagnosis. But I have to admit, I always thought there was a physical reason. I just didn't know what. Glad to know your boy is fine now. It does make you wonder how many horses are written off as dangerous, or quirky, when in actual fact, they are in agony.
 
indeed how many horses are out there who are in pain - mine (8 touching) never bucked once. she never truely gave me her back completely - but we did get times where she did. I assumed back due to ovaries - had left overy removed due to tumor but still not fully swinging thru back, struggled with contact issues and then i pushed for refferal as i had a niggly feeling - then they found the Kissing spines - Someone else might have just put it down to her being naughty or quirky - as she didnt really show many outward signs, which i wish she had as I would have acted sooner - she has had this since before I had her and yet she has always tried her hardest for me.
 
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