What’s in a kiss?
If treated correctly, kissing spines needn’t spell the end of a horse’s ridden career, as vet David Rutherford explains
Photos: Bob Atkins, Jon Stroud, Rolf Dannenberg/shutterstock.com. Photos posed by models.
“A horse can make a full recovery, working just as well as before”
Our expert
David J Rutherford BVM&S Cert ES(Orth) Dip ECVS AFHEA MRCVS is Clinical Associate Professor in equine orthopaedics and imaging at the University of Nottingham School of Veterinary Medicine and Science.
Kissing spines is a relatively common condition, but its severity varies between individuals and, while some horses clearly indicate they’re in considerable pain, others may show no symptoms at all.
If your horse is diagnosed with kissing spines, it can be easy to assume his ridden career is over, but, fortunately, that needn’t be the case. Modern treatments are available and they’re effective, so much so that a horse can make a full recovery, working just as well as he did before.
DID YOU KNOW?
Kissing spines is more common in larger breeds, particularly Thoroughbreds, and is rare in ponies.
A progressive condition
The condition occurs when the upward projecting parts of the vertebrae, the dorsal spinous processes (DSPs), become too close together and start to grate on each other, resulting in pain. The cause isn’t fully understood, but it is, at least in part, a genetic condition passed down within breeding lines. However, the amount and type of work a horse is asked to do over his lifetime may also be a factor.