07/04/2025
The Neurologic Horse
To preface, I’m no vet and I don’t diagnose s**t! What I do, all day every day, is watch and work with horses. In just the last 3 years, Zak and I have met and worked with 8 horses who displayed certain behaviours, postures and developmental signs that signaled to us that there was a neurological condition present. All 8 horses were then seen by veterinary specialists and all 8 received an official neurological diagnosis. This seems like a lot. Especially considering these 8 do not include the horses I’ve met and worked with in this time who had known neurological conditions. While there’s been a neuro case or two in my string pretty consistently over the last decade, 8 in such a short time has me questioning- do I/we know more now and therefore are catching the signs and able to make a diagnoses more swiftly or are there more neurologic disorders effecting the modern horse more often? I suspect it’s mostly the former with a touch of the latter possibly due to modern breeding / husbandry.
I’d like to share some of the knowledge that Zak and I have gained in our experience. To start, I think it’s important to note that Neurological is defined by Oxford Dictionary as “relating to disorders of the nervous system”. This casts a wide net and can include
Congenital/Genetic Disorder (ie Wobblers, ECVM)
Disease (ie EPM, West Nile)
Structural Injury (ie broken neck)
Functional Injury (ie nerve compression)
The severity of each of these really seems to be on a case-by-case basis with each individual (even with shared diagnosis) presenting differently and subject to differing efficacy of treatment. In all cases, how the horse had been handled, considered and spoken to played a part in both presentation of symptoms and in ability to heal. While some things cannot be helped and lead to humane euthanasia, I have witnessed a few horses make a full performance recovery and several who were able to remain safe and comfortable companion/pleasure animals. It’s not a pleasant diagnosis to attain however, with safety as the primary concern (neuro horses can and do fall on their riders and/or fall and injure themselves and/or pasture mates), it is a necessary one.
Here are 10 of the red flags I note that raise suspicion of a possible neurological condition. None of these are terribly worrying on their own, but when I see them stacked I know it’s time to bring in a specialist.
* Difficulty With or Inability to Back United
The backup is a two beat gait with matching diagonal pairs. Neuro horses have severe difficulty backing straight/spinal integrity with united diagonals. As an isolated event, this difficulty can also occur because the horse is braced against the halter or reins, demonstrating trouble with their relationship to contact. Disunited and/or crooked backup can also signal that the horse is troubled in their blind spots above and behind.
* Difficulty With or Inability to Isolate Movement of the Hind Limbs
Horses with a healthy nervous system are able to push into and away from the ground with each foot individually (I practice this through Feel and signals on the halter or reins- asking the horse to shift their weight around all four quadrants and lift and move each foot on its own). Horses who have neurological conditions have severe difficulty with this and some are completely unable to send the signal to and/or from their hind limbs.
* Pronounced Irregularities in the Canter
It literally looks like the horse is a two-man horse costume and the guy in the back is drunk. Not cross firing or bunny hopping- just… weird. This can be very subtle.
* Pronounced Irregularities in Grazing Stance
It looks like the horse is playing a solo game of Twister when they graze or stand at rest.
* Difficulty With or Inability to Integrate into Pillar One Posture.
Please refer to the Balance Through Movement Method.
* Difficulty With or Inability to Stand With One Front Foot Raised
I see this most obviously with the Farrier- the hind feet are easy but the horse has real trouble with their fronts. Difficulty stabilizing the hind end is a general theme that shows up everywhere any time the horse is asked to use/isolate their front end and these horses will often “escape” through their hindquarters in order to avoid integration with biotensegrity.
* Highly Irregular Muscle Development or Atrophy
Atrophy of the cervical serratus ventralis at the base of the neck with an observable depression right above where C7 should be. Atrophy of the quadriceps with observable depression in the tensor fascia lata. Observable lateral asymmetry. Necks that appear oddly lumpy, shortened or compressed or alternatively hyper extended and hyper mobile.
* Perceived Disassociation in Moments of Instability
With all neuro horses across the board, whether they are partial to a fight a flight or a freeze response, when they are confined/unable to leave physically, I have observed that they check out and disappear mentally. They are often extreme when they check back in (either explosive or dazed).
* Difficulty With or Inability to Hold Themselves Upright
Any horse can learn how to lean on, push, drag, run over, step on, rub on or otherwise bulldoze the human and this can simply boil down to poor handling. That said, neuro horses lean a little different- almost as though they know they cannot hold themselves up and look to the human or a herd mate for literal physical stability.
* Neck Snaking
That low, fast, snaky head and neck move can indicate many different things but it’s something I’ve seen from nearly every neuro horse, typically when they’re moving off balance.
Again, as standalone occurrences none of these may have anything to do with a neurological condition, it’s when they’re stacked that I have concern. For example, a horse with a chronically dysregulated nervous system (see definition of Neurologic!) can present many of these behaviours without having an underlying condition.
As I am not a vet trained in diagnosis of neurological conditions in horses, I do not attempt to perform any of their commonly practiced measures. However with the accrued observation listed above I have been able to reach for the professional with the right wisdom before too much has gone wrong. I feel fortunate to have worked with highly experienced vets and specialists who have been willing to perform advanced exams based on my unorthodox criteria even on horses that have been examined previously or recently with no concern of neurological difficulties.
To speak plainly, I can’t be the only one going out into the world and wading through neurological horses. Curious to hear what others are finding and experiencing and interested in sharing our stories to spread awareness!
~ Chiara ♥️
