Kissing spines.. would you?

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PingPongPony

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I've seen a horse that i like, 8 year old 17hh mare, competed to a decent level eventing and has BE points, however, she has had kissing spines and had the expensive operation, she has recovered and been ridden away and jumping about 1m-1.10m since the op. My question is, would you buy a horse that had kissing spines before and had the op etc? Experiences would be great too :)
Thank you :)
 
I think there is more than one op they can have. I'd want my vet to talk to their vet in full, and see the Xrays etc before I made a decision on that one.
 
I'd post this in the vet section too, it's quite a regular topic in there.

If it was me, having seen a horse "after the op" being ridden for the first time after a year off, I would walk away. I'm sorry. x
 
well, she happens to the yard my current share horse is, she is a lovely girl and always comes to say hello but it very gentle and polite. whatever i buy will be staying with me for as long as it is possible (i can't say forever as life changes so quickly, you never know what will happen) but as long as i can keep her and she's happy and not in pain, she'd be staying, wether ridden or not.
ets. shysmum- she's at my yard so i have see her ridden all the time, and i've now known her for 1year too and during that time she hasn't had any problems at all. :)
 
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doooooooooo have her vetted independantly first then, and check that you can get insurance (tho they prob won't cover the spine ?? ). Let us know what you decide to do :)
 
My horse had the op back in November and all was going well and I had started riding him again, but we had a setback and so he has been turned away for three months. I am going to try again in a week or two. Some horses fully recover and never look back. Others are never able to be ridden again. I have a terrible feeling my boy will be one of them. But if this mare's op was quite a while ago and she is being ridden and jumped without problems, and she doesn't have any other issues, I don't see why she shouldn't have a chance of a good lifetime home.
 
I would find out as much as I possibly could about the condition and speak to both my vet and, if appropriate, the treating vet so that I was in possession of all the facts and prognoses for the horse. It is such a potentially serious condition that I would want every iota of information that was available and also what signs to look out for in terms of any future problems that may arise. If all this information was reassuring, then yes, I would buy the horse. If I had any doubt whatsoever, even a tiny one, I have to say, I would walk away.
 
Flicker said:
I would find out as much as I possibly could about the condition and speak to both my vet and, if appropriate, the treating vet so that I was in possession of all the facts and prognoses for the horse. It is such a potentially serious condition that I would want every iota of information that was available and also what signs to look out for in terms of any future problems that may arise. If all this information was reassuring, then yes, I would buy the horse. If I had any doubt whatsoever, even a tiny one, I have to say, I would walk away.
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i think i will do this, as i will want to event, not huge, just maybe up to novice, so i'll find out as much as i can, with the vet, xrays etc. thank you.

anyone else?
 
My ex's mare had the surgery, and in the 10 years I have known the horse, it has nevergiven her a moments more trouble, andhers was bad, the vet originally didn't want to bother. If she is on the same yard, do you use the same vet? Have a good chat with him. She will be excluded for ks issues, but they didn't exclude the mare I knows whole back.
If she is already back up and competing and you have known her for 12 months, especially if that time is all post surgery, I wouldn't dismiss her out of hand, but I would have her vetted.
 
shysmum said:
now you've said eventing..........I would definitely walk away. Isn't that asking way too much ?? sorry, sm x
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No I would not take on a horse after a kissing spines op and expect it go eventing I would go and find a " sound " one.
 
thats why i've asked as i don't know much about the condition and i wanted to know what others thought and what peoples experiences were, how the horses recovered and what they went on to do. At the moment she is being jumped sj up to about 1.10 courses and working nicely on the flat, she hasn't had any problems and when the vet comes out to the oldies he says she's all good, her rider is also about 2-3stone heavier than me. when i say eventing i meant up to about 90cm occasional unaffiliated competition, i can't afford to affiliate or compete every weekend, i'd just want an allrounder really, something to school and hack during the week, jump once a week or once per two weeks, and go to unaffiliated sj/hunter trials and the odd ODE.
 
Naturally said:
I think there is more than one op they can have. I'd want my vet to talk to their vet in full, and see the Xrays etc before I made a decision on that one.
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Exactly this ^^^^.

Personally I would not touch with a bargepole.
There are 3 retired horses on our yard that have/had KS (one is mine) Having gone through the heartache of the diagnosis, and then the various corrective procedures that are available to try, on my horse, and the other two owners horses, none of which had any long-term positive results, I would not risk it, even if it appears to be sound now.

