to make up for a weak core and uses the larger neck muscle to get around. Then the back gets weaker because it’s the neck working, not the back. Further, the horses that are restricted in front often get weaker behind,” she continues. “I had a client’s horse that was having trouble with
contact. I tested it for stability and it almost fell over. When I stimulated the abdominal muscles ever so slightly near the girth, just with my fingers, I retested with a perturbation exercise (random external forces applied to the body, typi- cally by a partner), the horse was solidly stable. Where the core muscles are inactive, dynamic stability is compromised.” When changes are made in general conditioning, whether
by training, veterinary treatment or complementary thera- pies, the recovery is incomplete until neural pathways shut down from injury or abnormal functioning over time and are reactivated, Dr. Rombach continues.
with no resistance…this is the basis of all train- ing.” He further admon- ished judges to give the submission score “care- ful consideration…The judge must recognize the origin of the riding problems. Any pulling, bouncing or jerking movement of the hand, including quick drop- ping or collecting the reins, will have a nega- tive influence on the soft, elastic connection to the mouth. High hands with stiff or bent wrists will prevent quiet aids on the horse’s mouth…Short in the neck or going behind the vertical cannot be accepted simply because we have gotten used to the look,” he concluded. General Stecken’s paper was first introduced to the dres-
If a horse is treated for neck pain, say from osteoar-
thritis, with an injection or shockwave to remove the pain, the function of the deep stabilizing muscles that surround the neck vertebrae does not come back auto- matically, she explains. “The brain doesn’t recognize that the pain is removed. The pathway from the brain to the muscles that provide the dynamic stability in muscles is compromised, the muscle function has altered, often with accompanying atrophy, and neural function must be reactivated or the cycle will keep setting up again and again. The muscles associated with core control of the joint complex involved will not revert automatically to normal function, and over time the horse will return to instability and pain,” she says. According to Dr. Schlachter, to reintroduce a horse’s former work with new neural patterns may take up to three weeks.
Left: Example of a horse “short in the neck.” Right: The late Reiner Klimke of Germany was known to allow his horses to work properly through their backs and necks. This is his partner Ahlerich; together they won numerous medals, including the individ- ual gold medal in 1984.
gaits to cover up all the imbalances. I see riders hanging on and the horse is held in the front and short in the neck. And if they are ridden front to back, not back to front, they have short necks, tension in the shoulder and are high behind, uneven behind or out behind. This comes from trying to control
the movement rather than using their core or half halt to balance their horses, influencing the motion through motion, not trying to stop the motion.” Melissa says that a horse short in the neck is almost always
sage community in 2002 and presented again last year. Why is it that riders continue to present horses “short in the neck?” “The horses being bred today are efficient and correct for the job they are asked to do, “ says Melissa Creswick, USEF “S” dressage and dressage breed show judge. “They are bred with more freedom, a more rectangular torso and a little lighter. We made them like distance runners when compared to the old-style Warmbloods that came to the U.S. They are light and airy and uphill and more fluid in their strides.” As a result, some humans go immediately to the hands
when confronted by the big active movement of the modern sport horse. “We have had years of ‘go forward’ because that’s what that old-style horse needed. Now we have horses that move very freely, but which we need to keep in balance,” Melissa explains. “(Olympian) Charlotte Dujardin says she starts her horses out in a very ordinary trot. She does that so they learn balance. Most of us don’t have the horses with the
a reflection of rider mistakes. “We’re possessed about the horse being on the bit. I want the horse on the aids, listen- ing and soft, even with the nose out a bit, not contracted in the neck with the lower neck muscle more prominent than the upper neck muscling. You have to have the courage to do what really helps. You have to say I’m going to use my body weight, I’m not going to pull on his head.” “A shortened neck can allow a horse to more easily hold
the straightness,” adds Dr. Carrie Schlachter. “Think of a short backed, short neck draft horse versus a long Thoroughbred who is less stable. From a health perspective, however, it’s not healthy to ride like that all the time. You should never put a body structure in its extreme range of motion.” “If there were draw reins for the back, I’m sure people
would use them,” laughs Dr. Rombach. “The neck is the first place we go because it is the most malleable. I keep coming back to the core. Don’t touch the head and neck. Build it up from the core and the head and neck will fall into their anatomical place.” v
Warmbloods Today 23
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