10/05/2025
Excellent Kissing Spines rehab plan
Results of a rehab programme over past 4 months for a 14 year old horse with kissing spine.
Top photo - Today
Bottom photo - April 2020
He has since returned to regular show jumping lessons, competitions and is ready for the up-coming season.
This has been achieved by
- using a carrot stretching routine to strengthen the multifidus muscle group - the most important!!
- long and low ridden stretching
- lateral work
- pole exercises
- small grids
- walk pirouettes
- transitions
- lessons
🥕 Stretching Programme below ⬇️
🔶 The positions you need to do 5 times a week for a horse with kissing spine and 1-3 times weekly for prevention are -
1) Chin-to-chest in which the chin was moved as close as possible to the chest bone
2) Chin-between-knees in which the chin was moved as far back as possible with the bottom of the nose at the level of the knee
3) Chin-between-fore fetlocks in which the chin was taken as far down and back as possible between the fore fetlocks
4) Thoracic/Sternal lifts - pressing your fingers into the sternum of your horse and asking it to lift and hold its back in flexion
5-7 preformed on both the left and right sides of the horse
5) Chin-to-girth in which the horse stretched laterally (to the side) until the chin reaches the level of the girth
6) Chin-to-hip in which the horse stretched laterally with the chin moving toward the point of the hip
7) Chin-to-hock in which the horse stretched laterally toward the hock reaching as far back and down as possible
The horse should encouraged to hold each position for 5 seconds and then be rewarded with the piece of carrot. For a rehab programme each of these exercises should be repeated 5 times, 5 days a week for 3 months.
This programme is the human equivalent of around 45 abdominal crunches per day.
❇️ For those horses who are not needing a rehab program, the above stretch/strengthening routine should be done once a week as a way to keep the core muscles and muscles supporting the spine strong
