second in a World Cup qualifier a few weeks later. It was an incredible difference.” Cellina not only recovered, she continued at a top level
for Gabby for about six years. With a different owner, she performed as an outstanding amateur horse well into her teens and is now a broodmare.
Similar Cases Harley Brown, an international show jumper rider and train- er at the World Cup level from Australia now based in Menlo Park, California, had two Grand Prix jumpers with lameness- es that stemmed from neck problems. Both Warmbloods, they developed their problems at about age ten. Harley was jumping one of them when the horse sud-
denly went wrong. “It’s like when you’re fishing and the fish snaps the line,” says Harley. “From that moment, the horse couldn’t jump a cross rail. And he was one of the most genuine horses you’d ever seen.”
around a lot because I understand there’s a problem. I let him stretch his neck out long and low.” Then he adds, “This horse got a third in a Grand Prix in his very next start.”
Diagnosing the Problem When a horse comes up lame, veterinarians naturally start at the foot and work up, often finding the problem somewhere along the leg. Most people don’t think of the problem as possibly stemming from the neck. Yet the entire spinal structure that runs from head to tail is the central system that ultimately controls the limbs. If Dr. Martinelli suspects a neck problem, he will start
by talking to the owner, rider and trainer to get a history of the horse. “Sometimes the trainer doesn’t notice it because they are the stronger rider and they use stronger aids,” he says. “The trainer doesn’t think the horse is stiff at all, but the owner says, ‘I can’t get the horse to bend at all’ to the right or to the left.” Dr. Martinelli follows that with a physical lameness
exam of the entire horse. This allows him to rule out normal lower-limb lamenesses, though a horse can have both a neck and lower-limb problem, complicating the diagnosis. The physical exam can indicate potential neck prob-
lems. For example, a horse might resist when his head is pulled around to his shoulder in one direction or another, indicating neck pain. Dr. Martinelli calls this part of the exam “passive lateral bending of the neck,” which he says has become a standard part of every lameness exam he performs, especially in Warmbloods. Radiographs of the neck usually come next. They can
show enlarged facet joints, previous trauma such as a fracture, or new bone formation leading to narrowing of the spinal canal. “It’s very common to see a problem at the base of the neck,” comments Dr. Martinelli. A bone scan, also known as nuclear scintigraphy, can
show even more detail in the neck. Dr. Martinelli calls a bone scan “an incredibly sensitive tool for looking at the entire horse.”
Harley Brown, jumper trainer from California, jumping Angelli. While the horse performed fine on the flat at the walk,
trot and canter with no signs of lameness, he couldn’t bring his front feet up to get over a jump of any size. The second horse developed his problem over more
time. He also wasn’t lame in the traditional sense, but he became short in his gaits, says Harley. “He was very stiff to the left rein,” Harley describes. “I thought it was his feet, perhaps his coffin joints.” In both cases, like that of Cellina, once Dr. Martinelli and
his colleagues determined that the neck was the problem and treated it, the horses responded and were able to re- turn to training after a few days of rest. Harley changed his training of the first horse after the
neck problem was diagnosed. “I rode him very soft, like a hunter, with a very long rein,” says Harley. “I don’t pull him
Neck Pain Research Diagnosis of many neck problems over the years has led Dr. Martinelli to discover different types of neck pain. He co-authored a paper with Dr. Rantanen and Dr. Barrie Grant entitled: “Cervical arthropathy, myelopathy or just a pain in the neck?” Cervical arthopathy, Dr. Martinelli explains, indicates
a problem with the facet joints in the neck. Myelopathy refers to problems with the spinal cord and/or the nerve roots. And sometimes, just like we humans do, horses can simply have a stiff neck. Dr. Martinelli usually finds that cases sort themselves
into one of three groups. The first is the horse with obvious neurological signs. These can stem from arthritis, stenosis, or perhaps wobbler syndrome. The second is more of a stiff neck, probably from arthritis. In these cases, typically only the facet joints of the neck are involved.
Warmbloods Today 37
Southerland
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