Page 9 - Equine Matters - Summer 2012

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SUMMER 2012 ISSUE
EQUINE MATTERS
8
B A C K PA I N
On examination, I felt he was underweight,
with poorly developed muscles across his
top-line, back and hips. He held his back
high and straight - we tend to call this a
roached back conformation. I ran my hands
over Obi's muscles. They were stiff and
hard - they didn't have the soft, responsive
feel of an equine athlete's healthy muscle.
There are two tests, called dorsiflexion and
ventroflexion, which involve running a blunt
object such as a pen lightly across the horse's
spine. A normal horse will flex his back away
from the pen, arching his belly downwards,
before arching upwards as the pen runs over
the pelvis. But Obi just couldn't do it. He
seemed OK when trotted up - his legs moved
correctly and no lameness was evident.
During tacking up, Obi tensed up when the
girth was tightened, and he was clearly
uncomfortable. He seemed happy when
ridden in walk, but when asked for trot, things
started to change. A normal horse's back
moves up and down very naturally during
ridden exercise. With Obi, it appeared as if
the front and back ends were unconnected,
both moving separately with a stiff board
between them.
I decided to take some x-rays of Obi's spine,
as I was certain his problems stemmed from
this area. We use x-rays to look at the spinous
processes, which are bony ridges that
extend upwards from the bones in the spine
(the vertebrae). There should normally be no
contact between the individual spines.
On x-ray, Obi had several spinous processes
rubbing against each other, and there was
evidence from the damage to the bone that
this had been going on for a long time. This
condition is known as ‘kissing spines’ because
the spinous processes are literally touching
each other. With bits of bone rubbing on
each other, it was no wonder Obi was
holding his back stiffly. It would have been
constantly painful for him, a situation made
worse by both exercise and the weight of
a rider.
Mild kissing spine cases can respond to
medical management, but Obi's case was
so bad we decided to send him straight to
surgery. Under a general anaesthetic we used
a type of bone saw called an osteotome to
chisel away the bone from the spinous
processes that were rubbing together. Horses
cope fine without the bone, and although you
do permanently change the shape of the
horse's back, we felt this was a fair swap
for a pain-free future.
Obi recovered well. He had a couple of
months off with some protein supplements
to help build muscle, and some physiotherapy
to ensure his back was finally pain-free.
Obi now looks like a very different horse; he's
gained 40kg in weight and has the start of a
strong top-line. Obi now seems brighter and
happier and is working well and pain-free
under saddle.
Case Study:
A back condition ‘kissing spines’
requiring surgical treatment
Figure 3
Appearance of the torn manica
flexoria seen through the camera placed in
the windgall. The torn manica is in the centre
of the screen and was found to be adhered
to the lining of the sheath behind it. The
adhesions were broken down and the torn
portion removed guided by the scope.
Mark Tabachnik BSc BVM&S Cert EP BAEDT MRCVS
, Wright & Morten Veterinary Surgeons
A
four year old thoroughbred gelding, ‘Obi’ had been retired from racing for unknown
reasons, and bought as a potential eventer. However, as soon as he moved to his new
home, it became clear that things were not all rosy. The owners reported that he had
proved to be a kind horse, eager to please, but somehow inelegant and often unable to
do what he was asked. He was stiff and unresponsive to the bit and was unwilling to be
ridden in a collected outline. He was also reluctant to jump and lacked the natural balance
and bounce you would hope to see in such a well-bred thoroughbred.
Veterinary Surgeon
Mark Tabachnik
XLVets Equine Practice
Wright & Morten
Veterinary Surgeons
X-rays of the spinous processes showed several
bones were rubbing together causing damage
and pain (kissing spines)
Obi's back thr e months after surgery showing
g od healing and final cosmetic appearance
Obi was very comfortable after surgery and
recovered well