Position and shape of the neck

S shape of the neck changes depending on the position on the neck.

The cervical vertebrae collectively create an S shape or Sigmoid. This shape allows for the telescoping action of the neck. When we work with our horses we can greatly influence the shape or curvature of the S by either elongating it or shortening it. But the key is to maintain the consistent flowing shape. What can often happen is this shape becomes distorted, remember my post on kinking the hose? This is the same concept only localised to the neck. We want to maintain the flowing S shape to avoid any compression to the spinal cord and nerves exiting between the cervical vertebrae.

This shape also maintains the “spring and compression” action of the neck to absorb kinetic forces (think like the suspension on a car). Below I have shown two examples of a before and after of two horses (both Friesians, who have typical swan necks) initially showing a ‘distortion’ in the S bend of the neck. Externally we can see this as tension in the neck musculature, especially around the back of the jaw, and the angle between the base of the neck and the chest. This change can be extremely subtle but the difference in the overall horse’s body shape, demeanour and movement pattern can drastically change by making a simple adjustment to realign the vertebrae back to a neutral S shape and thus allowing flow through the body.