Share This Post:

“What would you do if your horse was limping, colicking, or spooking—and no one could tell you why?”

That question lit a fire in April Love that would grow into a global mission: helping horse owners uncover the root causes of mystery lameness, behavioral issues, and chronic pain that traditional methods often miss.

Recently, April joined Kimberley on The Backyard Horse Enthusiast podcast to share her journey, from early passion and endurance riding to developing the revolutionary bodywork system that is now Holistic Horseworks.

From Endurance Rider to Equine Healer

April’s journey began like many others: a childhood love of horses, followed by a return in adulthood. But her story took a unique turn when she encountered recurring lameness issues during 50-mile endurance rides. Vets couldn’t pinpoint the cause. Adjustments wouldn’t hold. Treatments failed to last.

So April started asking deeper questions:

• Why does my horse keep getting pulled for mysterious lameness?

• What’s causing the hooves to grow unevenly?

• How can I fix this without relying solely on expensive treatments?

She began studying with healers and bodyworkers, combining everything she learned into a whole-horse system. The real teacher? Her little Arabian gelding, Tiki.

The Truth About First Ribs, Cranial Bones, and High-Low Hooves

April discovered that most horses are struggling with undiagnosed structural imbalances that develop as early as foalhood—long before they show symptoms. Things like:

• Misaligned first ribs affecting shoulder movement and hoof growth

• Compressed cranial bones from pulling back while tied, leading to metabolic issues like Cushing’s and Uveitis

• Unbalanced hind-end loading that contributes to tendon and suspensory injuries

These aren’t rare problems. They’re common—and fixable.

Empowering Horse Owners Through Education

What makes April’s approach unique is that she teaches horse owners how to become their horse’s best healer. Through hands-on clinics, online home study courses, and a growing archive of over 200 YouTube videos and bite-sized podcasts, April shares techniques that work—because they’re based on real results over decades of experience.

From resolving Uveitis without surgery, to transforming behavioral “problem horses” into calm companions, April’s stories are more than anecdotes—they’re evidence of what’s possible when we support the body’s ability to heal itself.

And the best part? You don’t need to be a vet, trainer, or therapist. You just need the right tools, a little guidance—and a deep love for your horse.

Learn more by watching April Love’s interview with Kimbery Ley on The Backyard Horse Enthusiast.

Ready to Start Helping Your Horse?

Start with April’s foundational training, Equine Musculoskeletal Unwinding, available to learn online with live 1:1 support. This step-by-step course teaches you how to release deep patterns of imbalance and pain—so your horse can move, feel, and live better.

Whether your horse is showing signs of discomfort or you simply want to deepen your connection and care, this program puts powerful tools in your hands.

Includes video lessons, downloadable workbooks, and a personalized distance reading from April herself.

Rather learn in-person? Check out our hands-on equine remedial therapy clinics, available all over the globe →

More Holistic Horse Care Education

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Share This Post:

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

What is Kissing Spine in Horses?

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!

Symptoms of Kissing Spine

The symptoms of kissing spine can vary, but some common signs to watch for include:

•  Back pain
•  Bucking
•  Attitude when being saddled, ridden, or touching the horse’s back
•  Nipping at the hind end or butt rubbing
•  Unable to engage from the hind end
•  Unable to collect
•  Heavy on the fore
•  Bunny hopping at the canter
•  Postural chances, most notably a “bump” on the spine

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

But why Are These Vertebrae Rubbing Together?

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.

Managing Kissing Spine

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:

• Daily horse yoga stretches
• Using applied kinesiology to determine effective approaches and treatments
• Releasing trapped emotions that manifest as physical problems
• Equine Musculoskeletal Unwinding
• Working with ting points to rebalance the meridians
• Cranio-Sacral work to restore cerebrospinal fluid flow
• Hot oil spine treatment

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!

Ready to Start Helping Your Horse?

Start with April’s foundational training, Equine Musculoskeletal Unwinding, available to learn online with live 1:1 support.

This step-by-step course teaches you how to release deep patterns of imbalance and pain—so your horse can move, feel, and live better.

Includes video lessons, downloadable workbooks, and a personalized distance reading from April herself.

Rather learn in-person?
Check out our hands-on equine remedial therapy clinics, available all over the globe →

More Holistic Horse Care Education

Sign Up for Our Newsletter