Can you describe any situation that would make you want to buy a horse showing KS on rads but no back pain?
If it was currently competing and doing well at the level to which I aspired and the price was right I wouldn’t run away. I think if you disclose everything and let your vet talk to my vet so I know what I’m dealing with and can continue to keep the horse happy it wouldn’t be a deal breaker. That is if I planned on keeping the horse and not reselling it. For a resale project the answer would be different.
If you can do a trial to see if you can keep it pain free. Also, if you’re buying the horse for very light work. Also if it’s one of the “milder” cases. KS isn’t a death sentence by any means and I’ve even heard some vets want those horses to stay in light work to build up muscles in their back.
Agree with @lcw579 . Only if the horse was already in the desired level of work without issue and I would be able to replicate the existing management. Not for resale.
And, honestly, having just come home from grooming my KS mare who I retired at age 15… Probably nothing will compel me to knowingly purchase another. Logically I know that’s irrational, but we all have our dealbreakers.
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Just did it. Horse is for me and not a resell project. I know the breeder personally and know she is 100% honest. I had full access to all vet and chiropractor records and there was no history of back pain or performance issues of any kind. Horse had been in consistent work for 18 months at a level equal to, and higher than, I need/want. I did extensive research into the scientific evidence regarding the incidence of KS in horses without any back issues or pain (40-50%), treatments if it does become a problem (and I live in an area with excellent vet resources), scientific evidence regarding causes of KS (one of which applied to this horse) and how to minimize the risk of it becoming a problem, and I negotiated the price down to account for the higher risk. I also couldn’t find another horse I liked even half as much for the amount of money I had to spend.
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Horse is not for resale but is a higher level eventing prospect. Hasn’t been in full work for a couple years…
That’s the problem, IMO. Horse hasn’t been in full work for a couple of years, you say. I’d sure as heck want to consult with a vet about this. If it were me, I’d pass.
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Do you know why the horse hasn’t been in full work for 2 years? Are there behavioral issues that could be caused by back pain? How does the horse move on it’s own - does it use itself well/properly? Or is it stiff and/or tight in the back? Is he being ridden at all right now? Do you absolutely love the horse enough that you think it is worth the risk that it will need some kind of treatment and/or surgery with associated rehab to reach/maintain its performance potential?
Well, 38 out of 38 owners so far of horses with kissing spines I’ve found on a FB forum for kissing spines say “run don’t walk” away from this.
I’ve read papers saying not all radiographic evidence of KS leads to back pain, but apparently when it does you can expect lengthy, expensive and not always successful attempts to treat it according to people who have lived through the experience. You won’t be able to insure the back, and if the horse starts to need a lot of treatment competition is obviously out.
This gelding does show behaviors that could be attributed to KS. There are reasonable explanations for why he wasn’t in heavy work though.
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I saw your post and the responses on that FB group. I’ve spent a lot of time on that group and there is definitely some significant differences in how KS is viewed on different sides of the Atlantic Ocean and some significant biases in many posters. However, despite the fact that I just purchased a horse with KS on radiographs(!), my $0.02 worth is that the FB group consensus is probably the right one in this case if the horse is possibly already showing symptoms and you want to go to a level above where he’s at (and I assume higher than he has ever been doing).
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The unpleasant truth is that not everyone can spot pain in a horse. I would not take the claims of “no history of backpain” in a horse with KS findings on radiograph at face value.
Dealing with KS in my own horse and client horses has opened my eyes to the fact that absent limping, many people – including professionals (!!!) – have no idea how to spot a lame horse if a head-bob isn’t involved. Sometimes, even vets.
