Kissing Spines Diagnosis and Welfare

Overriding dorsal spinous processes (kissing spines) cause significant back pain in horses and are more prevalent than historically recognised.

Key Facts

Kissing spines affect 40-87% of horses subjected to diagnostic imaging in various studies — highly prevalent across sports populations
The condition involves contact or overlap of the dorsal spinous processes of the thoracic vertebrae, causing pain and inflammation
Clinical signs include back muscle stiffness, reluctance to work, bucking or rearing, and resistance to girthing
Treatment options range from conservative management to mesotherapy, steroid injections, and surgical widening procedures
Many horses with radiographic kissing spines are asymptomatic — pain correlation with imaging findings requires clinical assessment
Saddle fit, rider biomechanics, and muscular development all interact with kissing spines to determine clinical impact

Welfare Considerations

Kissing spines exemplify the welfare challenge of equine back pain: the condition is very common, causes significant welfare-relevant pain, and is frequently missed or misattributed to behavioural problems. Horses with back pain from kissing spines cannot tell their riders directly — instead they show resistance, reluctance, and behaviour changes that are often interpreted as stubbornness, evasion, or attitude. The training response is sometimes to use more forceful aids to override the resistance, worsening both the welfare situation and the human-horse relationship. Diagnostic imaging — radiography, nuclear scintigraphy, or thermography — combined with clinical assessment by an equine musculoskeletal specialist enables accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment planning. Welfare-positive management includes pain treatment, appropriate physiotherapy, and addressing contributing factors like saddle fit and rider balance.

What You Can Do

Investigate any horse showing back stiffness, resistance to girthing, or ridden behaviour change with veterinary musculoskeletal assessment
Never override apparent resistance or reluctance with stronger training aids without first ruling out pain as a cause
Ensure saddle fit is professionally assessed — poor saddle fit both causes and exacerbates kissing spines pain
Follow comprehensive rehabilitation programmes after treatment — return to work too quickly risks relapse
Support rider biomechanics education — unbalanced riding increases thoracic spine loading and clinical impact of kissing spines