Would you buy a horse that had kissing spine surgery? What questions would you ask?
No. I wouldnât consider the horse at all.
However, questions I would ask are: Who did the surgery. How long ago. What rehab protocol was followed. Where is the horse now in terms of performance & maintenance. I would like my vet team to review the surgical records, all the vet records in fact. Iâd like to see the âbeforeâ rads of the spine also.
I would not consider the horse unless it was free/very very very cheap. IME it is rare that KS is the âonlyâ thing the horse has going on, once it gets symptomatic enough to consider surgery.
I wouldnât. KS surgery is still relatively new and even if the horse comes back 100% after it there might be problems down the line. Also maintenance will definitely be required. My horse has had KS surgery (which failed) so I have been in the Kissing Spine facebook group for a few years and its not uncommon for issues to pop back up a few years post surgery.
Thank you all for the feedback.
The horse isnât super cheap, it also isnât very old, so I was surprised that they already did the surgery.
I will take the advice given and pass on the horse.