Cervical osteoarthritis in horses: genetic or not?
- Heltie Horse
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
The long neck of horses plays an important role in movement and balance. Deviations and pain complaints in the neck can therefore have major consequences for the functioning of a (sport) horse. The movement from back to front over the topline is interrupted, as it were, when there is a problem in the neck.
Often the neck is the first thing people look at in a dressage horse. For show jumping horses the neck is an important instrument in basculating above the jump. However: the neck is not an isolated area. With a blockage in the neck a horse can no longer move smoothly as a whole.
Arthrosis in horses
Osteoarthritis is a condition of the cartilage in the joints. Cartilage wears out over the course of life, but this process can be accelerated by crooked or incorrect movement patterns or by overload. Injuries or falls can also damage the cartilage. Because cartilage provides cushioning in the joints, worn or thinner cartilage often results in inflammation, pain and stiffness when moving. Horses then have more difficulty getting going or even show lameness. Osteoarthritis is common in the legs and neck of horses.
Difficult to portray
Not only arthrosis of the cartilage, but also bone inflammation, new bone formation where it should not be and congenital abnormalities in the bone structure can cause pain and complaints in the neck. Research is increasingly showing that poor performance or lameness in horses is often related to abnormalities, bone formation, arthrosis or inflammation in the neck joints. Pain due to a pinched nerve pathway also occurs. But it is often very difficult to get a good picture of what exactly is going on in the neck. The transition to the thoracic vertebrae, where many problems also seem to originate, is even more difficult to get a good picture of. There is a lot of tissue around it and X-rays do not always provide all the information you would like to have. An MRI or ultrasound can provide a solution in some cases, but not always. That is why we often have to rely on the clinical picture that horses show during a physical examination. Symptoms of neck problems may include difficulty or reluctance to bend the neck, subtle lameness in the hindquarters, poor engagement, lack of impulsion and in some cases lameness in the forelegs.
Multiple causes of osteoarthritis
When we zoom in on arthrosis 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 arthrosis. There are genetic factors that stimulate cartilage breakdown, for example. We know from research that the joints in which abnormalities occur vary greatly per horse breed. This at least partly points to hereditary causes for neck arthrosis that we find in horses. But in addition to these hereditary factors, non-genetic factors such as overload, old age, traumatic injuries and chronic excessive loading can also lead to neck arthrosis. The good news is that as a horse owner we can (partly) do something to limit these causes of arthrosis. Especially by preventing incorrect or excessive training.
What is wrong training?
To reduce the risk of osteoarthritis in your horse, you should ensure that you use a good surface during training, vary your exercises and head-neck position and generally train your horse at a level that is appropriate for its age, training history and condition.
Risk factors in training include:
Overload due to intensive and prolonged training without sufficient rest between exercises and between training days.
Incorrect tax and technique.
Uneven loading, for example due to a crooked saddle or riding too much on one hand. Also for example a lot of 'over tempo riding' where your horse falls on the forehand is a risk for arthrosis in the front legs in particular.
Insufficient or incorrect warming up of the horse.
Too much repetition in training.
Putting too much pressure on the neck and/or training in the same position for too long.
Asking too much of the horse at too young an age.
The above training errors can overload the joints in the neck or cause them to be unevenly loaded. This leads to wear and tear and arthrosis. It is therefore important to train in a way that suits the age and level of the horse and that is biomechanically correct. Connection is good, tension too, but if you have to use a lot of force or if your horse becomes acidic then it is time to adjust your technique and offer more rest and recovery both during and between training sessions.
Covert behavior
Finally: Keep in mind that horses are 'pleasers' who want to do well. Furthermore, they are herd animals who do not want to show weakness. That is why they often continue longer than is good for them and usually show little discomfort. Young horses often seem to be able to handle much more than is actually the case. If you want to keep your horse in one piece, read up on it, get good guidance and build up your training carefully. There is nothing you can do about hereditary predisposition, but you can certainly do something about all the other factors that promote the development of neck problems!
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