(PART 2) dont know what to do with my horse

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brownie57

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Hi everyone, i got the vet out today and he did all sorts of tests on him, flexion tests which he came through very well for a horse of his age, so nothing wrong with his legs. The vet thinks its mild kissing spines and recommends an xray, which is being done next week.

He said i could carry on as i have, and get the back lady out when he is getting sore and i could give him some bute to keep him going. I could have injections in his back every couple of months so i can keep on riding him, but basically he will never get better, and eventually he will have to be retired.

Im not sure i feel comfortable to keep on riding him on bute. I dont like the idea of sitting on him when he is uncomfortable. So i have a decision to make, i can keep him as a pet till the day he dies, but i wont be able to ride again. Or i can pts, and save up and buy myself another horse.

I could contact his old owner and demand she take him back, but she will only fob him off onto someone else, like she did to me, so that is not an option.

I cant stop crying about it, i just dont know what to do
 
I wouldn't pass him back to his old owner that's for sure :)

Apart from that I don't know what you should do, I'm sure there is people on here that will help though :)
 
All is not lost, yet.
KS is a relatively recent condition - I don't remember any horses with it from my youth. If the vet says you can ride him on bute then that is probably the best thing to do. You will be able to help him to develop the correct muscles to hold himself correctly which will lessen the pain and of course the bute is itself a pain-killer. You might find that a magnetic rug helps as well.
 
Oh dear. A difficult decision but if you do have him pts bear in mind it is actually a rather brave decision and not one you really should have had to make. Sorry it's not better news.

ETA Agree with pearl, I had never heard of this (and still haven't actually) other than on here.
 
The thing is, you don't know he had this with his previous owner - he could have had a fall in the field which started this off after he moved to you. She may have been perfectly honorable in selling him to you for a £1...of course, she may not have..but you just don't have any proof. I am afraid I am one of those who will see them through, field ornament or not, if there is something wrong with them. It is part of the responsibility of owning horses. Clearly it depends on whether he is in discomfort though when out and unridden. As someone else said, you could try advertising around as a companion - there are people who may want a companion for their horse but do not want to buy another, either for youngstock to have a friend, or a horse whose companion has passed away etc. It is worth trying first. I agree with you that he does not deserve to be sold around though, he hasn't done anything for that to happen to him.
 
My older horse was diagnosed with mild kissing spines several years ago now. He had the injections along his back and I was told he would prob need them again at some point. But he hasn't! That was almost 6 years ago. About 2 years ago he had a an MRI scan (for something different and unrelated) and they scanned his back at the same time to check on his kissing spines and I showed no hot spot / pain at all! So there is hope :)
 
It's definitely not the end of the world.

My boy was also diagnosed with mild KS about 4 years ago, after some slight apparent lameness which couldn't be diagnosed... The vets took about 8 months trying to figure out what was going on. Eventually after they couldn't find anything, the osteopath insisted they x-ray his spine, as he was so sore in the back and her treatments were failing to make much difference. Because of all the time off, the back muscles had slackened, which makes the condition worse.

Some back treatment (massage and manipulation) combined with getting him a bit fitter did the job and he has not needed an op or any other treatment.

It helps to lunge long and low in a pessoa or similar. Also lots of hill work, preferably in walk, again encouraging a long low outline.

Since then I have almost forgotten that he has this. He has evented, showjumped, is ridden every day in all ways and really doesn't show any sign of issues. I do get regular back checks to ensure he isn't getting tight, but he doesn't really have any more issues than a horse without the condition.

Do plenty of reading (there will be loads of threads on here about KS) and take the vet's advice. If all you want is to hack him, you may still be able to.

Best of luck. xx
 
Pearlsasinger said:
All is not lost, yet.
KS is a relatively recent condition - I don't remember any horses with it from my youth. .
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i totally agree with this. My vet said KS is still relatively rare but it is so often misdiagnosed.

My friends horse has mild kissing spines, he has the injection every 18 months or so and is fine. She competes successfully at showing and dressage. It need not be the end of the line for your boy.
 
My friend had her 21 year old ex eventer treated for mild KS with injections, apparently took 10 mins, she now has a new horse, took him out today with me XC first time for 5 years, shes absolutely thrilled she took the decision to have this done as the horse was back to his old self.
 
My vet said the injections would only last a few months, but i may as well have one done when he has the xray next week to make him comfortable, he has also given me a huge box of Dandilion to use when i need to.

Do you all recommend me getting him fitter before i ride again with lunging on a pessoa to build more top line ??
 
There are always a lot of people on here with positive experiences of KS. At least you're on the road to discovering what the problem is, an maybe solving it.

Try and keep positive and not get too upset yet.
 
It's a very difficult one - basically, when his back is sore, he is in pain. If you have to ride him while masking the pain, he cannot tell you how he really is. It's like masking lameness so you can ride - you could be making the problem much worse.

