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Kissing Spines in Horses
Seek veterinary advice if you suspect this disease.
Kissing spines is a skeletal abnormality which describes a condition in which two or more of the spinous processes are positioned in a way that they touch or rub against each other. Kissing Spines can lead to back pain, arthritic changes, bone cysts and other problems.
Symptoms of Kissing Spines in Horses
- Cross-Firing
- Bucking under saddle
- Poor Performance
- Lame
- Abnormal Gait Changes
- Problem maintaining canter
- No rounding back
- Wasting muscles
- Irritation upon girth tightening
- Sore back
Common in
- Quarter Horses
- Thoroughbreds
- Warmbloods
Treatment of Kissing Spines in Horses
Depending on the severity, treatment of Kissing Spines varies. For horses with only mild malformation, correct, gymnastic exercise may be sufficient. Changing, refitting and regularly controlling saddles is also helpful.
In more severe cases, treatment may consist of surgery, shock wave therapy, other non-invasive techniques and injections of corticosteroids to reduce inflammation. Treatment can relieve some of the pain and stiffness, making the majority of horses more comfortable. Horses that respond well may be able to be ridden normally again.
Prevention of Kissing Spines in Horses
Kissing Spines can not only be caused by genetic predispositions but also by improper conditioning, poor posture, conformation issues and training under saddle at a very young age. Therefore to prevent Kissing Spines from developing, it is important to train the horse with fitting equipment in a health-preserving and balanced way.
How Happie can help you manage your horse's health
Digital health management offers numerous benefits in modern equine healthcare.
With the Happie Horse App, you can track symptom patterns and body values, such as Temperature, Pulse and Respiration. Allowing you to notice abnormal changes in body and behaviour early on, leading to more successful treatments.
The Happie symptom checker allows you to add all of your horse’s abnormal symptoms in order to present potential causes and diseases.
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