Distances between thoracic spinous processes in Warmblood foals: a radiographic study.

Summary

# Editorial Summary Kissing spine syndrome remains a poorly understood condition despite its prevalence in clinical practice, with back conformation, breed characteristics, age, training intensity and sex all potentially contributing to dorsal spinous process impingement or override. Sinding and Berg used radiographic examination to establish baseline measurements of interspinous distances in clinically normal Warmblood foals, mapping the spacing pattern across the thoracic vertebral column to provide age-specific reference values for this population. The researchers documented that interspinous spaces varied considerably along the spine and with maturity, providing essential normative data against which pathological narrowing could be evaluated in young horses. Since previous work in mature animals suggests spacing below 4 mm may indicate KSS, these foal measurements offer practitioners a developmental perspective on when abnormal narrowing emerges and whether early conformational variation predicts later clinical disease. This baseline data is particularly valuable for farriers and veterinarians working with young sport horses, as it enables earlier identification of at-risk individuals and more informed discussion of prognosis during pre-purchase examinations and early training assessments.

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Key Findings

• •Interspinous spaces <4 mm are considered too narrow and potentially indicative of kissing spine syndrome in mature horses
• •Radiographic abnormalities are observed in many clinically normal horses
• •Back conformation, breed, age, training and gender may play important roles in kissing spine syndrome aetiology

Conditions Studied