Ewe necks

[whiteclover]

Has anyone had a horse with a ewe neck and in terms of schooling how has it affected the horses work. Can it be sorted out?

Also Im wondering about short necks, does that affect whether a horse can be on the bit?

Thanks

 

[xJalisco]

I've never had a horse with a ewe neck but I ride a few. A ewe neck is purely lack of development of the trapezius muscle, the muscle which a horse uses to correctly carry a rider. In terms of a ewe neck affecting schooling, it doesn't affect any lateral work, from my experience anyway but it just takes more effort on my part for the horse to come rounder, which in time will develop the trapezius muscle and in turn, the horse will appear less ewe-necked.

In terms of a horse having a short neck, conformation can sometimes be a factor contributing to why a horse finds it difficult to work correctly, it doesn't necessarily mean that every horse with a short neck can't work on the bit.

hth

 

[dafthoss]

Mine had a ewe neck under all the fat when I got him, you wouldnt know now the fat has been replaced with muscle and the muscles on the bottom have shrunk . He did struggle to work in a correct outline at first but that was due to his previous training from before I got him as well as the ewe neck but works fine now, the main problem we had was getting him to relax and work down but that was training based.

 

[kerilli]

1 of mine had a ewe neck when i got her as a yearling but with time, good nutrition and proper work she now has a really well-shaped neck.
i don't think a short neck prevents a horse from going correctly in an outline as long as it is encouraged forwards and outwards rather than up and in, iyswim.
there is an argument that horses with a deep jowl will struggle to go in an outline but it's not a problem i've had, my most 'jowly' horse was the easiest ever.

 

[tallyho!]

You have to work hard to correct it and will take time, but like anything, building muscle requires working those muscles correctly and consistently.

Lots of lateral work and working from behind.

 

[MontyandZoom]

Zoom is an argy tb polo pony, years of polo plus being left out in a field for a year left her with a SERIOUS ewe neck!! You can kinda see it here......

It took a very long time to develop any topline. She also had a few issues with her back from hollowing all the time. But two years after the first photo and a VERY good instructor giving me a few tips got her going much better.

I think it takes a much longer time to get a horse going correctly but it can be done (ps Zoom doesn't actually go that well......but it's a hell of an improvement)

 

[Cortez]

Ewe neck from going in an upside down shape can be corrected, conformational ewe neck + dip in front of wither I wouldn't touch with a bargepole. Short neck with good top muscle OK, can make it hard to stretch to the hand IME, but nothing too difficult. Short neck with overdeveloped under muscle = pulling machine!

 

[Firewell]

Yes, my old boy had a ewe neck:-

It was conformational rather than work related and we basically rode him on the bit all the time. Even if he was on a long rein, naturally he wwould want his head right up but we would make him work with it low and stretching down to try and make it as good as we could.

If you want a horse like this for pure dressage, don't bother. Our horse could do a nice test as he was well schooled and he had beautiful floating paces but he didn't like dressage as he found it hard, he would tolerate it for eventing and schooling which he was schooled at least twice a week but he didn't really like it.

This was as good as we could get his neck, 20 years of schooling:-

Our horse was an out and out jumper and he was an amazingly good showjumper, unbeatable so his neck didn't matter then, he was also incredibly athletic and despite his funny conformtaion he was sound untill the day he died aged 26.

Feed wise, he never had topline feed as he could suffer from ERS. He was fed chaff, pony nuts and sugar beet most of his life and he wasn't fed anything in the summer when on grass.

Would I have another like him even with the neck? Yes in a heartbeat but he was a one off and it is MUCH easier now I have horses with normal necks and better conformation from a schooling/dressage point of view . I don't have to worry about riding them on a long rein!

 

[foxy1]

I've got a book that notes that lots of very top class showjumpers have short necks, so I wouldn't worry about it!

 

[TarrSteps]

I think neck conformation is an underrated subject, particularly for dressage horses. Yes, picking a top horse is always about compromise, but having a good neck makes doing the job much easier, which in turn means less pressure, physical and mental, on the rest of the horse.

Jumpers are a different matter. There are lots of jumpers with less than "perfect" necks in an argument to be made that a relatively light, flexible neck is an advantage. Contact issues are also not a huge deal, as they are rarely so severe they can't be addressed with alternative bitting or riding styles.

Like everything in horses, too, it depends if the horse came that way or has been made that way.