Kissing Spine - The key steps to a successful rehabilitation

Last weeks Blog was about the anatomy of Kissing Spine, this week I'm talking about Kissing Spine Rehabilitation, and next week it's Prevention strategies. 

The rehabilitation process for Kissing Spine is the larger part of the entire process. What I mean by this is that the treatment that the horse receives is the initial ‘doorway’ to enable your rehabilitation process. I view it as treatment being Step 1, and rehabilitation being Steps 2 - 100!

The most important point to understand about rehabilitating this condition, is that you need to improve your horses posture and core strength over time. If you don’t do this part, your horses body remains the same, and when the injections wear off you will be in the same position.

The rehabilitation process is aimed at making a structural postural change, to create space in between the DSP’s, and create a stronger platform along the back. This is done through strengthening the core (abdominal and waist) muscles, which in turn pushes the back up.

Strengthening the abdominal muscles creates a shortened abdominal line, and therefore a lifted core and back. So we can create a new, default improved posture, and achieve ‘long and low’ within exercise, by strengthening the abdominals.

Research has proven that ‘carrot stretch’ exercises actually increase the size of the important multifidus muscles (small postural muscles sitting along the DSP’s), over a period of time. So these are one of the most important types of exercise to be doing daily with a horse going through Kissing Spine. In fact I recommend these exercises to the majority of horses that I work with.

THE KEY STEPS TO RECOVERY: 

• Postural improvement: don't go through the motions with your rehab, take photos along the way, spend time working with your horse and assessing them...this is crucial to their recovery. 
• Horse is systematically strengthened: it will take time and consistency to fully strengthen and rehab your horse. Don't get back on to ride until your horse is strong enough. 
• Flexibility increased: ensure that some of your rehab work is focussing on full body and limb flexibility, as well as core strength. 
• Symmetry improved: include work within your rehab that will help your horses symmetry, to improve their natural crookedness pattern which can cause bracing in the back. 
• Core and back strengthened: THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE PROCESS TO WORK ON. 
• Horse can move ‘over the back’: no longer hollow in the back. Again don't get back on to ride until the horse is fully rehabilitated in body and movement. 
• Physical improvement is visible: if you don't see any improvements in your horse during rehab, there is potentially something else going on in your horses body that is hindering the process. 

All of the above takes time. You will need to work through a full programme of work with your horse, likely taking several months.

The rehabilitation process MUST be viewed as a complete retraining process, or you will likely end up back where you were, with a horse that is in pain / dangerous.

Just a few words on mindset, as it’s super important with a kissing spine horse...

You will need to change how you are working with your horse. And this is sometimes difficult on livery yards!
You must commit to what your horse needs, exclude the thoughts, ideas and recommendations of anyone outside of your professional team, and keep focussed on your rehabilitation plan.

Your horse is the most important piece of the jigsaw, so learn to observe him/her, their movement, how is their mood today, are they tired, do they need a day off, do they need a little bit more work...really spend the time to watch what they are doing, in exercise, in the stable, in the field.

They really can tell us everything we need to know, if we can slow down a bit, close our ears to other people (hard I know!), and just observe your horse.

Kissing Spine Rehabilitation is a BIG process to go through with your horse, it's quite complex, there is a lot to address in your horses body, it's emotionally draining at times, and it takes some real commitment on your part. 

If you need support, don't understand what you need to be doing to give your horse the best possible outcome, don't have a detailed rehab plan, or just want other people to talk to about what you're going through with your horse, scroll down and click through to my KISSING SPINE page on my site, where I list all of the ways that I can help and support you. Free and paid options depending on what you need. 

FACEBOOK GROUP (my free Kissing Spine Rehabilitation group): CLICK HERE FOR GROUP

FREE EBOOK: Feel free to download my Free Ebook Kissing Spine Rehabilitation, the key steps to recovery...CLICK HERE FOR EBOOK DETAILS

KISSING SPINE SUPPORT: Also check out my Kissing Spine Resources page, where I list all of the current ways that I can help you...CLICK HERE FOR KISSING SPINE RESOURCES PAGE