1. 1. Tell me about your own personal  experiences and expenses with kissing spine surgeries. It will be a one space surgery. 
   
   
2. We are making ZERO percent progress with training. I'm using pads, taking her outside every couple of hours, I've tried the pheromone spray on the pads and the grass. I have pads indoors. I've even put a pad in a playpen and try putting her in there. I'm down to cleaning her spots with vinegar but she picks a new spot.  HELP.

Kennel training is the most effective way to potty train a dog. Put her in the kennel (room to turn around but that’s it). Every time you let her out of the kennel, take her STRAIGHT outside. When she goes to the bathroom get super excited and tell her how good she is and jump around and show her how happy you are she went potty outside. It will work. I call it "go to bed" at my house. Go to bed means kennel. Eat in the kennel, sleep in the kennel, and go potty outside. They will whine and cry at first but then that will be their place they feel safe and won’t use the restroom in there. If you get the biggest kennel, big enough for her to "grow into" make sure there is a divider to where you can make it small enough to where she can lay down and turn around but that’s it. Too big of a space she will use one side to potty and one side to lay down. Throw those pads away, it is never ok to use the restroom in the house (exceptions for toy breeds and seniors). The sprays work for behavioral (marking) sometimes, but its rare. Just like with your barrel horses, be CONSISTENT. It's never ok to go to the restroom inside, they always get a big, happy, good reaction when they go outside. Some take a little longer than others but you should have progress in a couple days. Best of luck, puppies are fun!

1. What surgery type was recommended to you for the KS? That's going to change the answer people give you. I did the lig snip on my MSM/BB mare in Feb, 6 spaces. We also split her stifle ligaments at the same time. It was $1800 for both, including the fresh xrays of the bag pre-surgery. Did it standing sedated, dropped her off at 8:30 and left at 11. 6 week recovery for back, I went 8 weeks before I got on. She was doing well, took her back after a few months to inject stifles and SI from compensatory soreness she had prior. Was doing well still & then she got stupid one day on the lunge line and hurt herself so she's been off a few weeks. I know a few who have done the bone shave, ran them around $3000 and its 6 months off, then back to riding slowly. Might be less for one space, you'd have to ask around. I'd probably go to Honnas if you're close enough. It's degenerative, so I'd fix as soon as possible or in a year you might be looking at more spaces being affected.

Both surgeries will require very similar rehab, and its long term. You have to work at them their whole riding lives even with surgery. Surgery reduces the support structure so you have to be anal at keeping the topline strong and core lifted forever or it'll come back. A lot of the unsuccessful surgeries are from people that think surgery is the cure all & just go back to regualr riding & you can't do that. Its a big maintenance committment so be ready for that, the surgery is the easy part 

2. The puppy I can't help with, mine have all been born with some instinct not to go inside so I've never had to potty train yet lol 

Are you a vet or have you had the surgery done ?

Not a vet, just had the surgery done after several years of working closely with multiple vets on treatment options & diagnosis. Ended up going to one that specializes in it for the last 2 years  

How many spaces needed help?

6 spaces, just behind her withers 

I had KS surgery done on a mare this past winter.   The vet said is was a success - we are working our way back slowly.  The surgery was done was Dr. Chad Marsh in Weatherford. 

I had 7 spaces done on my mare in March. I was told 4 months no riding, and followed the recommendations given to me by the vet as far as back injections and osphos due to the number of spaces involved. I started working her in hand and on the lunge line in July, and got on her in August. HUGE difference. Many of my riding issues have been fixed, and my mare is heavier than she has ever been. Her appetite is much improved as well. She was never skinny but just never fat. I couldn't get her to eat more than 1lb of grain at a time, and the only thing she would eat was Renew Gold and hay, so anything high calorie was out of the question (Trust me, I tried many feeds and she would just walk away). I paid $4800 for 7 spaces, preop and post op xrays, meds (bute, antibiotics) and 5 days of being at the vet. 

I had 7 spaces done on my gelding a year ago. He had been managed with injections and shockwave for 7 years prior but was slowly declining. I went to the surgeon in Sturgis, SD who does a lot of these surgeries. He expected me to be back riding within a few months. It didn't happen. My horse is more consistently back sore than he was before. He also has SI and hock issues from compensating and I just decided to retire him from most ridden work. We just do light rides when he's feeling up to it. If you're going to do the surgery I would do it right away, rather than trying to manage it like I did. He might have stood a chance had I just done it when I found out about the KS.

Only one of three vets has seen KS on X-ray. Going for another set of X-rays next week. Vet at MSU didn't want to do surgery. Only one possible space. He is so sore when palpated but works great under saddle.

My mare has one space touching as well. She’s not a contender for surgery, but my vet does want me to get her topline and core strong. Right now I’m using the Equi-Band to aid in that. We are doing weekly Magna Wave sessions and I can tell you it has helped for sure. We will be injecting her back next month. We have been working on getting her feet nice and balanced. There's a great Kissing Spine page on Facebook that shares some pretty good information and experiences. Good luck!

Does the equi band change the way the horse travels when the equi band is removed? That's an interesting piece of equipment. What keeps the band from riding up the rump? Does the horse get accustomed to the sensation rendering the aids less useful over time?  

As far as the housebreaking problem, I would never use pads. It teaches them to go in the house. Like someone else said, it's NEVER okay to go in the house. I have had good luck with crate training. Honestly, it has never taken me more than one accident to get them housebroken since I learned how to use the crate. My current dog has never had an accident and he came from the dog pound. I used the crate for a couple of months, giving him more and more freedom as he proved himself. Another dog, I only had to use the crate for a week. Depends on the dog. I try to get them out of it as quickly as possible because I want it out of my kitchen but they like it. There is lots of information online about how to do it. I can't tell you how easier my life got once I learned how to crate-train.