Hello! I’ve got a client that has a 6 year old warmblood that has he some back soreness since May… she’s been trying extremely hard to find a dressage saddle that fits him & that he likes. (He’s short backed, but very wise & seems to like a lot of room in wither area- hoop tree his fav at moment…) any how- she’s working to get perfect saddle… in meantime horse continued to be sore so she finally had vet do xrays (he was done at 2 1/2 years old and all was good…) he does NOT have kissing spine!! However vet felt he was a bit ‘tight’.
he prescribed mesotherapy & robaxin as well as physical therapy - carrot stretches to hip & hock, and stomach crunch… I know there are more stretches out there- what would you all recommend. as well as how often I how many stretches (like 1 time each side of multiple…). Vet also said to try to lunge or long line 2 days a week…
what else can we do? This is a super horse & super attitude- if he didn’t palpate sore we wouldn’t have when known! She wasn’t to do anything possible
to stop progression & help him. Since May he has also been getting chiro work done 1 time a month! He is almost in 24-7 turn out with shelter, gets worked 6 days a week, and also had radiographs of angle of hoof that were slightly off & will get re done this week…
thank you so Much!!!
I’ll share what the vet recommended for my KS horse before and after surgery.
Carrot stretches - make sure you do them properly. The horse should be standing square. We did between the front legs and down to either side (past the front fetlocks under the girth line). The goal is to engage the abdominals and raise the back. You should be able to see the lift during the stretch. Don’t allow the horse to swing around and snatch the treat and turn back. You want them to hold the stretch - at first that may be only a few seconds but you should be able to build up from there.
Abdominal tucks/belly lifts - similar goal in getting the horse to hold the lift. Some horses respond better to the pressure points along the point of the buttocks than running your hand along the belly.
Backing - back slow and straight the length of the barn aisle. Don’t force the horse’s head but aim to slowly have them bring their nose to their chest while backing. This can be harder than it sounds.
I could tell when I was doing stretches correctly because my gelding would drop. YMMV.
My vet also recommended work on the longe line, but only if done correctly with the horse using its back. You can use a pessoa or other training aids to help. Adding poles or low cavaletti can help if the horse works correctly on the longe.
I just did a one month program of dynamic stretching under supervision with my horse. We will continue long term on our own.
Before and after every ride:
Get them standing square
Nose to chest
Nose to Knee
Nose to fetlock (front)
Nose to girth (each side)
Nose to stifle (each side)
Nose to hock (each side)
Sternum lift (use fingers or hoof pick at the sternum and slowly drag lateral)
Bum tuck (stand behind and follow the “poverty line” to get them to tuck their bum).
Once they’ve mastered those you can get a little more advanced by combining the lifts with the lateral movements to help engage their obliques.
I usually do each lateral exercise twice before my ride, asking to hold a little longer each time. And once after our ride.
The lifts I do 3-5 times, slowly.
Backing up, and raised poles are good as well.
All of these exercises are about teaching the horse to engage their core and increasing their body awareness. It’s normal for them to find it easier one way, if it’s extreme than it may be worth looking into it though.
My gelding also drops during his stretches.
I would not put the horse under saddle. Just keep doing stretches and ground exercises for months to build the horse up. I knew a driving horse with a similar issue. That was why he became a driving horse, his back was too sore otherwise.
Given this could result in lifelong issues, i would give as many months off as needed and work on rehabilitation. 1 year without riding is nothing compared to a lifetime of retirement.
In addition to these suggestions, which are great-
I just ordered an Equiband for my newly diagnosed KS horse. I do not own any other “gadget” or have ever been inclined to this type of thing. But my (highly respected on an international level) vet recommended it so I’m giving it a try!
This is a product that I’ve been considering for awhile, the price tag is what’s holding me back.
I’ve made a cheap version by tying a long resistance band to the surcingle, and I have friends that have done variations with Ace bandages, but it isn’t quite the same engagement.
