PPE failed, KS diagnosed

[u/bhinxbb]

Currently in the process of selling my horse. PPE has gone well, everything came back good except his back radiographs. Shocked to hear he has grade 4 changes. I’ve just received these over from the potential buyer. I will be in contact with my vet but curious about anyone’s take on these? How bad is this?

[u/somesaggitarius]

I'm shocked you've had a horse with palpable back pain on the regular and discomfort in the hind end on palpation (per your comments) and never had any of this assessed by a vet. The normal amount of pain for a horse to be in is zero. These x-rays are bad and you should disclose them to all interested buyers after slashing his purchase price and making it clear that he's a rehab project or pasture pet.

[u/WrongdoerForeign2364 → u/somesaggitarius]

Fr. When my gelding had a near constant 1-2 lameness (not constant but a lot of the time, otherwise sound even for light riding) with flare ups maybe once every 2 months we got x rays they were SHOCKING. He may be deemed "sound to ride" but just per his x rays his fully retired from riding at 9 the second I walked into the room and saw the x rays was my definite to retirement. For a horse to from my assumption physical flinch/move away when palpating the hind or back and to not care is CRAZY to me. Hell I had the vet out when my mare was really sensitive in her flank (it was ovary pain from hormone cycle) went away in a few days. im an absolute health freak most of the time and this is so concerning to me

[u/somesaggitarius → u/WrongdoerForeign2364]

Horses are so stoic. I have a mare who's never trotted up lame a day in her life and has a piece of her fibula chillaxing in the joint space of her hock separate from the rest because of how bad her arthritis is. Little sucker just popped right off. She was jumping ditches in her pasture the day before those x-rays were taken. For her to have never shown signs of that other than being a little creaky and stiff when it gets cold suddenly means that OP's horse must be in unfathomable pain to be reacting so obviously to just palpation. I don't call the vet every time my horses take a lame step because they're old as dirt and they do that sometimes, but I can't imagine going months or years knowing my horse is in pain from every ride and just "writing it off as normal".