Thoroughbreds appear to have more cases of kissing spines
way of going/performance. Changes
in performance may include frequently
stopping at jumps when previously rarely
stopped, difficulty with lateral work, hill
work or transitions when previously
had no problems, very tense, blocked
through the reins, hollow, poor gait
quality (decreased stride length, lack of
hind end impulsion in particular), not
able to work on the bit and engage the
core, bucking and other such behaviour
when previously had no issues. Some
of the symptoms are not directly related
to the spinal issue itself but due to the
compensatory problems it creates. For
example, the pain from the KS causes the
horse to use itself differently to relieve
it, which in turn changes the way the
horse moves and uses its limbs. This
causes muscle and joint dysfunction
in these limbs (leading to lameness),
which then changes the way the hoof
hits ground causing it to wear differently,
which then transcends back up the leg,
again affecting the joints and soft tissue
and causing further lameness and the
horse to have to alter its back posture
even more. This ends up in a viscous
cycle of compensatory mechanisms
making it very difficult to decipher what
exactly is causing the lameness; limb/
hoof dysfunction or spinal dysfunction.
A full body thermal image can be very
useful in these situations to give an idea
of where to start investigating first.
Causes and Which Horses are
at Risk
So what causes kissing spines and which
horses are most at risk? Conformation
plays a big part in the likelihood of a
horse developing KS. Even through
years of evolution, the horses back is
still not 'designed' to carry a person,
so just the fact that we sit on them,
especially for certain conformations,
will be enough to bring the overcrowded
processes to touch. However, breed, job
and anything causing other spinal issues
such as ill fitting saddles, poor riding,
lack of correct training all come into play
when looking at the chances of a horse
developing KS.
BREED – Thoroughbreds appear to
have more cases of kissing spines than
any other breed, but his could be as
they have higher earning potential
more investigations are done into poor
performance than other breeds, therefore
more are found. Or it maybe certain
conformational traits of the TB make
the development of KS more likely. It
has also been found to be common in
Quarter horses and Warmbloods.
JOB – race horses and dressage horses
appear to have greater numbers of KS
diagnosed. But again we have to ask
is this simply because these equestrian
sports have high earning potential, so
poor performance is more likely to be
investigated and therefore KS found. Or
is there something associated with the
actual movements the spine and limbs
go through performing these sports that
are a risk factor for 'causing' KS. One
thought for dressage horses is that the
November 2015 • Issue 26 • Everything Horse Magazine
riders are more in tune with the feel,
so when the slightest thing is not quite
right they begin investigations into poor
performance. It is estimated that up
to 70% of all horses suffer from some
degree of KS, but further research is
needed.
ILL FITTING TACK AND OTHER
BACK / MUSCLE PROBLEMS – in the
muscles, not just in the back but in any
muscle that has its origin or insertion on
a vertebra via attachment to a tendon, if
there is any dysfunction, such as tension,
soreness, pain, injury, spasm, etc. this
can pull the vertebra out of alignment,
pull the DSP's closer together, and in
some places cause them to touch. As
ill fitting tack, particularly saddles, can
contribute to problems in these muscles,
it can indirectly cause KS, or directly
cause it by a very low saddle rubbing on
the DSP's activating bone growth and
fusion of the DSP's.
POOR RIDING/LACK OF CORRECT
TRAINING – a major cause of KS is
due to a weakness in the multifidus
muscular system of the horse otherwise
known as 'the core'. If you imaging the
horses fore and hind legs as two blocks
of wood and we place a thin plank of
wood to connect the two; this being the
horses back. Gravity takes a hold and
wants to drag the centre of it down to
earth so after not very long the plank
will begin to look bowed. Eventually,
with out reinforcement from underneath
the plank will sag in the middle more
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