One day that medication may not be enough to mask that pain.

I would have a serious chat with this vet, as it is the horse's welfare, and your safety at stake here. I'm afraid that by taking this horse on he is now your responsibility, and you cannot go back to the old owner (that is why the £1 was exchanged). Although I would place a bet on the fact that she knew !

I'm sorry to sound harsh, but I would be thinking along the pts route in the not too distant future.
 
If he has got a really mild KS can I recommend the Equilibrium massage and magnetic back pad, acupuncture and superflex combined with a no bute product, such as Buteless or Alphabute which don't contain devils claw either :)

Edit- And working long and low lots, and for lunging I would recommend a chambon.
 
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You dont know anything for sure yet as he has had no X-rays done so try not to get yourself worked up til you know for sure, easier said than done I know.

If he does have kissing spines there are lots of treatments you can try. Read into it and find out as much info as you can and then having a better knowledge of it you and your vet can come up with a suitable plan of action together.

Dont give up hope just yet
 
To be honest you seem to be thinking worst case scenario a lot of the time here. The vet is only guessing at a diagnosis at the moment and, from what you say he doesn't react badly when he is 'sore' so i am not sure why you feel so negative about his prognosis? Does he get really lethargic or act miserable at the times he's sore? Does he go lame? In all honesty I bet there have been (and still are) hundreds of horses in work with "mild kissing spines" and the owners never know. If your horse can go on happily with maybe some physio every few months then I don't see the issue at all - do work to build up his muscles, invest in a massage pad as someone said (I love mine!).

Sure if he was really miserable or reacting violently or not wanting to move at all then yeah, you may need to reconsider his qualty of life but if he's content then there's no reason in my mind why he can't continue as he is. Horses, like humans get stiffer and older but they can deal with it. Personally i wouldn't drug them up on painkillers long term as I don't agree with it, not to mention it has an adverse effect on their liver etc.
 
You can't demand anything of his old owner.

I also wouldn't ride.

Don't make Amy hasty decisions. Give yourself some time to come to terms with what the vet has said and go from there.
 
brownie57 said:
My vet said the injections would only last a few months, but i may as well have one done when he has the xray next week to make him comfortable, he has also given me a huge box of Dandilion to use when i need to.

Do you all recommend me getting him fitter before i ride again with lunging on a pessoa to build more top line ??
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I am also posting on the other thread the injections plus Tildren where very effective on my old boy and lasted a long time.
Mine was very well muscled so did not need any muscle building I have listed on the other thread all the things I did that helped to keep him ticking along I also lead him from an other horse for three of his exercises a week he was worked six days a week. Honestly my horse was really happy and cheerful you may well be able to manage yours too I did have to spend money and time managing it but we had a lovely time together.
 
brownie57 said:
Thank you Goldenstar, what is Tildren ?
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It's a powerful and expensive drug that as far as i can remember what I was told attacks bone cells that growing in an abnormal way ( as in arthritis) it worked really well with my boy he had the injection into his back of steriod and other stuff and Tildren dripped into his blood they have to stay the vets for a few hours after the Tildren I repeated the Tildren six weeks later as my vet told me that seems to give the longest benefit it worked so well I never had any more injections but did all the bits I mentained in my other posts he hunted only short days those always back to the trailer by two pm and I gave him a Danilon the night after never before.it was expensive but the time we had after that was worth every penny.
Honestly this may be manageable in your horse to .
 
Just wondered if there was any update.... I have a feeling there is something not quite right with my horse even though the vet has said otherwise so am following this with interest. I'm really sorry it was bad news, but it sounds like there may be options for you.
 
Hi everyone, just to let you all know, he is being xrayed today, he has seen the back lady again, who said he was sore in his back, but not that bad, she said she treats some horses who are much much worse than him.

I will update the post tomorrow to let you know what is found.

If it is bad, does anyone know of any places i could retire him ??????? The yard i am at will be no good as the grazing is abit rubbish. He is extremely easy to look after and handle, i would like to find him a lovely home to go to.
 
brownie57 said:
If it is bad, does anyone know of any places i could retire him ??????? The yard i am at will be no good as the grazing is abit rubbish. He is extremely easy to look after and handle, i would like to find him a lovely home to go to.
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There are retirement yards, but obviously they cost.

Presumably you're able to supplement his grazing now, so would imagine you'd be able to do that just as well if you retired him at home with you.
 
The yard i am at has not got good grazing , so is fine for horses that are in work and are ridden every day, but no good for a horse who is retired, during the winter they are on every other day turnout, so he would spend alot of time just standing in his stable, which to me is no life for him.

I want to find him a lovely place to retire, perhaps someone on here has land and horses at home, who would take him on, i would obviously pay for him, but i want to find him the right place to spend the rest of his life
 
What part of the country are you in - someone may be able to recommend a better yard for you to retire him too - or an actual retirement yard.
 
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