Kissing spines in horses – my experience: from diagnosis to back in the saddle
When the vet showed me the x-rays of Caspar's back and said the words "kissing spines" for the first time, I had no real idea what that would mean for us. In the weeks that followed, I spent my evenings reading every single experience with kissing spines in horses I could find online. I wanted to understand what was coming and to read about people who had already been through it. That is exactly why I am writing our own story down now – honestly, with everything that went well and what I would do differently today.
An important note beforehand: kissing spines is a serious diagnosis – it requires x-rays and veterinary supervision. What I am sharing here is my personal experience with one individual horse and is no substitute for an examination and guidance from your vet.
How our kissing spines experience began: the first signs in Caspar
Caspar is a 13-year-old Hanoverian gelding who I ride in dressage at a hobby level. For years, he was absolutely reliable. Over the course of one winter, that slowly changed. He became sensitive when being saddled, pinned his ears back and turned his head towards me. Under saddle, he was often tense after warming up, and he kept bucking when going into canter. He was no longer working properly through his back, swished his tail and seemed generally unhappy.
To be honest, I misinterpreted the signs at first. I blamed the cold season, bad days, and his mood. For a while, I even wondered if he had just become stubborn. The saddler came, adjusted the saddle, and for a few weeks things were a bit better – then it all came back. It was only when Caspar flinched while having his back brushed that I realised this was not a mood issue, but pain. Not taking this seriously sooner is the one thing I truly regret looking back.
What kissing spines in a horse actually means
My vet explained it to me calmly, and I will try to pass it on as I understood it. Along the spine are the so-called spinous processes. With kissing spines, these processes – especially in the area under the saddle – are too close together or touching. That is where the name comes from: the spinous processes "kiss". This can cause pressure and pain, particularly when the horse is supposed to round its back under the rider's weight.
It is diagnosed via x-rays. My vet also palpated his back and used a local anaesthetic to check whether the pain was genuinely coming from this area. I found one thing she said very important: not every horse with abnormal x-rays actually shows symptoms, and the severity ranges from mild to significant. So, a finding alone is not the whole story – it depends on whether the horse is in pain and how it moves in everyday life. That helped me not to assume the worst straight away, whilst still taking the matter seriously. It is, after all, a back issue and not just a minor ailment.
Everything we changed – not just the feeding
That was the most important realisation for me: there is no single solution for kissing spines. What helped us was a combination of several measures that we coordinated together with the vet and the physiotherapist.
My vet took care of the medical side and specifically treated the affected area. At the same time, the saddle was thoroughly checked again, because a well-fitting saddle is crucial with this issue. An equine physiotherapist treated Caspar regularly and showed me exercises to do in between.
The biggest part of the work, however, was in the training – and that is a lengthy process. The goal was to build up the back muscles in such a way that more space is created between the spinous processes, allowing Caspar to carry his back again. We worked a lot in a stretching frame, stretching long and low, so that he would round his back. Added to this was groundwork, pole and cavaletti work, lunging in a correct posture, and repeatedly working uphill on a slope. Riding was hardly on the agenda at the beginning; I took him for lots of walks and allowed him as much free movement in the field as possible. All of this progressed slowly and required a great deal of patience. There were good days and less good days, and I had to learn to think in weeks and months rather than individual training sessions.
How nuvallo move came into Caspar's daily routine
During this intensive rehabilitation phase, I wanted to give Caspar additional support from the inside. It was clear to me: if he was completely retraining his body, his joints, tendons and connective tissue would be put under a fair amount of strain. I first tried a classic joint powder – and failed. Caspar consistently sorted the powder out, a residue was left at the bottom of the manger every time, and he simply ate around it. That is exactly the fundamental problem with such supplements: what does not get eaten cannot provide support.
My physiotherapist then recommended nuvallo move Snacks to me. What won me over first was the sheer practicality, namely that Caspar actually eats them – straight from the hand, without weighing and without any dusty powder. A daily ration for a horse weighing around 500 kg is six snacks, so about 30 g. These contain, among other things, glucosamine, MSM, collagen and hyaluronic acid, which are exactly the building blocks that play a role around joints and tendons. The base consists of linseed cake, rice bran and linseed, and is free from wheat and corn – that was important to me, because Caspar's stomach was also a bit sensitive during the stressful phase. I also found it practical that the snacks are ADMR-compliant and have no withdrawal period, because secretly I still had the goal of eventually going to a competition again. Since then, the snacks have been a firm part of our daily routine, and I have never again had to worry about whether the support is actually ending up inside the horse.
How we are doing today – and my honest advice for you
Over the weeks and months, I noticed that Caspar was becoming more relaxed. Today, he can be saddled calmly again, and in the mornings he seems less stiff than he did at the start. I have the feeling that he moves with more suppleness and joy overall. For me, the patient training work, the treatment by the vet, the well-fitting saddle and the physiotherapy clearly played the biggest part in this. During this time, the nuvallo move Snacks were a building block that I was mainly just glad Caspar accepted without any issues.
What I want to pass on to you, if you are currently at this point yourself: take the first signs seriously and get x-rays done early, rather than dismissing the behaviour as stubbornness. Kissing spines does not disappear on its own, and it remains an issue you have to stay on top of – we consistently keep up with the training and exercise to this day. And if your horse, like Caspar, is in a demanding phase and you want to support their joints and tendons, but your horse has refused every powder so far, then nuvallo move Snacks were the option for us that did not get left in the manger. In any case, this kind of support only makes sense over a longer period of at least eight to twelve weeks – patience is the most important thing with this whole topic anyway. If acceptance has frustrated you just as much as it did me, I think it is well worth trying them out.