Equine Retirements, Long Term Injuries and Departures

The New One - probably out for a while. "Kissing Spine" is the latest problem.

What are kissing spines?

A horse with this condition feels consistent, low-grade pain because the spinous processes, or sections of bone attached to the vertebrae, are too close together and impinge on each other.

Diagnosing kissing spines

“Kissing spines often has very subtle symptoms,” says Dr Kold. “We watch the horse being schooled and look at everything, including the horse’s demeanour, limbs, posture, whether he is accepting the bit, whether he unlocked in his back, and even the expression on his face.

“The trot is often okay, but the horse invariably struggles to maintain a three-beat canter and frequently gets disunited. He may also get irritable when the girth is done up or when you groom his back.”

As well as X-rays and ultra-sonograms, another method of diagnosis is to inject a local anaesthetic between the spinal processes — basically a nerve block — and ask the rider to school the horse and see if it feels different.

What type of horses are affected?

It is predominantly dressage, event and other competition horses who are referred for treatment. This could be because it is more noticeable in performance horses due to the physical demands on them, while in horses just used for hacking and low-level work, the problem may go unnoticed.

Alternatively, it may be that performance horses are more prone to the condition, due to the physical demands placed on them.

Treatment for kissing spines

Surgery is used to rectify the problem. “The operation was developed in the 1980s,” Dr Kold says, “but I have recently modified my technique which, in this case, consists of making two incisions about 8cms long in the back.




“After the incision we cut through the supraspinous ligament. Once all muscular and ligamentous attachments are severed down either side, we cut off around half the spinal processes, removing about three inches of bone. Next, the ligaments and skin are sutured. After the procedure, a void is left, as the bone doesn’t re-grow and a blood clot forms, followed by fibrous tissue.”

Read more at http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/hors...ning-kissing-spines-58084#rUqiOEqwBhRl6uI2.99
 
Isn't that what treve had/has? Strange about TNO cause people have been saying for a while that he looked to have some sort of physical problem...why has it taken so long for the trainer to think so too?
 
Beat me to it moehat. That is what Treve had. The trainer said she had her back. Shame I didn't listen to her.
 
Same here. We've booked our weekend in Paris hoping that she does, in fact, make history this year.
 
Tiptoeaway collapsed and died in the paddock after winning his race at Kelso on Saturday. Had been with the Easterbys since his bumper days so must be sorely missed by the stable staff. Another loss for Mr Hemmings. Thankfully we were at another part of the track, but many racegoers were terribly upset by it. RIP Tiptoeaway. I hope all your friends back at the stable are enjoying the bag of carrots that you won.
 
Well fingers crossed moehat. My one wish for the flat season will be for Treve to win her 3rd Arc. If she can smash them again in the process then even better.
 
Shame about TH as he'd been a fine horse for connections.

That's Rhythm was injured on the gallops yesterday - hopeful of a full recovery but highly unlikely he'll be racing again given his age.

Martin
 
Real shame about Balder Succes.

Good to see Oscar Time retired in one piece though, hope he has a long and happy one.
 
Philip Hobbs reports "Balthazar King is making slow but good progress and being lead out for a pick of grass now. He will be featuring on Channel 4's Morning line on Saturday morning to keep everyone updated. Thank you once again for all the kind messages of support."
 
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