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Meet Spinalis, the Forgotten Muscle in Saddle Fitting

December 20, 2016 by Jane @ THB 43 Comments

It’s barely mentioned in saddle fit or anatomy books, yet the muscle Spinalis cervicis can hugely impact on the spinal health and movement of the horse, particularly with poor tack fit.

Meet muscle Spinalis cervicis et thoracis, a far more important muscle than is generally realized. As a deep muscle, it’s influential in mobilizing and stabilizing that hidden area of the spine at the base of the neck, the cervico-thoracic junction, deep between the scapulae.

Where to Find this Muscle

As part of the deeper musculature, Spinalis is as hidden in books as it is in life. Usually, it’s a single entry in the index.

At best, it has no more than a bit part in anatomical illustrations, usually as a small triangular area at the base of the withers. This is also where we can palpate it.

The reality is quite a bit more interesting. It’s actually a muscle of three parts – dorsalis, thoracis and cervicis. These names denote its many insertions, for it links the spinous processes of the lumbar, thoracic and cervical vertebrae.

Further back along the spine, it lies medially to Longissimus dorsi, and in fact integrates with this larger, better known muscle, attaching to the processes of the lumbar and thoracic vertebrae.

When it reaches the withers, it becomes more independent, attaching to the processes of the first half dozen thoracic vertebrae (T1-T6). Here, the cervical and thoracic portions overlap and integrate to share a common attachment. (The part we palpate, at the base of the withers, is the thoracic section.)

Heading into the neck, as Spinalis cervicis, it attches to the last 4 or 5 cervical vertebrae (C3/C4-C7). Only the lamellar portion of the nuchal ligament runs deeper than this muscle.

Its integration with other muscles is complex, and its close relationship with Longissimus dorsi partially explains why it doesn’t get much consideration as a muscle in its own right.

It is the more independent section, Spinalis cervicis, between withers and neck, that we are interested in, although its influence is present along the entire spine.

© All text copyright of the author, Jane Clothier, https://thehorsesback.com.

What Does Spinalis Do?

In his 1980s’ Guide to Lameness videos, Dr. James Rooney, first director of the Gluck Equine Research Center, University of Kentucky, referred to Spinalis as part of the suspension bridge of muscles supporting the spine (Longissimus dorsi achoring from the lumbosacral vertebrae, Spinalis thoracis et dorsalis from the upper thoracics). He also refers to this extensively in The Lame Horse (1988).

In fact, the suspension bridge analogy only really makes sense if Spinalis dorsi is considered.

Spinalis cervicis is usually credited with a role in turning the head to left to right, and raising the head.

Older texts, such as Bradley’s 1922 veterinary dissection guide, Topographical Anatomy of the Horse, mention its role in stabilizing the spine.

This creates a point of interest. Given that the nuchal ligament (lamellar portion) doesn’t attach to C6 and frequently only weakly with C5 (see the findings of anatomist Sharon May-Davis, in this earlier article ), Spinalis cervicis suddenly appears pretty important in stabilizing and lifting the base of the neck, particularly as it does so at the point of greatest lateral bending.

Spinalis and Poor Saddle Fit

Anyone who has been involved in close examination of the horse’s back will recognize Spinalis thoracis where it surfaces close to the skin, on either side of the withers.

When a horse has been ridden in an overly tight saddle, this small area of muscle can become pretty hypertrophic – raised and hardened. Typically, the neighbouring muscles are atrophied. When Spinalis is palpated, the horse often gives an intense pain response, flinching down and raising the head.

What often happens is this. An overtight saddle fits over the base of the withers like a clothes peg, pinching Trapezius thoracis and Longissimus dorsi. However, it frequently misses Spinalis thoracis where it surfaces, wholly or partially within the gullet space. Often, the muscle is partially affected.

It’s as if the neighbouring muscles are under lockdown. Free movement of the shoulder is restricted and the horse’s ability to bear weight efficiently while moving is impeded. In response to the surrounding restriction and its own limitation, this muscle starts to overwork.

