Kyphosis most cases of kyphosis are mild and only require routine monitoring, serious cases can be debilitating. High degrees of kyphosis can cause severe pain and discomfort, breathing and digestion difficulties, cardiovascular irregularities, neurological compromise and, in the more severe cases, significantly shortened life spans. These types of high-end curves typically do not respond well to conservative treatment and almost always warrant spinal fusion surgery, which can restore the body's natural degree of curvature. Prevalence of kyphosis has been linked to nasal obstruction in a study. The risk of serious complications from spinal fusion surgery for kyphosis is estimated to be
Henneke horse body condition scoring system strenuous work and also may lack lean muscle. Horses with a very high body condition score carry too much weight, which interferes with stamina and biomechanics. Some studies addressed the relationship of body condition score and endurance performance in endurance races. In a study of the 1990 Purina Race of Champions (a 241-km / 150-mile, 2-day endurance race), it was found that the top-7 finishers of the race (i.e. highly competitive horses) had significantly lower body condition scores and marginally less rump fat than horses eliminated for metabolic criteria (i.e. less competitive horses). By contrast, two studies on the Tevis