Kissing Spines & Stifle Surgery rehab

S

SC2021

New User
Joined
25 November 2025
Messages
5
Visit site
As above, my 4yo TB has recently undergone surgery for KS and a week later sadly had to have an emergency surgery to release a locked stifle (ligament Desmotomy). He’s only been with me for 5 months, and it’s not been straightforward from the get go. With his second unexpected surgery this has put our rehab back a bit, but I wondered if anyone else has experienced both surgeries at the same time and had any success rehabbing? Realistically what are the chances of him ever being ridden comfortably again? It’s been a bit of a soul destroying few months so any positive stories hugely welcomed, but a realistic outlook also appreciated. I felt fairly confident and positive with the KS surgery but after his stifle surgery I’m left wondering how this is going to impact his back. Vets can only advise so much and have just said to give him a chance with the rehab and review in another months time. Tia.
 
HayleyUK said:
I would want to get the back and stifle as strong as possible so lots of leading out hacking, long lining and walk poles/water treadmill before getting on and adding the rider to the mix.

A decent physio with a background in rehab will also help.

Good luck!
HayleyUK said:
I would want to get the back and stifle as strong as possible so lots of leading out hacking, long lining and walk poles/water treadmill before getting on and adding the rider to the mix.

A decent physio with a background in rehab will also help.

Good luck!
Click to expand...
Thanks for replying! That’s the plan, plenty of groundwork & strengthening before even considering getting back on board. Physio begins next week also. Really hoping he comes good just unsure currently what my realistic expectations should be both surgeries considered 🤔
Click to expand...
 
And remember it's not just about "strong", most horses and ponies I see as a saddle fitter have some sort of postural compromise, and this is so often a large part of why these things happen in the first place. I feel really strongly that many vets and bodyworkers are still giving out really poor rehab advice - Pessoas are still being recommended occasionally which blows my tiny mind. We need to CHANGE the way the horse moves, not just "walk for 6 weeks, polework, add in X minutes of trot, hillwork" etc. I have various programmes and resources I recommend to my saddle fit customers, the main one (and in part because it's free and SO good at helping with understanding and observation, both hugely important) is the Slow Walk Work group on FB. There are also some great resources, including from Sue Dyson, on equitopiacenter.com, some I think included in the free content, others will be in the paid sections but it's monthly pay as you go and not expensive for a month.

Just keep remembering that no horse is designed to carry us, not built for it, so we should ALL be trying to help our horses (from the ground is best, a little every week) to carry us without compromise, or certainly to minimise it, and there is a lot of modern training, and especially gadgets, that work against this.
 
sport horse said:
Please follow your vets advice - they have seen and treated your horse. Noone on here has even seen it let alone read the veterinary notes.
Click to expand...
If I'd followed my vets advice I would have been lunging in a pessoa & back riding 6 weeks after ks surgery 🙄
Yes listen to your vet, but also do your research to find a decent bodyworker who can help you teach your horse new movement patterns.
This advise comes from someone who was close to pts & 5 years on I'm successful competing dressage & showjumping.
 
Lamehorses said:
If I'd followed my vets advice I would have been lunging in a pessoa & back riding 6 weeks after ks surgery 🙄
Yes listen to your vet, but also do your research to find a decent bodyworker who can help you teach your horse new movement patterns.
This advise comes from someone who was close to pts & 5 years on I'm successful competing dressage & showjumping.
Click to expand...
Agree with this 💯.
I’m not sure why some vets are such fans of using a Pessoa in rehab work. It’s been a long time since I did a KS rehab and I’m sure the advice has probably evolved as with everything in life but for some the Pessoa remains.
A good physio and/or body worker is a great shout.
Also taking videos to monitor progress really helped me when I worked at a rehab yard. We took loads to send to owners but actually they’re a good help for tracking progress.
 
Vets vary. A lot. They are not educated, and they have told me as much, in healthy movement patterns and posture. If they want to learn this stuff they have to find it themselves and the same does apply to bodyworkers too, even physios. They are trained to find and treat pain, they are not taught to observe milder dysfunction and understand its role in lameness, some absolutely do learn about and utilise the latter, but far from all. I would never recommend someone blindly follow anyone's advice, no matter how many letters after their name or how much you paid for that advice. Learn, understand the contexts, see what alternative viewpoints are out there, what direct and indirect help and advice you can get, and decide from there.
 
Thank you all for kindly taking the time to reply, we have physio next week so hopefully they will be able to expand on the rehab plan we already have from our Vet. We were recommended to use a Pessoa however I wasn’t keen on this from the start so we haven’t.

It’s a bit of a minefield dealing with one area to rehab but having a second surgery so soon after the first has thrown me a bit and without any definitive answers it leaves a lot of uncertainty in my expectations. I have read many different peoples experiences with kissing spines surgery and stifle surgery but not come across anyone with experience in dealing with both at the same time and the subsequent outcome. We seem to have been quite unfortunate in our situation, for the most part my worry is how his weakened stifle will affect his back post surgery and vice versa. I suppose time will tell. 🤞🏼
 
The fact the Pessoa was included in the rehab programme should definitely be encouragement to do your own reading to put any further advice on context.

And bear in mind that, as a result of KS soften being a result of a compensatory movement pattern, other parts of the body are always affected. Whether it shows, at point of KS diagnosis, to a diagnosable threshold, varies. But it's generally always there and often shows up later.
 
Small update - (bonus points for anyone with experience in having a medial patellar ligament Desmotomy)

Horse is still resting his leg a lot, reluctant to bear weight on it. Seemed unhappy in himself since yesterday, had physio out today who said he is still experiencing pain and there is some inflammation around the surgery site. (5 weeks post op). Vets have suggested injecting the joint with steroids to reduce the inflammation and allow us to increase his exercise however I’m not overly convinced this is the answer. I know the Desmotomy carries significant risk by completely cutting the ligament opposed to splitting it, so I’m left wondering if we should be looking more in to this opposed to medicating the joint straight away. Any thoughts?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top