10/25/2025
Please, please, please avoid hard tying your horses if they donโt know to give to pressure!
In my travels Iโve been faced with horses experiencing a degree of discomfort in this area, some known to have had incidents of setting back while tied and/or handled. While at times unintentional, the direct pressure causes such discomfort.
If your horse pulls back while leading, go with them, turn their body, or encourage them to go forward from the drive line. And please, avoid at all costs, tying in a rope halter without an easy tie ring or method that allows the rope to slide through under pressure.
Breakaway halters or cross ties are the best way to avoid poll and cervical spine trauma. โค๏ธ
๐งฉ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฑ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ & ๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐
An anatomical structure that is far more clinically relevant than many realise.โผ๏ธ
๐ ๐ง๐ฒ๐ฟ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ผ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐:
Myo = muscle
Dural = dura mater, the protective membrane surrounding the spinal cord
This bridge represents a direct anatomical connection between the re**us capitis posterior minor muscle and the dura mater of the spinal cord, occurring in the spaces between the atlas (C1) and axis (C2), and between the atlas and the occiput.
Importantly, this region is one of the very few places in the body where the spinal cord is not fully protected by bone.
Alongside this muscular-dural connection, the greater occipital nerve (arising from the dorsal ramus of C1) traverses this region, making it particularly vulnerable to mechanical irritation, strain, or compression.
โก ๐๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐:
Because of the proximity to the brainstem, dysfunction at the cranio-occipital (CO) junction and the myodural bridge can create widespread neurological consequences.
The brainstem governs essential autonomic and sensory functions โ including auditory processing, swallowing, extraocular muscle control (vision), and muscle tone regulation.
โ ๏ธ Chronic irritation here can therefore manifest as heightened hypersensitivity (sound sensitivity, light sensitivity, swallowing difficulties, abnormal muscle responses).
This partly explains why horses with poll trauma or pull-back injuries can present with long-term behavioural and physical signs that appear disproportionate to the initial event.
โ ๏ธโ๏ธ PLEASE PLEASE TAKE NOTE
IF YOUR HORSE OR YOUR YOUNG HORSE PULLS BACK AND SHAKES THEIR HEAD IMMEDIATELY, get a qualified equine osteopath to see the horse within a week or 2 if possible.
Young horses ๐ โ๏ธโ๏ธ DO NOT TEACH TO TIE UP VIA A SOLID ANYTHING! โ๏ธโ๏ธ
๐ฅ ๐๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ฏ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐น๐๐ฑ๐ฒ:
๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ช๐ต๐บ: horses that spook excessively or become intolerant to normal environmental noises after poll injury, likely due to altered brainstem auditory processing.
๐๐ค๐ถ๐ญ๐ข๐ณ ๐ช๐ด๐ด๐ถ๐ฆ๐ด: difficulty with tracking, changes in blink reflexes, or a horse appearing โhead shyโ around the eyes
๐๐ธ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ช๐ต ๐ข๐ค๐ค๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ: horses that suddenly resist the bit, choke more easily, or develop tongue thrusting behaviours โ often linked to brainstem-mediated swallowing reflex disruption.
๐๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ช๐ค ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ถ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ: persistent bracing of cervical and poll musculature, even at rest, due to ongoing nerve irritation.
๐๐ฏ๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ช๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ข๐ญ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ด: anxiety, head tossing, or hypersensitivity to light touch around the poll.
โ ๏ธ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐:
This is precisely the region over which a halter or bridle headpiece lies. A single pull-back incident can cause profound trauma, not just to the soft tissues, but directly to the spinal cord and brainstem integration. These injuries often require years of careful management to recover, if at all. It also explains why palpation of the poll can elicit exaggerated responses โ the tissue here is not just โmuscularโ but deeply neurological.
In practice, I have also observed training techniques in dressage where riders pursue the so-called โnuchal ligament flip.โ This is not a desirable training adaptation โ it is an induced strain on the nuchal ligament and supporting suboccipital musculature. Deliberately training a dysfunction in this region risks perpetuating cycles of instability, pain, and neurological irritation.
๐ซ ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐:
Any disturbance of the CO junction and myodural bridge is not an isolated lesion. It can trigger an ongoing cycle of neurological stress, pain amplification, and compromised sensory integration โ in other words, an unrelenting loop of agony.โ๏ธ
๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ป, ๐ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป๐ด๐น๐ ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฑ๐.
๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ท๐๐ฟ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐ผ๐ป, ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐พ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐น๐ ๐บ๐๐๐ฐ๐๐น๐ผ๐๐ธ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐น, ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ถ๐ฐ.
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