(mild) Ewe necks

[bakewell]

Hi all,
Sorry if this is in the wrong section but hopefully part of it is relevant. This is a curiosity based question.

Right so, ewe necks, not the extreme versions!... I've seen a lot of yearling/ that ugly youngster stage horses go through a ewe necked stage, around the time their entire topline looks awful. Have you been able to pick out one that's going to stick like that? (I have seen some truly terrible youngsters obv) Do you tend to give the benefit of the doubt?

Next q:
Adult horses who are borderline, ie a bit of convexity in an alert looking at the horizon pose... is this a muscular development issue, and can it be rectified (ie have you seen positive outcomes)? Assuming the top crest of the neck, and base joining body point looks normal/ normally positioned.

Final Q:
Do you think there's a strong genetic component to milder ewe necks or is it caused by poor training and development? (chicken or egg I guess). Any other confirmation or movement issues you associate with it?

Thank-you for any input! Hopefully your knowledge bank can provide some enlightenment.

 

[Bellea]

Question Two: Sort of! I should preface this by saying that I'm no dressage star, so you may have better luck. However, I couldn't make a significant, permanent change to the horse's musculature or build, but with training I could get it to move differently whilst under saddle, and therefore create an illusion of a "better" top line. Most of my favourite horses to ride happened to have mild ewe necks. In particular, I had a couple of ewe necked TBs who were wonderfully quick, enduring and good-natured. It was possible - but not easy - to get them to work in "an outline" when relaxed and trotting in circles, however as soon as they became excited/frightened their heads shot up again. They would also look somewhat ewe-necked in the field or stable.

Question Three: I've seen some ponies fairly transformed by conditioning - a real before/after shot. However one, a Connemara, was about 10 and really underweight and generally neglected "before", so the pretty arched neck he developed may have simply been the result of better care. I doubt a horse that is healthily ewe necked would respond so dramatically. I have a real soft spot for "ugly" or "blood weed" TB types, so I'm all too familiar with the horse that is healthy, fit, in full work and still possesses a lot of conformational faults.

For what it's worth, it didn't seem to affect their soundness hugely. Of course this doesn't help you very much if you're planning to show/dressage your slightly ewe-necked horse. However, if your main concern is the horse's soundness, you may be in for a pleasant surprise. Some great performance horses have mild/moderate conformational flaws which should theoretically make them unsuited to their sport, but don't seem to bother them.