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Kissing spine sounds terrible and it can end your horse’s career by causing bucking or bolting under saddle which can be extremely dangerous to the rider.
You may ask is it a genetic defect? The answer is no. It is caused by the muscles being too tight along the topline of the horse from over compensations thus pulling the bones too close together which can fracture pieces off and also pinch nerves.
You ask what starts this? Every horse I have ever worked on— and this includes globally where I travel teaching— had one thing in common: both first ribs were misaligned, not allowing the shoulders to move freely and correctly.
The compensation of all this over-tightens the muscles pulling the bone, we have all had a muscle spasm deep in our back and you know how that can feel. I feel if we check our horses often from an early age all this can be prevented as we teach you how to release the first ribs in Level 1: Equine Musculoskeletal Unwinding, thus preventing the compensating effect.
Have you ever had or know of someone with a compressed disc in the lumbar area or neck area? Do you realize just how painful all this can be when trying to do athletic work under a saddle and carrying a rider’s weight
When the vertebrae’s bony parts, called the “spinous process,” are too close together, they rub against each other, causing friction and heat. This leads to calcium buildup, resulting in calcification that can almost fuse the vertebrae in some areas. The irritation a horse experiences from kissing spine would be similar to you having a back spasm or herniated disc!
The symptoms of kissing spine can vary, but some common signs to watch for include:
While only a veterinarian can provide an official diagnosis, you may notice these signs in your horse. Diagnosing kissing spine typically involves a clinical examination and imaging techniques like X-rays, ultrasound, or nerve blocks
To understand this, we need to look beyond the symptoms. Often, the root cause lies in the horse’s inability to move freely with its front legs and shoulders, often due to misalignment of one or both of the first ribs.
Over time, this restriction causes the horse to compensate by improperly using its lower back, pelvis, and hind limbs. This compensation tightens the psoas muscle, shortening the area around the lumbar spine and causing the vertebrae to rub together.
As the condition progresses, the pelvis can become unbalanced, restricting the movement of the sacrum. This imbalance can lead to symptoms like nipping at the hind end or rubbing it repeatedly. The horse’s body tries to compensate by tightening the hind-end muscles, leading to tension in the stifles, hocks, and lower leg tendons, which can cause additional issues like stiffness and soreness.
What has worked very well for my clients is to get my basic bodywork protocol from either the hands-on class or my home study programand weekly make sure to check the 1st rib alignment.
Once this is staying in place and the shoulders can move freely then we add in my daily yoga for horses before and after riding. When done daily it can be as little as just 4 minutes a day. Many happy clients have reported back that new x-rays 3 months later the vet reported it showed no signs of kissing spine being present.
At Holistic Horseworks, we offer a holistic whole-body approach to horse care. By addressing the entire horse rather than just the affected area, our hands-on bodywork techniques have shown dramatic improvements in horses with kissing spine. These techniques include:
Join our hands-on horse bodywork clinics or online home study courses to learn these skills and more! You can help your horse alleviate pain to regain vitality, and dynamic performance, transforming them into a happy, healthy, and willing equine partner!
Remember, the best thing you can do is to try. The worst thing you can do is nothing!
Horse 101: Everything You Wish You Had Known Before You Got Your First Horse
DISCLAIMER: This is not intended to be a substitute for professional veterinarian advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your veterinarian with any questions you may have regarding the medical condition of your pet, and always consult them in the case of an emergency.
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