I read a recent research into back pain or lack of back pain in performance horses that were doing well in their area of their chosen sport – dressage and show jumping.
The vets involved in the research chose 35 ‘normal’ high performance horses (dressage and show jumping) over a four-year period.
The conclusion on the research was that “You should not just look at X-rays, or scintigraphy to see if a horse is dysfunctional “…
Why?
Because 2/3rds of the horses in the group of highly performing horses displayed kissing spines on X rays and scintigraphy. These horses functioned without showing or displaying any symptoms of back pain!
The interesting point of the four-year study showed something remarkable… that if the horse that was displaying no signs of back pain, but was sold to a new rider/ trainer then a high percentage of these horses suddenly started to display symptoms within 2 to 3 months of the new owner.
This caused a lot of trouble with between buyers and sellers of course.
The conclusion was that the horse ‘suddenly’ displayed back pain (due to the kissing spines) because the horse was ridden differently, and incorrectly by the new owner. Different riding, different training techniques caused the problem. It worked for the first rider because the rider was understanding of the horse and chose a better path of training and riding for that particular horse.
So, the vets were saying at the end: “How is the horse now being ridden and trained to bring out this serious problem?” One must come to this conclusion that this is what brought about a change in the horse’s way of moving to cause the onset of the problems.
The horses were then also displaying behavioural problems in all areas of handling and riding…
Over 23 horses out of 35 horses had kissing spines that was undetected and yet were performing with what appeared to be no pain. That is a high number!
Kerryn
Equine Remedial Services 