Kissing Spines

[proctor]

My friends horse had KS surgery 2 years ago and still seems to have pain in his back. When he's on bute he's fine, when he's not he bucks and hollows and pulls faces. My poor friend is at the end of her tether and doesn't know what else to do. She doesn't want him on Bute for the rest of his life (horse only 10) yet she obviously doesn't want him in pain either. Have any of you had experience with KS at all? Or has anyone tried a No Bute remedy that actually works?

Any info at all would be great, thank you x

 

[Arkmiido]

My mare had KS in 4 places - by the time we actually got a diagnosis, we also had her hocks x rayed and she had no cartilage left and was dragging both hinds, and biting herself, thoroughly miserable, and attacking anyone who came near her even on max bute. Didn't think surgery was a fair option given her hocks and how usable she would be even after surgery, given she was a best ok for gentle hacking, and my vet said it was only successful in about half of cases anyway. We tried steroids injects between the impinging spinous processes as a final option.... (so my suggestion is : is this worth looking into?)
Sadly it didn't work for Ice, and when she got bad colic 2 weeks after the steroid injections, we made the decision to have her PTS as we were thinking that we should be doing this anyway but I think it was the kindest thing I ever did for her in retrospect. At least she isn't in pain now. I don't think the colic was related to the steroid injections though!
Are Tildren infusions ever used for KS?

I think there are quite a few posts and lots of experiences of KS on this forum if you do a search though! What is the vet dealing with the case saying about it?

 

[TicTac]

If you search through the posts you will see that there is quite a bit about KS ( In vet as well)

My mare is 8 weeks post KS op and still in her early stages of recovery but she does seem to be doing very well and has no obvious discomfort ( 4 pieces of bone removed)

I do recall my vet saying that horses that show less of a problem before the op have a greater chance of success. By that I mean my mare never bucked or showed any obvious pain prior to her op. But those that show extreme discomfort may not fully recover from the discomfort despite having the problem removed.

Like all operations there are no guarantees. Did your friends horse have physio at all. I have arranged for a good physio to start work on my mare at 12 weeks post op prior to me starting to lunge her.

 

[cm2581]

Why does your friend not want the horse on bute? It costs around 60p a sachet and clearly improves the horse's quality of life. All 'bute replacement' supplements and herbs cost much more than this per day and have little to no effect. Bute has fewer side effects in horses than paracetamol does in humans but for some reason some people seem to think it is 'bad' for them. Yes if you feed bute to a horse on an empty stomach it is quite likely to cause ulceration, but your horse should practically never have an empty stomach! I know a horse who was put down at 38yrs, having been on a sacchet of bute a day for over 20 years! My own horse has been on it for nearly 10 years now. To withold painkillers is inhumane and verging on cruelty.

 

[Halfpass]

My friends horse had KS surgery 2 years ago and still seems to have pain in his back. When he's on bute he's fine, when he's not he bucks and hollows and pulls faces. My poor friend is at the end of her tether and doesn't know what else to do. She doesn't want him on Bute for the rest of his life (horse only 10) yet she obviously doesn't want him in pain either. Have any of you had experience with KS at all? Or has anyone tried a No Bute remedy that actually works?

Any info at all would be great, thank you x

What kind of rehab did the horse have post op?

My OH's boy is 2 years post op. The rehab was very intense and he really is only back into 100% proper work this summer.

 

[proctor]

Why does your friend not want the horse on bute? It costs around 60p a sachet and clearly improves the horse's quality of life. All 'bute replacement' supplements and herbs cost much more than this per day and have little to no effect. Bute has fewer side effects in horses than paracetamol does in humans but for some reason some people seem to think it is 'bad' for them. Yes if you feed bute to a horse on an empty stomach it is quite likely to cause ulceration, but your horse should practically never have an empty stomach! I know a horse who was put down at 38yrs, having been on a sacchet of bute a day for over 20 years! My own horse has been on it for nearly 10 years now. To withold painkillers is inhumane and verging on cruelty.

I can see what you mean but also,is masking pain with painkillers and using the horse as normal when there is clearly a problem just as cruel?? My friend has accepted there is an on going problem and will not be using her horse for anything now. She just wants him pain free.

 

[proctor]

What kind of rehab did the horse have post op?

My OH's boy is 2 years post op. The rehab was very intense and he really is only back into 100% proper work this summer.

Box rest for quite a few weeks, then turn out in a small pen. It was about a year before she was told she could ride him again. It's because of his lack of rehab and things that she feels he hasn't healed properly

 

[dominobrown]

My horse had the op and his rehab was a lot quicker. This was under strict vet instructions mind. Apprently its best to start work asap. (gentle) This hard to explain- My horse did 2 weeks solid box rest, then walking out in hand building up to 30 min a day, then long reing, then lunging, the riding, building up to trotting,cantering etc. My horse had the op june 09, hunting in feb 10 (just about an hour of gentle hunting), he was quite fit by then, SJ in march, eventing in june 10. He is due for another check up but he seems alot happier and doesn't seem in pain.
(He does have a magnetic back pad, and a massage pad)