02/17/2026
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Monday morning food for thought - we have had several horses returned over the last few years, reportedly for behavior issues, usually bucking and occasional unidentified lameness. Back x rays are usually unremarkable or may have some closeness, perhaps a spur, but typically nothing too significant. The horse usually presents with a sore back and is diagnosed as kissing spine. Some even demonstrate aggression on the ground.
Once horses are returned, we do a workup, x-ray the back and, in some cases, the neck, then the back feet, and that is typically the money shot. In several cases, horses with under-saddle issues, including bucking, have had negative palmar angles in one or both back feet.
This condition, often caused by collapsed heels or improper trimming, causes chronic discomfort in the feet, back, and hind end, making work uncomfortable. It can cause significant pain by straining tendons and ligaments, often leading to defensive behavior like bucking, and results in severe back and SI joint soreness, which can trigger bucking, especially when asked to engage.
The stress from working in this condition will then cause ulcers futher compounding the issues, and may result in aggression.
So what do we do? Well its a whole body approach - we treat for ulcers and maintain with Nutrient Buffer, we may use PEMF. Sometimes, for a horse that is very sore, we may use short-term prescribed medication, such as Robaxin, to relax sore muscles, and then consult a podiatry specialist to correct the NPA, which may require wedges. Pulling shoes will not correct NPA. We do not attempt to ride them until the NPA is corrected.
We have found that once the angle is corrected, the issues under tack are gone. The aggression ceases, and we have a happy and functional horse. While we know kissing spine exists - Rerun had the first ever surgical candidate using pioneering techniques in the US - a small spur or a bit of closeness is not enough for kissing spine diagnosis. And let me tell you - a kissing spine diagnosis is like the kiss of death for a horse. Nobody wants to buy them, nobody wants to adopt them, and even if the diagnosis is refuted by subsequent veterinary professionals, that kissing spine diagnosis will hang over that horse's head for whatever time on Earth he may be afforded. This month alone, I have been contacted 5 times asking me to take in horses from private individuals whose animal now had a kissing spine diagnosis.
This horse was returned with a sore SI and sore back, and the kissing spine diagnosis was loosely tossed around. Ultimately, we did 3 rounds of shoeing to correct the NPA, and the horse is now hunting first flight without issue - no bucking, no sore back, no lameness.
Sometimes the simplest answer is usually the correct one. And if your vet has a high rate of making a kissing spine diagnosis, that may be an issue, too. Conversely, a horse communicator or a massage therapist is not a substitute for a good vet and farrier.
We owe the horse that much.
I said what I said