There are so many symptoms of KS that do not involve limping on a leg. I have read the same studies you mentioned, including one that interestingly, documented that even the horses with “zero symptoms of KS besides radiographic findings” benefited from therapies like shockwave…
Symptoms outside of a limping leg or sore back -
- bilateral lameness
- difficulty lunging
- tight facial expression
- reduced performance
- toe drag
- cold backed / slow to warm up
- walks or bolts off from mounting block (including: difficulty mounting)
- tosses head while saddle is put on
- girthy
- stress breathes during tack up
- tries to move while saddled
- difficulty going up/downhill
- teeth grinding
- bucking
- bolting
- significantly worse in cold weather
- neck stiffness
- difficulty cantering
- “SI issues”
- PSD issues
- stifle slipping
- cross firing
Symptoms around the stable:
- standing with hocks close together
- standing with hind hooves under or past the stifle
- muscle asymmetry in pelvis
- lack of topline
- poor condition even when fed quality food/worked
- difficulty keeping condition
- tight to move after prolonged periods of stalling
- dislike of grooming
- fussy about blankets or things going on their back
- protective of back when it comes to fly sprays or ointments applied
- lack of clear cross-over of hinds on TOF
- changes in body posture, including dropped spine, “peaked croup”, and hind limbs appearing straight
When it comes to jumping:
- difficulty with drops
- flat out refusal of water
- stopping at fences on inclines
- hollow/tight, lack of bascule
- strong/rushing the fence
- bolting after the fence
All of that to say, that I would walk away from a horse who was out of work, with KS.
Did you see the study about horse owners not being able to tell a horse is lame? Very telling.
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I completely agree with Beowulf that many people, including professionals, cannot recognize lameness unless the horse is head bobbing lame and are not familiar with the more subtle signs of pain in horses (many of whom are masters at hiding pain).
I think one of the most challenging things about KS and the proper attribution of pain symptoms (once recognized) is that the exact same symptoms may be caused by multiple issues other than KS. For example, one of my horses exhibits nearly 50% of the symptoms you listed (17/40) and she does not have KS (which frankly shocked me as I was completely convinced she did!). Her back x-rays were literally beautiful with tons of space between vertebrae and no signs of remodeling or arthritis in the back or neck. Her issues were isolated to the SI joints/pelvis and mostly like due to an old injury of some kind.
In summary (since I recognize this post as a tangent to the original thread)…I wish horses could talk! 
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That is the rub! BUT – it’s my experience most KS horses seem to also have SI and/or suspensory soreness, which is why they share symptoms across the board. It can be very tricky, especially since no one symptom is unique to KS versus another issue (example: bolting could be for anything pain related).
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It would be super interesting to know (although I can’t think of a practical way of studying it) which came first - the hock/suspensory/SI issues or the KS in those horses that have both. There was some research done that suggested KS can be caused by compensation for front limb lameness, which is very interesting. The sample size was, unsurprisingly, small but I still thought it was an interesting theory that made some sense.
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It would be, I would love to see that studied. It definitely prompts a chicken/egg question.
Just off of experience, I think that PSD is a common secondary issue from KS. I’ve known a few horses now that were DDX’d with KS early on in their careers, and had PSD DDX come much later.
PSD is also a common secondary issue from poor angles in the hoof - so not always back related… But, KS sure seems to be exacerbated by bad angles up front or behind - to the point where they’re (g) rideable with good farriery and unrideable without.
My KS horse was definitely much more sore over his back while we were dealing with some compensation up front from subclinical laminitis - his soles were really thin on x-ray. Pads & shoes and most of his KS symptoms went away.
In any event I think for the most part, if your horse (general) has KS, you won’t just be dealing with soreness in the area where the processes are intersecting and/or remodeled. Usually the pain seems to travel or localize to a specific area – the area that is compensating. Usually that’s SI or suspensories.
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Really interesting about the possible correlation to front limb lameness…my 15 year old TB was diagnosed with fairly severe kissing spines and also has pedal osteitis. I really don’t feel like we deal with kissing spines issues as much as feet trouble with him as the main key to maintenance for him seems to be proper footing. His back gets sore in the summer - when, you guessed it - the footing tends to be hardest. Before I even can see the soreness, I notice his overall reactiveness goes up.
He also currently wins in the 2’6"-3’ hunters so if he was for sale - I would be surprised if I had a hard time selling him specifically due to the kissing spines diagnosis. His sale price would definitely reflect that he needs maintenance but I think that is generally to be expected for a 15 year old packer.
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