Lill
Well-Known Member
What are the symptoms of kissing spines?
- Thread starter Lill
- Start date
Birker2020
Well-Known Member
Reluctance to saddle, especially girthiness due to pain around this area caused by KS. Disunnited canter, or disunnited on one rein on a cirle, bucking, rearing, bolting, napping, not standing still by mounting block. KS is nearly always present when a horse also has had hind leg problems, ie tendon and ligament damage. This is due to the horse moving differently to try and eliminate the pain from the hind legs and therefore overcompensating in the back. Eventually by holding the back in a certain way the spinous processes will be touching. That's why working long and low with a horse with KS is often seen as part of a treatment package to help stretch the back and therefore make the gap between the spinous processes larger to reduce the pain.
My horse has bone spavin and then all of a sudden he started getting KS symptoms. I was horrified as my friends horse had been diagnosed with it and had to be retired to the blood bank due to the severity of his. I got the chiro out and had his saddle checked and since he's been in a properly fitting saddle (I honestly thought the other one was ok) he hasn't (touch wood) looked back.
I guess the morale of the story, if you think your horse has KS symptoms there are hundreds of other things it could be first, so try not to panic and get chiro, vet and saddle fitter all involved so you can check out the obvious things first before going down the KS route. Good luck. x
My horse has bone spavin and then all of a sudden he started getting KS symptoms. I was horrified as my friends horse had been diagnosed with it and had to be retired to the blood bank due to the severity of his. I got the chiro out and had his saddle checked and since he's been in a properly fitting saddle (I honestly thought the other one was ok) he hasn't (touch wood) looked back.
I guess the morale of the story, if you think your horse has KS symptoms there are hundreds of other things it could be first, so try not to panic and get chiro, vet and saddle fitter all involved so you can check out the obvious things first before going down the KS route. Good luck. x
Lill
Well-Known Member
Thanks, only symptom Blue is showing is a strange canter.... have had physio check his back and his teeth checked. Am going to try him in a different saddle for a few days as there are unexplained white hairs appearing on his back behind where current saddle goes and he doesn't wear a rug at the moment so not sure what that is....
Next thing i guess would be chiropractor and saddle fitter? Then vet?
Next thing i guess would be chiropractor and saddle fitter? Then vet?
Birker2020
Well-Known Member
When you say strange canter do you mean one that throws you up and out of the saddle like a disunnited canter only much, much stronger? Is the horse quite strong through the neck by any chance? Does he ever have coordination problems? Just wondering about something.....
Lill
Well-Known Member
Well strange like, he's always had a bit of a funny canter, like no clear moment of suspension, though the past couple of months he's been much worse, doesn't want to take a contact in canter, wants to hollow out all the time in canter....
He's felt a little better since having the physio and his teeth done but he's still not how he used to be. I can only pinpoint when he became like this as after i did a lot of leg yielding in canter?
What do you mean coordination problems?
He still jumps fine and loves his jumping so am baffled really!
He's felt a little better since having the physio and his teeth done but he's still not how he used to be. I can only pinpoint when he became like this as after i did a lot of leg yielding in canter?
What do you mean coordination problems?
He still jumps fine and loves his jumping so am baffled really!
HollyP
Well-Known Member
i did the usual, dentist, new saddle, chiro and vet....vet wanted to mess around stabbing away with steriods so to eliminate it being a back problem i ask him to xray her back, hoping ofcourse it was nothing....but 7 v's touching later shes had the op and is on the mend! so much drama!