Kissing spines Op. Thoughts?

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Tootroot

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So today my 11 year old anglo arab has been diagnosed with kissing spines in his thoracic vertebrae effecting 4 dorsal spinous processes.
He was assessed by Svend kold and he has given me the option of surgery.
His case is too far gone and severe for the injection.

What are your thoughts and your experience? My insurance will cover me up to £5000. He quoted me around £2000 for the surgery.

what sort of costs does the after care incur? Is my £5000 likely to cover all of my fees and complications?

My reasons for considering the surgery is his temperament. He is an angel on the ground and stick a net infront of him and hes in heaven. this makes me feel a little more relaxed about the situation. although when he is ridden (up until august 2012) he was a very unhappy boy and reared a lot with me.

he had always been a nappy and backwards thinking horse and i guess this is why! although it was never painfully obvious until last year that something was seriously wrong with him.

Would appreciate your thoughts.
 
St Davids Equine at Exeter. Would recommend them 1000%!!! Horse is now completely pain free and very happy. He had the op, had box rest then walking in hand. Saw the back lady reguarly just to make sure there were no sore bits throughout. Then pessoa work for 4-6 weeks then crack on. Would recommend surgery with no worries at all. I still pessoa reguarly to try to help maintain the correct muscules. x
 
That sounds positive. How did yours cope with the box rest etc. obviously i know each horse is different. just good to hear peoples experience.
 
I would recommend the op too, my boy was operated on at Willesley. Again rehab was simple - box rest, then walking in hand, then lungeing with pessoa building gradually up.

Mine doesn't cope well with being stabled when he on his own, but he just seemed to accept the box rest and was no trouble...
 
Sven is great!! Go for it, mine was diagnosed just before Xmas, we are awaiting a bone scan but will then have surgery with Oly Crowe/Sven.
Mine sounds very similar to your boy, lovely to handle but rears and is naughty to ride.
For Xrays (hock's and back), nerve blocks, visits etc my bill so far is £700, bone scan will be £900, so I'm hoping we will have enough for the surgery, and also a few physio sessions.
 
Svend operated on my boy 7yrs ago. He is still ridden 5days a weeks, hacks, does novice dressage and is learning to jump. Your naughty ridden behaviour is probably due to the KS, he may still a pickle after surgery but probably less of a dangerous pickle! My horse is still very sharp but that's who he is, the trying to kill me thing kinda stopped after his back stoppped hurting!

Good luck, I have no regrets but learn to long rein properly and do loads of ground work pre op to get him fit for surgery if you can safely! Time your time with his rehab but don't not do it and don't push to fast. Work on a good powerful swinging walk and go forwards from there, correct back end push and correct long and low work is key.
 
ellie_e said:
Sven is great!! Go for it, mine was diagnosed just before Xmas, we are awaiting a bone scan but will then have surgery with Oly Crowe/Sven.
Mine sounds very similar to your boy, lovely to handle but rears and is naughty to ride.
For Xrays (hock's and back), nerve blocks, visits etc my bill so far is £700, bone scan will be £900, so I'm hoping we will have enough for the surgery, and also a few physio sessions.
Click to expand...

Ollie Crowe did my boy, was great throughout the whole process even when I had a bit of a wobble about it all!
 
I personally wouldnt, I dont like operations on horses unless they are absolutely necessary. I have heard a few horror stories and in my opinion, horses are not like people, i wouldnt risk my horse with one, it doesnt always work and its a lot of money, time and emotions with the rehab etc.
 
Thank you very much for all your thoughts. Feeling a little bit more positive about it all now! Spoken to his old owner who is also a best friend and she believes I should give him a second chance to be happy. I've had him for 6 years so almost feel as though I owe it to him to start again and enjoy his life!
 
Ollie Crowe operated on Charlie in October just started ridden work. Mine too is the nicest horse ever but changed dramatically which is why we had the op.
There is a Facebook Group called Horses with Kissing Spine and I have been documenting our progress in my signature Blog.
 
My horse had the op in March last year. He had issues for quite some time firstly treating ligament damage around the process as only one was affected. It wasn't true kissing spine as it was an abnormal shape and not impinging as such, also it was behind the saddle in the lumbar region. His temperament was very much affected, he was a very unhappy horse. He very rapidly lost condition as he wasn't really eating. Op seemed the only solution.

The surgery has been a complete success, hes a happy horse, although I do still have some issues under saddle, as he lacks a lot of confidence in the school still, but we are getting there. It seems likely he had suffered for quite sometime before we discovered exactly what the problem was. I don't own the horse, I now have him on loan, his owner breed him then fell pregnant when he was first backed and he had a very inconstant start. I stated riding a couple of times a week when he was a tricky 5 year old. The more I started to do the worse he got. He was very backward thinking and bucked a lot! He had several months off as a 6 year old as they treated the ligament and we have just got back on and started ridding when it was clear this had not worked.

We are with Bushy & Willesley and the op was done at the Breadstone hospital.

One thing you must be prepared for is the recover can be a long road. 9 months on and I am only now seeing proper changes in his shape and condition. I have been working with a chartered vet physio for the last 5 months and I have to say, i couldn't have done it without her. I've have to pay for this myself as the insurance claim period ended shortly after the surgery.

We have done months of long reining and lunging in pessoa, trotting poles, cavolettes, hacking and hill work. With barely a day off. Luckily I livery at a yard with a good indoor school!

Would I do its again? absolutely, I have a happy horse now (bar the continued schooling issues).
 
Thanks to everyone who took the time to reply to my thread! I rudely didnt reply back then, clearly in a state of panic!

We are now just over a year post op and he's doing very well. I had my first sit on in late May and managed a dressage comp in July (which we won with very positive scores!)
He's now learning to jump again, and hopefully looking towards some more competing.
In no way has it been easy, as he is a sensitive chap with a big personality. He has scared me at times but have also built a strong understanding. Especially over the past few months.

His surgeon Svend Kold removed 3 processes in the end. And quite frankly, its the best thing i've ever done for him! much happier pony now!

I have written a blog from he word go. Right up until this day, so if any of you are interested - please have a gander!

http://kissingspine.blogspot.co.uk/2013_02_01_archive.html

I will be doing a written review on Equilibriums massage and magnetic pads in the next few weeks, as there has been alot of discussion as to whether these products can benefit horses with kissing spine.

x
 
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5k is plenty for the KS surgery and rehab, mine came to 3.5 in total, surgery was a success, mine didn't cope with the box rest so went out once the staples come out! It is not as bad as you think, good luck :)
 
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