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 Thick and Wavy
Posts: 6102
  
Location: Nebraska | What are the signs/symptoms? Is it genetic? Does x-ray confirm in all cases or can it be missed? |
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 Expert
Posts: 1440
Location: Texas | All horses are different in the signs and symptoms. I have been lucky enough to have 3 horses with KS My one horse oh showed minimal soreness but would not want to turn first barrel and would go op the fence. The second horse did not want to work his left hand barrels the last horse that I have continued to work well but showed real back soreness. Some horses will buck and other I know off were gate sour. It really depends on the horse and when the pain hit them and their attitude. In some cases it is believed to be hereditary, but it can also be caused by trauma to the back. XRAYs should catch it in all cases if they are good films. Hope that helps |
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Thick and Wavy
Posts: 6102
Location: Nebraska | barrelbasher - 2016-04-29 10:16 PM All horses are different in the signs and symptoms. I have been lucky enough to have 3 horses with KS My one horse oh showed minimal soreness but would not want to turn first barrel and would go op the fence. The second horse did not want to work his left hand barrels the last horse that I have continued to work well but showed real back soreness. Some horses will buck and other I know off were gate sour. It really depends on the horse and when the pain hit them and their attitude. In some cases it is believed to be hereditary, but it can also be caused by trauma to the back. XRAYs should catch it in all cases if they are good films. Hope that helps
Did your horses always act up during a run or was it inconsistent? Did they come back better after time off only to act up again after a couple months? |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1165
Location: California | If you do a search on here you'll find quite a few posts about it with tons of info :) |
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Expert
Posts: 1440
Location: Texas | With the ones who quit working it tended to be sporadic. Some times they would work and other times no. Injections would help for a little but not long. The one horse just got more sore. Injections held him for a few months but decided to just get surgery as it would be better in the long run. I would say the one horse came back stronger and more free running than he had before. However since it took me so long to find it he had to be switched to the left as he always thought it was going to hurt. The other horse that had surgery has come back just as tough but doesn't get sore anymore. One horse is a solid 1d/ 2d horse in central TX and the other one is a solid 2d horse with limited hauling. I only had surgery on two out of the three. |
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Thick and Wavy
Posts: 6102
Location: Nebraska | barrelbasher - 2016-04-29 11:09 PM With the ones who quit working it tended to be sporadic. Some times they would work and other times no. Injections would help for a little but not long. The one horse just got more sore. Injections held him for a few months but decided to just get surgery as it would be better in the long run. I would say the one horse came back stronger and more free running than he had before. However since it took me so long to find it he had to be switched to the left as he always thought it was going to hurt. The other horse that had surgery has come back just as tough but doesn't get sore anymore. One horse is a solid 1d/ 2d horse in central TX and the other one is a solid 2d horse with limited hauling. I only had surgery on two out of the three.
is surgery expensive and are the odds of them coming back better pretty good? |
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Expert
Posts: 1440
Location: Texas | Surgery ranges from 2500 to 4000 depending on how many spaces are involved and if there are any post op complications. All the ones that I know have come back very well. Some do very well with just back injections. It is worth doing that first and see how it goes |
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Thick and Wavy
Posts: 6102
Location: Nebraska | How long do the injections last? |
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Tell It Like It Is
Posts: 22025
Location: Wyoming | My horse was diagnosed with KS last September. He would get really sore in his lower back and hind end. It had gotten to the point that hock injections weren't lasting.
Refusing to go through the gate, go by first a stride or two, wouldn't run, attitude during warm up, come off the trailer acting sore, and a ****y attitude when I would saddle him.
In Reno last August I did everything I could to get him through the week.
( why is it stuff always shows up at big races? LOL)
I used my Equi Massager, acupulse, BOT, Surpass, Bute, Sore No More. I even got desperate enough to try an herb blend. Nothing was working. Finally I gave him a muscle relaxer to get through the last day. He was much better to warm up and seemed more comfortable in during the run.
I took him out to let him roll afterwards. That is when I noticed that he got up really weird. Like he didn't want to put weight on his right hind leg at all. I thought maybe it might be a hind suspensory injury.
I took him to a really good vet in Utah that I use frequently. He did all kinds of tests on him. I mentioned the hind suspensory and he checked clear from that. That is when he mentioned KS. He xrayed his back and sure enough, there it was.
He said we could inject or do surgery both of which they have had good success with.
I have yet to do either.
I did do a lot of research last fall on KS. It is very common in jumping horses so most of my information came from there.
The plan I have come up for him is long low lunging, inject his back and his hocks and only run him in certain arenas that I know he likes that aren't to far from home.
