Equine anatomy is a fascinating and complex subject, and it’s the mission of Gillian Higgins and Horses Inside Out to take the mystery out of equine anatomy and make it a fun and interesting topic. Understanding equine anatomy is important for anyone who riders, cares or trains horses but it is a topic where there are a lot of misconceptions that can lead to confusion. In this series of articles, we aim to debunk some of the most common misconceptions and shine a light on the facts in a clear and easy to understand way.
In part 1, we look at probably the most common anatomical misconception - the position of the horse’s neck vertebrae, how its position helps the horse function and the impact it has on the way we ride and train the horse.
Neck Facts
The seven neck vertebrae (cervical) are arranged in an ‘S’ shape and are the most flexible part of the horse’s spine.
“When many people first discover the position of the horse’s neck vertebrae it comes as a bit of a surprise to them,” explains Gillian. “I think because we can feel our own neck vertebrae, we naturally assume that the horse's neck is also near the surface when in fact it is positioned a lot lower down.”
Why are the vertebrae positioned low down?
To answer this question, we need to think about it from a mechanical perspective. The horse's neck is essentially horizontal, compared to ours which is upright. When the neck is horizontal, the topline structures need to work hard to support the weight of the head.
The horse has a very heavy head on the end of long lever - the neck. The head and neck in total make up about 10% of the horse's body weight. The head makes up for about 4% and the neck 6% of the total body weight.
Now consider the muscular effort required to lift the horse's head up, this is why the topline of the horse's neck is filled with very strong muscles, and most importantly, the nuchal ligament.
The nuchal ligament
Ligaments are connective tissues that connect bone to bone and help joints to stay within their range of movement.
The nuchal ligament is atypical because it spans the whole length of the horse's neck and multiple joints and is also much more elastic than typical ligaments
There are two parts of the nuchal ligament.
The funicular part starts from the very top of the horse's skull near the poll attaching to the occipital bone and runs all the way along the topline of the neck and attaches into the top of the withers and the fourth, fifth, sixth thoracic spinous processes.
The lamellar part comes from the withers and attaches onto the second, third, fourth, some of the fifth and sometimes a little bit onto the sixth cervical vertebrae.
This nuchal ligament allows the horse to lower his head when he's eating, but its main function is to help hold the weight of the head up and means that the muscles in the neck don't need to work quite so hard. Essentially, the nuchal ligament is an energy saving mechanism and supports the different positions of the horse's head. The relative height of the poll compared to the withers will affect how much the muscles versus the ligament in the neck works to support the weight of the head. This is basically why the neck vertebrae are underneath, because the top part of the neck needs to be filled with this very strong ligament and the very strong muscles.
Why do we need to know about the positioning of the neck vertebrae?
The position of the neck impacts how we ride and train the horse and it also influences the horse’s performance and comfort. Having a clear understanding of the location of the neck vertebrae is necessary for a number of reasons.
From a practical point of view, knowing where the cervical vertebrae are helps when you are performing any massage techniques, or any other therapy. It's also important to know where these bony structures are in terms of giving the horse intermuscular injections.
Pilates and mobilising exercises. Understanding the position of the neck vertebrae can help us to appreciate why the different positions you ask for with the various carrot exercise affects the neck muscles differently.
Pilates or stable exercises where you're putting your hands on and moving the neck and pressing on to the cervical vertebrae. You need to know where they are to be able to perform the exercises for maximum benefit for the horse.
Monitoring your horse. If you follow the practice of feeling your horse all over on a regular basis to make sure that there's no discomfort and to feel for any heat, swelling or changes within the body, understanding what you are feeling is key.
If you want to learn more about this or any of the massage techniques or Pilates techniques, take a look at the Horses Inside Out Online Massage Course. As well as learning valuable massage techniques, there’s also a whole section dedication to discovering how to palpate your horse's neck.
How does understanding the position of the neck vertebrae affect how we ride and train and improve the performance of the horse?
This knowledge will have a big effect on our horses, for example if we are riding around imagining the neck vertebrae are at the top with saggy muscles underneath, we are going to ride them very differently compared to if we understand that the neck vertebrae are at the base of the neck.
This is particularly relevant when we are talking about outline. The word outline refers to the outline of the whole horse, not just the position of the head and neck, it’s important to understand that you can't affect the position of the head or neck without having an influence on the rest of the horse's body – they are all linked. It’s impossible to move just one part of the horse's body without having a knock-on effect to something else.
When you think of the neck vertebrae being along top of the neck and you ask the horse to come into an outline it can lead you to just think about the nose tucking in and the vital bit that's missing and is so important when it comes to getting a correct outline is the base of the neck lifting up. This also gets the hindquarters and the back working well too.
"I think it is really useful to visualise the neck vertebrae at the bottom of the neck when you're riding and the topline in front of you is all muscle and ligament."
The vertebrae that we need to visualise and focus on when we are thinking about outline are those at the very bottom of the neck - C5, C6, C7 and the joint between the seventh cervical and the first thoracic vertebrae that is almost back between the two shoulder blades. It’s these vertebrae that we need to visualise coming up between the withers and lifting up from the base of the neck. This will be quite a different feeling and also gives the horse a very different outline - where the neck comes out and almost arches from the underside rather than pulling back and tucking in from the head relative to the neck.
"The neck outline should be about the position of the neck relative to the body, not just about the head relative to the neck. Making this the focus of your training will make a difference to the horse’s way of going, performance, comfort and longevity. Horses that go with the base of the neck nicely lifted means naturally the back is going to be in a much better posture too."
The Benefits of Correct Posture
When the horse is in a correct outline and lifting the back there are many knock-on effects to the rest of the body, including.
The spaces between the spinous processes become slightly more open.
The back will be in a lifted posture rather than an extended one, which is much better for back health in terms of supporting the weight of the rider as well.
When the base of the neck and the back comes up, you will get a much better fore and hindlimb action.
The weight lifts off the forehand
How the Neck Position Effects the Horse's Way of Going
Horses that go forwards and down through the bottom of the neck will tend to be in a more extended back posture, but also their limb action changes and tends to be more of an up and down movement rather than a big round stride. In this posture they will find it harder to step underneath the body with the hindleg and struggle to sit and shift the weight back onto the hindquarters.
If you're sitting in a chair and you push the base of your neck forward and your collarbones forward, you will feel your back going into slight extension and you can feel your head being in a different position as well.
"Understanding the correct location of the neck vertebrae and the biomechanics of how the neck works is massively important and can seriously influence the way you ride and train your horse."
If you are keen to learn more about the function of the horse's neck and how it impacts on the way we ride and train the horse, there are a couple of great opportunities available to you.
Understanding Your Horse’s Neck is an on-demand online recorded webinar that's available in the Horses Inside Out Academy. This fascinating webinar goes into great detail about the anatomy, biomechanics and joint movement of the neck. It also studies the different head neck positions and how each of them affects the horse's way of going.
Join us for our Evening Extravaganza at Moulton College, Northants on Saturday 21 September. This live painted horse lecture demonstration is a fabulous opportunity to come and discover more about equine anatomy and biomechanics. Understand how your horse moves, which exercises to use - plus lots of practical tips and advice to help you ensure your horse is comfortable and healthy.
In the next part of our Anatomical Misconceptions series, we will take a look at the location of the hip joint and hindlimb anatomy.
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