Overriding dorsal spinous processes (kissing spines) is a common cause of back pain in sport horses, with prevention through appropriate exercise and management reducing welfare impact.
Kissing spines welfare involves both the chronic back pain of affected horses and the welfare implications of treatment decisions. The back pain caused by kissing spines affects horses' willingness to work, their response to being ridden, and their behavioral temperament - changes that are frequently misinterpreted as training problems rather than pain indicators. The treatment landscape ranges from conservative physiotherapy and appropriate exercise to surgical intervention, with welfare optimization depending on accurate diagnosis and treatment selection appropriate to the individual horse's presentation. The key welfare risk is treating kissing spines as a radiographic finding without confirming causation - horses may have radiographic kissing spines without pain, and treatment of incidental findings imposes welfare costs without benefit.