Result? The horse, which was probably already moving with an incorrect posture, hollows its back even further, shortening the neck and raising its head. As this becomes even more of a biomechanical necessity, all the muscles work even harder to maintain this ability to move, despite the compromised biomechanics.

Working harder and compensating for its neighbours, Spinalis becomes hypertrophic. It is doing what it was designed to do, but it’s now overdoing it and failing to release. We now have a rather nasty vicious circle.

Here, Spinalis thoracis stands out due to atrophy of the surrounding musculature. In this TB, a clearly audible adjustment occurred in the C4-C5 area after the muscle was addressed.

The Inverted Posture and Asymmetry

Of course, saddle fit is not the only cause of an inverted posture. However, any horse that holds its head and neck high for natural or unnatural reasons is more vulnerable to saddle fit issues, thus starting a cascade effect of problems.

Are there further effects of this hypertrophy? Consider the connections.

When saddles are too tight, they’re often tighter on one side than the other. This can be due to existing asymmetry in the horse, such as uneven shoulders, uneven hindquarters, scoliosis, etc.
On the side with greater restriction, the muscle becomes more more hypertrophic.
With its attachment to the spinous processes of the lower cervical vertebrae, there is an unequal muscular tension affecting the spine.
Without inherent stability, the neck and head are constantly being pulled more to one side than the other, with the lower curve of the spine also affected.
Base of neck asymmetry affects the rest of the spine in both directions and compromises the horses ability to work with straightness or elevation.
There is also asymmetric loading into the forefeet.
We haven’t even started looking at neurological effects…

This isn’t speculation. I have seen this pattern in horses I’ve worked on, many times over.

So, How Do We Help?

In working with saddle fit problems, the saddle refit may be enough to help the horse, if the riding is appropriate to restoring correct carriage and movement. Obviously, the horse’s musculoskeletal system is complex and no muscle can be considered in isolation. As other muscles are addressed through therapeutic training approaches, with correct lateral and vertical flexion achieved, M. spinalis will be lengthened along with the surrounding musculature.

I hold with a restorative approach:

Refit the saddle, preferably with the help of a trained professional,
Remedial bodywork, to support recovery from the physical damage,
Rest the horse, to enable healing of damaged tissue and lowering of inflammation, and
Rehabilitate the horse, through the appropriate correct training that elevates the upper thoracics while improving lateral mobility.

This is particularly important where saddle fit has been a major contributor to the problem. I have frequently found that in these cases,correction will take longer to achieve, as the debilitating effects of poor saddle fit (especially long-standing issues) can long outlast the change to a new, better-fitting saddle. In bodywork terms, the hypertrophic M. spinalis cervicis is often the last affected muscle to let go.

It’s as if Spinalis cervicis is the emergency worker who will not leave until everyone else is safe.

Bodywork Notes

I am fortunate, in that my modalities enable the gentle release of joints through a non-invasive, neuromuscular approach. The responses I’ve had from horses when M. spinalis cervicis et thoracis has been addressed in isolation have been hugely informative.

** Questions, thoughts or comments? Join us at The Horse’s Back Facebook Group.

Appendix: Spinalis in the Textbooks

I’m going to add Spinalis references to this post on a regular basis, as I come across them. It’s interesting to see how much, or how little, the muscle is referenced in various textbooks.

This image, from Equine Back Pathology, ed. F Henson 2009, shows acute atrophy of Longissimus dorsi due to neurological damage. It’s still possible to see the raised attachment/origin of Spinalis cervicis et thoracis – the highlighting is mine. Spinalis does not appear in the book’s index. (added 23 Dec 2016)

I have also altered this image, in order to show M. spinalis cervicis more clearly. This is Fig 2.16 from Colour Atlas of Veterinary Anatomy Vol 2, The Horse, R Ashdown and S Done. Spinalis cervicis is within the bounded area and it’s possible to see how it overlies the lamellar part of the nuchal ligament, lamellar portion. (added 23 Dec 2016)

The muscle is tinted green in this image from Sisson and Grossman’s The Anatomy of Domestic Animals, Volume 1, fifth edition 1975. Here, it is labelled Spinalis et semi-spinalis cervicis. This anatomical figure is credited to an earlier text, Ellenberger and Baum, 1908. (added 23 Dec 2016)

