Kissing spines & steroid injections

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Mac1999

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My horse has just been diagnosed with kissing spines - to be honest I don't know the full details of how bad as I have been on holiday for two weeks and my (non-horsey) Mum has been dealing with the vet in my absence.

I do know they are suggesting steroid injections to treat it - does anyone have any experience with this? Are ongoing injections a medium / long term solution or just short term? Is it likely to get progressively worse? Will he still be able to jump / compete??

Any info and advice greatly appreciated - we have been looking into what is wrong with him for about 2 months and before I went away they were thinking it was phsychological so although it is nice to have a concrete diagnosis I am still coming to terms with the fact it is something so serious.

:-(

Thanks for your help
 
Cortisone can or cannot provide short lasting relief. If the horse is better after injections, it is a good idea to immediately start working the horse in a Pessoa with lots of long and low work over poles in attempt to re-build the back muscles correctly. Sometimes, in mild cases this can be all that is needed to keep the horse on the right track- providing that the horse is consistently worked correctly and deep. But sometimes it will only be a short temporary improvement- instead of continually injecting cortisone ( which is very very damaging if over-used ) it is better to operate and remove the excess vertebrate.

They have been doing this procedure since the 1980's now and are well versed in what to do. I would advise you to go to Willesley to have the operation as they have the best way of doing the surgery and the best after care program ( the after care exercise is just as important as the surgery itself- which is where so many other vet surgeons/vet pracitses go horribly wrong with this op !!)

Also check that the feet are well trimmed right back, are symmetrical with the correct heel/toe angle, and the alingment of the whole front leg is straight, not broken forwards or backwards- this is something so simple that a lot of farriers are not good at doing.

Also check the saddle fits properly= flocked /serge panels instead of latex/close contact.

H wave therpay helps greatly too.
 
My horse had steroid injections into her back and would agree mostly with what OB has said.
I would say the next time I rode my horse after the treatment, there was an instant and dramatic improvement that confirmed that the back was the cause of my horse's behaviour......but I would say that the effect of the injections was fairly short-lived - maybe a few weeks.....but it gave me a chance to start a rehabilitation plan with my schooling, getting her to work long and low and build up her back muscles. The saddle fit was infinitely important and i got a saddle that could be adjusted as the topline began to come back on. I would say once I got the topline/back strong my horse hasn't needed any further treatment for her back nor has she needed surgery but I do lots of physio, carrot stretches, massage and am very careful with her saddle fit to keep her on the road.
I would say from my experience, the injections were more useful in confirming the problem and allowing me to take the appropriate actions schooling-wise without worrying about her being in pain etc than actually treating the problem as such.
Anyway hope everything goes ok for you and your horse. x
 
Do you know if your horse has any vertebrae that actually clash or if they're just closer than desirable?
Mines has the latter and is being treated with cortisone injection and shockwave therapy.
I've also been looking at the back on track products and am going to ask my vet about them, not sure if warmth will help or not.
Good luck.
 
To be honest I don't completely know - I have tried to ring the vet for full information but they haven't rang me back yet. I think they must be touching as his reaction was so violent (he was broncing when I got on, until I got (came!!) off) but I don't know enough about the condition to be sure.
I am worried that I am knowledgeable enough (I am expereinced riding wise but not so good on vetinary stuff at all) and I am going to end up causing him pain or getting hurt myself if I don't do the rehabilitation right.
They haven't suggested operating to us, so maybe it's not really chronic. Doesn't it cost alot (horse is worth about £5000 but isn't insured) and doesn't always work?

I feel a bit clueless and over my head on this one!
 
I had no results with the steriod injections, so she had the operation is and better than before (however i think she has now damaged a check ligament!) she was 16 when she had the op and it worked perfectly.

I went to Svend at willesley and he was amazing, a lot of H&Hers recommended him.

I'd give your vet a call and ask for more information.....the op for me was under 3k...she also had colic afterwards and her back also became infected/allergic to anti biotics so that cost more....luckily i have insurance....they also paid for physio and it all came to less than 5k!
 
oh also wanted to say it was a really stressful time for me as i was worried about the what ifs and having time to do the rehab so i sent my mare away for it...was difficult not seeing her everyday but took some of the strain off me.....also wiped me out financially but atleast she got the rehab!
 
I rode a horse for someone else that had cortisone injections every 6 months in his back, there would be a huge improvement in his way of going after the injections, and when he got all stiff and horrible again I'd tell them it was time for an injection! The time was starting to reduce between injections, but then he suddenly went blind overnight and had to be put down (at 8yo), so I don't know how much longer the injections would have worked for him.
 
My mare was diagnoised with kissing spines in August, i tired steriod injections and all they did was to confirm that it was all in her back as they lasted 4 weeks.

her spines weren't touching, but really close but that was enough to cause her to rear all the time.

She has now had the op (3 spines removed) and doing well, she has had 3 weeks complete box rest, and now started walking in hadn. She can start lunging in 4 weeks (8 weeks post op).

The vet has said she shouldn't have any problems competing or doing anything that i want. I have been in touch with lots of other owners who's horses have had it and now back to hunting and eventing.

It has cost quite a bit but mine is insured. Good Luck
 
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