Sweet Annie is a beautiful 6 year old Off Track Thoroughbred who we were asked to take in after she suffered from a severe bowed tendon injury during her first and only race as a two year old. Her injury left her unable to race again, and left her future unknown just as so many Off Track Thoroughbreds. We agreed to take her in and her rehabilitation took about 10 months. It included Stem Cel Therapy and Platelet Rich Plasma. After a short time, we noticed she was having some back pain so we had our veterinarian out to examine her and determine the cause. She took some X-rays and Sweet Annie was diagnosed with Kissing Spines. We tried managing it with injections twice a year. Sweet Annie would have a few successful months at a time working in the ring and doing some trail rides. But even as willing as she was, and as much as she loved to work, she would always show us that she was in significant discomfort. Sweet Annie has been out of work for about seven months now. She is a very talented and level headed horse who still has her whole life ahead of her. Sweet Annie has so much potential as a riding horse, but the Kissing Spines is standing in her way.

There is a surgery that can successfully correct Kissing Spines so the horse can be ridden pain free. When weight is added to the back of a horse with Kissing Spines it causes the vertebrae’s to touch together, which is where it gets its name, “Kissing Spines”. There are different levels of severity of this. Some horses are very successful being ridden with the injection. In Sweet Annie’s case, the injection is just not enough to completely take away her discomfort. We’ve been in touch with a surgeon who preforms this surgery and they have reviewed Sweet Annie’s X-rays. We were very excited to learn that she is a candidate for this surgery. Sweet Annie will be having surgery within the next couple of months and will be available for adoption once she is fully rehabilitated.