If that works great, if not, I'm done.
Here area some links to articles that I found last year on KS.
www.equinechronicle.com/back-problems-in-horses/
www.chronofhorse.com Speaking of the Back
http://www.bevet.com/news_and_articles/kissing_spine_disease/
http://www.vipsvet.net/articles/lunging.pdf
http://www.equiami.com/
Hope that helps.
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Regular
Posts: 95
Location: North Dakota | Try getting a hold of a vet with a Shockwave machine. a true shockwave machine. It is expensive, but it will be less expensive than constantly injecting, and running back to the vet. Had one with kissing spine and this really helped. |
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 I Don't Brag
Posts: 6960
| Am beginning to wonder if this could be my "colt's" problem. Can those who have experience give me an idea of what the back xrays cost and where did you get it done? At you vet? At a teaching college? |
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 Expert
Posts: 5293
| rodeoveteran - 2016-05-01 12:05 PM
Am beginning to wonder if this could be my "colt's" problem. Can those who have experience give me an idea of what the back xrays cost and where did you get it done? At you vet? At a teaching college?
I would like to know to. My regular vet doesn't have a X-ray machine that can penetrate the back and said that would have to be done at an equine hospital. We have 2 locally who are extremely high priced. I called one and asked if I could just bring my horse in for X-rays and then have them sent to my vet. They wouldn't do it. They said the cost of the xray included vet reading them and consultation. Package deal. Lol so i am not happy. |
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Thick and Wavy
Posts: 6102
Location: Nebraska | Interesting. I'm planning on calling my vet again tomorrow. I had talked to them Friday but the receptionist didn't know and was going to call me back when she found out. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 926
| I'm starting back to ride my horse with KS. I went through 2 sessions of injections because the vets wanted to try conservative therapy first...should have just had the surgery. It's good to know that horses have come back good. I trotted the pattern for the first time yesterday.
I had just started running him when it came up. He was very laid back, and then he started to get a little nervous. I thought it was because he was anticipating the run. Then I got hurt he got hurt, and I was off him about 6 months. He came good the next string, but after about 3 shows he was a basket case......I think he was saying 'you idiot, can you not tell something is wrong with me?"
You do have to have a clinic based xray machine to catch the details on the spine, any vet that has a large clinic most likely has one. I live in North Texas where there's a lot of options, so it wasn't an issue for me.
Good Luck.
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Expert
Posts: 1440
Location: Texas | It really depends on the horse. One horse it lasted 3 to 4 months. The other one it only lasted 2 to 3 weeks |
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Expert
Posts: 1440
Location: Texas | Any vet should be able to shoot the XRAYs. I have paid around 45-55 per film and to do the whole back is 3 films I think. If you have access to a vet college I would go there. A lot of backyard vets have no idea about what to look for |
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 Not Afraid to Work
Posts: 4717
| X-rays cost me $300-$400 bucks, I cant remember exactly. My horse is a very mild case and is being managed with exercise and massage right now. He is on a very diligent workout program. His signs were cinchyness and soreness over lumbar area. No problems under saddle. My vet said the cause is unknown, my gelding I know is from a fall. He took a bad spill 2 summers ago and within a few weeks, I noticed soreness. He never had a sore back prior to this. I know 2 other horses with it and both took a bad fall shortly before being diagnosed. |
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Thick and Wavy
Posts: 6102
Location: Nebraska | got my mare xrayed tonight and films sent to a couple of vets who see it more for a plan and opinions. I went to my local vet and his xray machine wasn't able to get the clearest of pictures but the xrays were about $150. Now it's a waiting game...... |
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 Midget Lover
Location: Kentucky | My mare was diagnosed with KS from Rood and Riddle last October. She had many symptoms, all looked like either hocks or ulcers. I went through a few vets before finally going to R&R. Two vets there suggested KS, and took two x-rays at $90 each slide. Injected her back, and she has been good since then, but I'm assuming I'll probably need to get them yearly. The injections were $100 each I think.
My mare was crow hopping at the turn at the barrel. She wouldn't take her leads, her lope was choppy and she was resistant to work. This is a mare that is very job focused. She would move away from me when I went to saddle her, and would "fold up" when I went to cinch her. She became very cinchy. Her attitude was nasty, and she did develop ulcers. After treating her for ulcers and the injections, she did a total 180. I expect to take her back to R&R for injections again, but she is 19 so I won't opt for surgery.
I have found it isn't always hocks and stifles with barrel horses. X-rays are actually cheaper than just trial and error testing. I wasted more money with other vets than my total bill at R&R. |
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