Often, the neck is the first thing people look at in a dressage horse. For jumping horses, the neck is an essential instrument for basculing over the jump. But the neck is not an isolated area. When there is a blockage in the neck, a horse cannot move fluidly as a whole.

Osteoarthritis in Horses

Osteoarthritis is a condition affecting cartilage in the joints. Cartilage wears down over time, but this process can accelerate with crooked or incorrect movement patterns or due to overloading. Injuries or falls can also damage the cartilage. Because cartilage provides cushioning in the joints, worn or thinning cartilage often results in inflammation, pain, and stiffness when moving. Horses may become slow to start or even show signs of lameness. Osteoarthritis frequently occurs in the legs and neck of horses.

Difficult to Diagnose

Not only cartilage-related osteoarthritis but also bone inflammation, bone formation in places where it does not belong, and congenital abnormalities in bone structure can cause pain and discomfort in the neck. Research increasingly shows that poor performance or lameness in horses is often linked to abnormalities, bone formation, osteoarthritis, or inflammation in the neck joints. Pain from a pinched nerve pathway also occurs. But it is often challenging to clearly identify the exact issue in the neck. The transition to the thoracic vertebrae, which also seems to be the source of many problems, is even harder to visualize. There is a lot of surrounding tissue, and X-rays often do not provide all the information one would like to have. MRI or ultrasound can offer solutions in some cases, but not always. Therefore, we often have to rely on the clinical signs that horses show during a physical examination. Symptoms of neck problems can include difficulty or reluctance in bending the neck, subtle lameness in the hindquarters, poor contact, lack of impulsion, and, in some cases, lameness in the forelimbs as well.

Multiple Causes of Osteoarthritis

When we focus on osteoarthritis and bone formation in the neck of horses, the causes can be both genetic and non-genetic. Genetic factors can contribute to an abnormal body posture, abnormal leg positions, or an underlying condition that makes the joint more susceptible to osteoarthritis. There are genetic factors that stimulate cartilage breakdown, for example. Studies have shown that the affected joints vary significantly depending on the horse breed, which points, at least partially, to hereditary causes of neck osteoarthritis found in horses. But beyond these hereditary factors, non-genetic factors such as overloading, age, traumatic injuries, and chronic overuse can also lead to neck osteoarthritis. The good news is that, as horse owners, we can (partially) take steps to reduce these causes of osteoarthritis—especially by avoiding incorrect or excessive training.

What is Incorrect Training?

To reduce the chances of osteoarthritis in your horse, you should ensure that you use a suitable surface, vary exercises and head-neck posture, and train your horse at a level appropriate to its age, training history, and condition.

Training risk factors include:

• Overloading due to intensive and prolonged training sessions without sufficient rest between exercises and training days.
• Incorrect load and technique.
• Uneven loading, such as from a crooked saddle or overuse on one rein. Riding ‘over tempo’ where the horse falls onto the forehand is also a risk factor for osteoarthritis, particularly in the forelimbs.
• Insufficient or improper warm-up of the horse.
• Too much repetition in training.
• Putting too much pressure on the neck and/or training too long in the same posture.
• Asking too much of young horses.

The training errors above can overburden or unevenly load the joints in the neck, leading to wear and osteoarthritis. It is therefore essential to train in a way appropriate for the horse’s age and level and that is biomechanically correct. Connection is good, and so is tension, but if you have to exert a lot of force or if your horse fatigues, it is time to adjust your technique and provide more rest and recovery both during and between training sessions.

Masked Behavior

Finally, keep in mind that horses are ‘pleasers’ who want to do well. They are also herd animals that prefer not to show weakness. Therefore, they often continue for longer than is good for them and usually show little discomfort. Young horses often appear capable of handling much more than is actually the case. If you want to keep your horse sound, educate yourself thoroughly, seek proper guidance, and build up training carefully. While there is nothing to be done about hereditary predisposition, you can certainly manage all the other factors that promote neck problems!

Read more: https://askheltie.com/en/articles/heltiehorse/from-what-age-can-a-young-horse-start-working