ewe necks

[hannah87]

anyone know much about them?in terms of determing whether its skeletal / musclular, best way to ride a horse witha ewe neck. problems that can occur etc. Just asking as my horse has a slight ewe neck and its taken several years of bloody hard work to get him to the point of working in an outline - slow build up of correct neck muscles etc.. and i find it interesting as someone once said to me my horse would never do anything but stargaze... and i have proved them wrong (much to my horses disgust lol)

 

[Donkeymad]

I have a mare with an ewe neck. It is slowly improving, but she works just fine. Can't give you any advice though, sorry.

 

[amzy]

My horse came to me in a very poor state, had an awful ewe neck and had obviously been abused in his mouth somehow as I couldn't bit him for 3 months. He then went round with his head in the air for a while until I found the Nathe bit which he seems to like very much. I ride him on a loose contact and he is so much more relaxed now that his neck is almost perfect. I don't know whether the neck was caused by resisting the bit he had before I bought him or the fact that he was so malnourished.
Probably not much help but that's my experience.

 

[hadfos]

As you have said your horse has a slight ewe neck,quite possibly due to muscle wastage etc,right feed and correct work will correct,which you have done!

,i should imagine with anything it will vary on the severity of the problem as to wether it can be put right due to work and feed ie,actual conformation problem,the severity,you would probably struggle to correct this!!

 

[rcm_73]

Hi there I've had my TB for 2 yrs and when I got her she had been showjumped in various bits but i think she ended up in a hackamore and she was a ewe necked stargazer. I have worked her in a market harborough consistently and wouldn't recommend a running or standing martingale as they can still get their head up and back. The harborough prevents this as prevents these muscles being used during ridden work. I also never (even now) give her a haynet as this encourages use of the same muscles so I always feed her off the floor. It has worked wonders. I researched the subject of ewe necks quite a lot with this mare as when i first got her she could bring her head so far back she could of knocked me out!! The market harborough and floor feeding were the best two tips I got. She also had bitting issues and I think always will have as somewhere along the way I think she has had a very rough rider and/or a too severe bit. She is currently on box rest through a suspensory injury but before this she was going quite well in a nueue schule lozenged bit with eggbutt cheeks that is supposed to encourage a better contact for a horse fussy in the mouth. I used this with the harborough and cavesson or flash and always ride her on a loose contact. Good luck, it can improve if you do the right things but does take a while. In my siggy the mare I'm taliking about is in pics 1,2 & 5.