Kissing spines is a painful spinal condition affecting many horses, with careful diagnosis and treatment essential for appropriate management.
Kissing spines welfare concerns centre on the chronic back pain that affected horses experience during ridden work and handling. Horses with symptomatic kissing spines may show behavioral signs that are misinterpreted as disobedience or bad attitude - bucking, resistance to mounting, hollow back posture, reluctance to engage hindquarters. These behaviors are pain responses that are inappropriately addressed through training pressure or harsher equipment rather than veterinary investigation. The welfare harm of horses working in pain while their signals are misread is significant and unfortunately common. Accurate diagnosis, appropriate treatment, saddle fitting, and rehabilitation exercise form the cornerstone of welfare-appropriate management.