I’ve got an 11yo, a 3yo, and my mom has a 17yo. The 3yo needs miles and training, but the other two could definitely benefit from a strength training day that doesn’t tax their joints or their brain the same way a 30+ minute ride would.
Please report back! Or send me a PM 
The book Activating Your Horse’s Core would be excellent
From your posts, it sounds like this horse has a lot of things working against his comfort – he’s got a poorly fitted saddle and some poor feet angles – so it stands to reason he is uncomfortable.
So, the recent x-rays confirmed there was no KS? So why “pre-kissing spine”?
All the stretches and activities in the world will not replace what 24/7 turnout does to horses. Get him on actual 24/7 turnout if you can. Any amount of stalled time is never good for a KS horse.
KS is tricky, and you (g) have to be careful – because once the horse shows symptoms of discomfort, a lot of other structures are already involved… like stifles and suspensories… PSD is very common in horses that have KS… It’s really best to totally avoid a stalling environment if you can, because suspensories are another thing that do better with the “soft” conditioning 24/7 turnout provides.
KS is is very sensitive to how balanced the feet are. If his angles are poor as you mentioned, that may be the root of the issue. If a horse palpitates sore over his back, my first suspicion is hooves, then saddle fit, then back.
It’s my observation people drill too much in the arena with their horses, using gadgets that are not actually helpful for the horse - including for KS horses. I did not lunge my KS horse during his rehab process, as I thought it made him more sore. YMMV. I hit the trails with him for months before returning him to ring work.
You can set up walk poles, which are also very helpful for conditioning the horse’s back. I keep 6-8 in a row at all times in my ring. Any time we have a walk break they are going over them.
I did do carrot stretches (to shoulder, to flank, to hip 3x on each side, abdominal tucks + tongue stretch) for several months, but stopped doing because I wasn’t seeing an appreciable difference. It might help a horse who is not out 24/7, but it didn’t make a huge difference for my horse. I do still do stretches to the flank when I get on; I keep ginger snaps in my pocket and have my guy stretch to his flank on both sides 2X before walking off.
My KS horse works harder now than he did pre-diagnosis. What has kept him happy and comfortable in work was firing his last farrier who let his toes get too long and sole too thin, keeping dressage work light and sweet (20-30m 2x a week), and hitting the trails for the rest of the week. On weekends we do XC + hunter paces. His dressage is better than ever, he is solidly 1st level, strong and engaged over his back. I was worried that his dressage would decline without working on it 3+ times a week, but I am finding the opposite – he is happy and comes to each ride better than the ride before.
Of course, this might not be a tenable schedule for a horse schooling PSG… But it works for my horse.
My horse was back sore and it was the front feet. Negative angles. Fixed the angles and he is going great, no back soreness. This horse, also like yours, likes a wide tree, a bit wider than he measures. He goes well in an albion. Hope you can find a good saddle fit as that can make them back sore too.
My vets think that the front bending stretches are the best ones. Trick is to make sure they keep the legs straight. You might have to work on range of motion. This is the best way to activate the multifidus muscles. Backing, poles, Equicore, and any other core strengthening exercise will help. If the mesotherapy doesn’t help, you might need to inject between the processes once in conjunction with the rest and of course a new saddle (saddle shopping sucks!).
Friend’s horse had a similar story although his back issues got much worse and turned a bit behavioral. Chased things like front feet (which were a problem for a bit) and SI and stuff for a while. Horse was already sensitive to saddle fit and owner stayed on top of that. Found the close spaces, injected, did all the PT, which became a lifestyle thing for the horse not just temporary exercises. He’d get a year or so and despite the imaging not getting any worse it wasn’t getting any better with a stronger core, and he’d have to be injected again. And again. All of a sudden it would bother him again. They just did the lig snip surgery. TBD how that goes, but the vets thought this kind of case made him an ideal candidate. Something to think about for down the road maybe.
