A cowboy told me my horse has kissing spine what is that?

Kissing spine is the common term for a condition called overriding dorsal spinous processes — a mouthful of medical language that describes a situation where the bony projections on top of the vertebrae in the horse's back are touching or overlapping each other rather than maintaining the normal space between them. Those bony projections, called spinous processes, run along the horse's topline from the withers toward the hindquarters, and in a healthy back there is a small but consistent gap between each one. When that gap narrows or disappears entirely — when the processes kiss, as the name suggests — the result ranges from mild sensitivity and stiffness to significant, chronic pain depending on the severity of the contact and how much inflammation has developed in the surrounding tissue. The condition is more common than many horse owners realize and is increasingly diagnosed as veterinary imaging technology has improved and awareness has grown. Horses with certain conformational characteristics — particularly those with short backs, high withers, or a naturally upright spinal column — are more predisposed, as are horses that have been worked incorrectly for extended periods in a hollow, inverted frame that loads the back incorrectly. The signs that often prompt investigation include unexplained resistance under saddle, sensitivity or flinching when the back is palpated, reluctance to round the back and work in a collected frame, bucking or crow-hopping particularly at the lope, behavioral changes like sourness or pinned ears when being saddled, and unexplained changes in performance quality in a horse that was previously going well. Diagnosis requires veterinary evaluation including radiographs of the thoracic spine to visualize the actual space between the processes. Treatment options range from conservative management to surgical intervention depending on severity. In milder cases, targeted rehabilitation with a focus on building the topline musculature through correct gymnastic work can reduce symptoms significantly. Corticosteroid injections into the affected spaces reduce inflammation and provide relief. In more severe cases, a surgical procedure called interspinous ligament desmotomy has produced good outcomes in documented studies, with many horses returning to full work afterward. If anyone has suggested your horse has kissing spine, the correct next step is a veterinary examination with imaging — because a proper diagnosis tells you exactly what you are dealing with and what the realistic options and outcomes are for your specific horse.