However I know some horses do make remarkable recoveries after treatment, so I think you need to have a frank discussion with the vets.
 
Well, I would personally say no i wouldn't buy one BUT, my sister's friend rides and competes a horse that had the operation about 4 years ago I think. She events and has had the ride on him for about 2 years if i am correct. She has just been doing her first intermediate eventing this year (she's done 2 intermediate events so far I believe) and intends on doing a CIC ad hopefully first CCI events by the end of the year. He is so bold xc he just never has any issues and his dressage is improving so, it certainly worked for him!

Therefore, having seen him competing and seeing how well he is I may actually reconsider now as i think the operation can ber very succesful!
 
If you really like the horse it is definitely worth getting it vetted before you make a decision, especially if the horse has been successfully competing for a year. My horse has kissing spines and was treated with the steroid injections, physio and lots of pessoa work. Looking at her move you would never know she had been treated for KS and my vet doesn't think it'll affect a high level competition career (although we compete at dressage rather than eventing). If you want any more info feel free to PM me :)
 
thanks everyone :) It's good to hear both sides, those that never recovered as well as those that are competing successfully, it definitely makes me think that i should be carefull and only buy if proffesionals say she's ok. We've got the vet out to do jabs on thursday, i believe he's seen her a couple of times, but i will just ask his opinion first. Then before i decide anything for sure, i'll want to try her a couple of times doing what i want to do, flat, jump, hack and will take her xc (lucky to have a course just down the road). Also because i'm friends with the people that are selling her, i might ask if i could share her for a couple of months to see how i get on with her. Will also ask my mctimoney to have a good look at her, then if all goes well, get her vetted. Thank you everyone :)
 
PingPongPony said:
We've got the vet out to do jabs on thursday, i believe he's seen her a couple of times, but i will just ask his opinion first. Then before i decide anything for sure, i'll want to try her a couple of times doing what i want to do, flat, jump, hack and will take her xc (lucky to have a course just down the road). Also because i'm friends with the people that are selling her, i might ask if i could share her for a couple of months to see how i get on with her. Will also ask my mctimoney to have a good look at her, then if all goes well, get her vetted. Thank you everyone :)
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Best of luck to you whatever you decide. Please bear in mind that I think the outcome of kissing spines surgery tends to be that its better for a while, but it can deteriorate again - so she may be fit as a fiddle for now, but you will want to consider the likelihood of her staying sound for as long as you will want to ride her.

I also wonder about using a chiropractor - they manipulate the spine outside of its normal range of movement - I'm not too sure I'd want that happening with a horse whose back I was trying to keep stable following surgery. Physiotherapy would be my preference, to assess the muscle wastage and strength. Whatever you do, do it in conjunctioon with the overdeeing vet's knowledge and consent. You will have to keep working her properly, in order for the muscle to support the damaged spine, and saddle fit will need to be kept very hot!

Could you take her on loan from the present owners? That way if she is forced to retire early you are protected. Depends if they are selling her to mitigate their own risk of having a retired horse or for some other reason I guess.

Go carefully, and I really would be asking for expert vet opinion (there must be a KS expert vet in the UK) with full access to her past history's vet records. It would cost you a bit more, but not as much as treating or keeping a field ornament.

I sound very negative - I don't mean to, and I think you are being very sensible. I would be intersted to know what you decide. :)
 
thank you, i will definitely be very carefull about it, as much as she's a lovely person on the ground, i just cannot afford 2 horses so i would have a field ornament if she had to retire in a couple of years. They're selling her because they already have 9 horses and just want to cut down, she has 3 youngsters to bring on at the moment, 2 very old ponies that she doesn't want to sell because she wants them to retire with people they know and have a nice retirement, then she has 2 horses that she's looking after and training for other people and then she has her own bred that is 7 at the moment and she doesn't really want to sell him, so then theres Sky thats left and she's being sold as is one of the youngsters.
I would only want the mctimoney to have a look at her, not manipulate anything at all, we've known this lady for years, she has regularly come out to the horses and whenever theres a new one, she gets called out and we sort the horse before asking it to do anything, so i trust her and would like to just know her opinion.
I think i will ask them if i could have her on loan for a while, it will take the upkeep cost away from them at least and give the woman some more time for the others.
Whatever i decide, it won't be without investigating into her previous vet records and getting a dignosis for the future from my current vet. as well as a trial which i'm sure they won't mind.
will update you all for sure :)
 
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