Begin with veterinary guidance
We review the diagnosis, treatment or surgery, healing timeline, restrictions, and return-to-work recommendations supplied by your veterinarian.
KISSING SPINE REHABILITATION · MONROE, WA
Kissing spine rehabilitation
A careful return to comfortable, confident work after veterinary treatment or surgery.
Discuss a referral
Veterinary coordinationYour veterinarian’s plan guides each stage
Comfortable movementRebuild confidence, mobility, and support
A measured returnProgress at a pace the horse can manage
UNDERSTANDING KISSING SPINE
Treatment is one part of the return to work
After treatment, many horses still need time and thoughtful work to feel comfortable carrying themselves and a rider again.
Kissing spine is the common name for closely positioned, impinging, or overriding dorsal spinous processes. A veterinarian considers the horse’s imaging alongside their examination, history, and performance because the images alone do not tell us how a horse feels or moves.
Your veterinarian diagnoses and treats the condition. At Seven Hills, we support what comes next: rebuilding coordination, core and topline strength, and more comfortable movement patterns within the veterinarian’s guidance.
WHEN SOMETHING FEELS DIFFERENT
Listen when your horse says the work is uncomfortable
Back discomfort can show up in many ways, including:
- Back sensitivity, girthiness, or reluctance to be saddled
- Hollowing, bracing, or difficulty lifting through the topline
- Difficulty with transitions, canter, or engagement
- Bucking, resistance, or a change in willingness under saddle
- A decline in performance or comfort
These signs can have many causes and are not specific to kissing spine. New or worsening discomfort should be assessed by a veterinarian before the workload is increased.
SUPPORT BEFORE DEMAND
Help the horse feel strong enough to carry again
Progressive gymnastic work helps rebuild the core, topline, and postural support a horse needs to carry a rider with greater comfort and stability.
HOW WE MOVE FORWARD
A return built one step at a time
Rebuild confidence from the ground
In-hand work, lunging, poles, and carefully chosen postural exercises help the horse rediscover coordinated, comfortable movement before more is asked.
Add ridden work when ready
When the horse is ready, ridden sessions grow gradually in length and difficulty. We pay close attention to comfort, movement quality, and the horse’s physical and behavioral response.
WHAT THE PROGRAM MAY INCLUDE
A program shaped around your horse
The order and pace depend on your horse’s treatment, veterinary guidance, training history, comfort, and current ability.
Groundwork & in-hand development
Biomechanics-informed groundwork helps the horse explore balanced movement and postural control before adding the rider’s weight.
Core & postural support
Exercises and support systems are chosen to encourage coordinated trunk function, topline use, stability, and carrying strength.
Poles & progressive conditioning
Carefully paced pole work and conditioning build mobility, coordination, strength, and endurance without rushing the horse.
Ridden reconditioning
Under-saddle work develops rhythm, balance, straightness, and a more sustainable way of carrying the rider.
VETERINARY COORDINATION
A clear handoff from treatment to rehabilitation
Seven Hills welcomes veterinary referrals once a horse is cleared to begin controlled movement after treatment for kissing spine. This may include horses returning after injections, mesotherapy, shockwave therapy, interspinous ligament desmotomy, or ostectomy.
We follow the referring veterinarian’s restrictions and goals, coordinate with the horse’s professional care team, and share observations or updates when requested. If comfort, neurologic function, or movement raises a medical concern, we refer the horse back for veterinary assessment.
Refer a kissing spine rehabilitation case“In all my years of practice, I have never met anyone more skilled at rehabilitating neck and back horses than Kyra Fraser.”
Beth Byles, DVM · Tacoma, WA
READY TO TALK
Let’s plan your horse’s next step
Tell us about your horse’s treatment, your veterinarian’s recommendations, and where they are in the return-to-work process.
Start a conversation