@Jleegriffith
I have noticed with reading back rads, that it can be like reading tea leaves and it is not always indicative of whether or not the horse is in pain, or pain free. I have not seen much correlation between degree of remodeling (or separation) and pain. :yes: Barring the major overlap, which usually is obvious. This is the same for alljoint and/or bone problems in the horse, though, and is not at all unique to back x-rays… we all know horses do not read their x-rays. :lol:
One vet will say “this is not a problem”, the other will be more guarded and advise you to pass… However, if there is remodeling, that does show that physically, there is something the horse’s body has reacted negatively to.
What do you do with that information?
I think sellers are getting frustrated that they are “missing out on sales” due to these films showing some sort of remodeling, so they think that this is unnecessary or annoying or inconvenient… but that’s not fair to the buyer either. We know that remodeling can be early evidence of kissing spine, and that it does impact a good deal of sport horses; it also limits the career of them down the line… so why buy trouble?
Ironically, horse people seem to have short memories – this was the same exact complaint of several breed registries when certain x-rays became required for approval and/or for PPEs… hock and stifle among them… :lol:
Most buyers understand that KS is not curable, so even a small shred of evidence on x-rays, can be one of the first warning signs of the disease.
It’s good that buyers are vetting for this now. It gives vets more exposure to this disease, which is not very well understood – and it also has picked up momentum to study the disease… Hopefully we get more answers and definitive ways to diagnose and treat…
There’s a few studies out now, some more heartening than others, that show that the disease can be at least managed in some cases. There’s also plenty of literature that proves that Kissing Spine can be a career killer, and causes wastage in sport endeavors.
It gets messier because there is not much information out there about what is a symptomatic kissing spine horse, and even better, not every horse demonstrates reliable symptoms! KS is one of those diseases you might not diagnose off of an x-ray alone. usually it is a clinical examination of the horse, combined with undersaddle behavior. Most horses are stoic and protect themselves so just a visual exam is not always helpful.
Most people can’t tell a horse is lame unless it limps. And with KS horses, many do not limp.
A lot of the behaviors or things you’d see that clue you off a horse has KS, can be explained away by other issues: general young horse weakness, young horse temperament/freshness, “laziness”, dishonesty, sore feet, bad saddle fit… then there’s the actual physical symptoms that manifest and not all of them related to a limping leg: weak stifles, balance issues, toe drag, suspensory lesions, bucking after fences, girthiness, saddle/blanketing irritability, loss of energy, thriftiness, intermittent front limb lameness, work and/or exercise intolerance.
Pretty big list… could cover everything from ulcers to suspensory injury!
The problem with some TB and WB lines, is that there are several big name stallions that are at least to my knowledge, consistently siring horses with close or interlapping vertebrae and/or cervical arthritis. Add that they race so hard so young, and are not worked correctly in terms of sport horse work, and you are likely to find some sort of abnormality or pathology on film if you go looking hard enough… Whether or not it hurts the horse, you don’t find out until the horse is in serious work - a handful of rides off the track is NOT serious work… Palpitation of the back is absolutely worthless for diagnosing the amount of pain and whether or not the horse has KS.
Now, remodeling is very different than overlapping, which is something you should always be walking away from in a PPE. Some minor noise in a film is not always a big deal, but major remodeling and or overlapping processes is absolutely a red flag for long term soundness. Kissing spine becomes systemic: the horse compensates body-wide and the most common thing I see is suspensory soreness and/or stifle soreness from compensation.
I have seen enough radiographs of symptomatic horses to know that if you see some sort of remodeling, it likely means something. I am more likely to be wary of a 3 y/o with remodeling than a 16 y.o… IME, it’s very rare that an adult sport-horse’s back and neck vets completely clean – especially as they get into the teens and up. I would be more likely to consider it a non-issue in a 15 y/o that has been doing its job happily for the last 5 years, than a 3 y/o riding prospect.
The other problem with kissing spine is I usually see it get worse in yearly check-ups. I have seen the disease be cumulative; over time it typically causes other issues, because it impacts everything. SI soreness, stifle soreness, and suspensory soreness are the most common side effects of KS, You won’t see this in a 3 y/o you have for a few weeks. You will see it in your riding horse that you have for ten years.
If you want to track the longevity of horses diagnosed with KS, I do urge anyone interested to at least follow on any one of the KS Support Groups on FB. There’s two big groups (one is German, Pferde Mitt Kissing Spines), and it is very eye-opening to read. Even with the best treatments out there (such as lig snip surgery and/or bone shave), there is a disproportionate amount of failure to return to a riding career with these horses… and you would be surprised at their radiographs – not all of which look awful.
Wow, this post got long – and I have not even touched into c-spine arthritis… which you should ALWAYS walk away from on film, with both WBs and TBs…
