Here’s some good news for owners of horses with kissing spines: A British research team recently developed a new, minimally invasive treatment method that boasted a 95% success rate in a recent study.

Kissing spines, technically termed overriding dorsal spinous processes (ORDSP), causes mild to severe back pain and can have a negative effect on a horse’s ability to work. Several treatment options currently exist, including corticosteroid injections, physical therapy, and surgical resection of the affected vertebra. The latter has the highest success rate; however it can be a risky procedure for the horse and costly for the owner.

Richard Coomer, MA, VetMB, CertES, Dipl. ECVS, MRCVS, an associate practitioner at Cotts Farm Equine Hospital in Pembrokeshire, England, recently developed and evaluated a minimally invasive surgical technique to treat ORDSP in horses. Coomer and colleagues performed a study comparing this new technique with a traditional veterinary treatment for ORDSP, and found that the surgical technique had a higher long-term success rate.

Coomer performed the surgical technique on 37 horses diagnosed with ORDSP, and 38 control horses received a traditional treatment of corticosteroid injections into affected vertebral spaces