James Roony dedicates two pages to the ‘suspension bridge’ theory of the vertebral column in The Lame Horse (1988). His interest is in Spinalis dorsii section of the muscle and its effect behind the withers, in conjunction with Longissimus dorsii. (added 4 Jan 2017)

Master Saddler Jochen Schleese refers to Spinalis dorsi and its function in stabilizing the withers in Suffering in Silence, his passionate book about saddle fitting from 2014. “This muscle area is especially prone to significant development – especially with jumpers – because it is continually contracted to accommodate the shock of landing”. The surface area of the muscle is indicated in the anatomical figure, reproduced here. (added 23 Dec 2016)

In his seminal text addressing issues of modern dressage training, Tug of War, 2007, Gerd Heuschmann includes Spinalis cervicis in the triangle formed by the rear of the rear of the cervical spine, the withers, and the shoulder blades, “… an extensive connection between the head-neck axis and the truck… it explains how the position and length of the horse’s neck directly affects the biomechanics of the back.” (added 31 Dec 2016)

How Well Are We Doing? Why Some Horses Thrive While Others Just Get By

September 19, 2015 by Jane @ THB 9 Comments

Look at the horses around you. Do you believe that they’re thriving? Are their lives the healthiest, richest and most fulfilling they could be – from a horse’s point of view?

OK – so how would you know?

Recently, I heard something that shook up my notions of how we look after our horses – in a good way. It confirmed my thoughts on why some ideas around horse care are good, and equally strengthened my convictions about why some others are wrong.

To cut to the chase, I found myself at an animal behavior conference, listening to a remarkable talk. In just 12 short minutes, I experienced my own work and that of many others dedicated to improving horses’ lives placed in a strong and meaningful context.

The speaker identified just why the Five Freedoms commonly used in animal welfare advocacy are no longer enough to guide us in how we treat our fellow creatures.

Being fundamental and broad, the freedoms – from hunger and thirst, from discomfort, from pain, injury or disease, to express normal behaviour, and from fear and distress – are today more associated with outright cruelty cases, rather than animals that are doing not so badly, but could maybe do better in our care.

Instead, this speaker offered a further 5 points to help us ensure that our animals – including our horses – not only avoid cruelty, but have the opportunity to positively thrive under our care.

Original article (c) Jane Clothier, https://thehorsesback.com No reproduction without permission.

The 5 Opportunities to Thrive

The talk, From Prevention of Cruelty to Optimizing Welfare, was presented by Greg Vicino, Head of Welfare at San Diego Zoo. More on Greg soon, but first, here are the five Opportunities to Thrive that he outlined.

1. Opportunity for a well-balanced diet Fresh water and a suitable, species specific diet will be provided in a way that ensures full health and vigor, both behaviorally and physically.

2. Opportunity to self-maintain An appropriate environment including shelter and species specific substrates that encourage opportunities to self-maintain.

3. Opportunity for optimal health Rapid diagnosis and treatment of injury or disease while providing supportive environments that increase the likelihood of healthy individuals.

4. Opportunity to express species-specific behavior Quality spaces and appropriate social groupings will be provided that encourage species specific behaviors at natural frequencies and of appropriate diversity while meeting social and developmental needs.

5. Opportunities for choice and control Providing conditions in which animals can exercise control and make choices to avoid suffering and distress, and make behavior meaningful.

Now published by the San Diego team: Greggor, Alison L et al. “Animal Welfare in Conservation Breeding: Applications and Challenges.” Frontiers in veterinary science vol. 5 323. 18 Dec. 2018

How well are we doing with our horses?

Do those make you think at all? They do me… thoughts have flooded in and continue to do so, especially when I talk to other equine care professionals.

In some ways, our horses share more with captive animals than the agricultural livestock they live closely with. Retaining many powerful characteristics of the wild, our horses are kept in areas many times smaller than their previous wild habitats (in evolutionary terms), with the subsequent lack of behavioral freedoms that come with that.

“We use these guiding principles for assessment…. The Opportunities are a lens we look through when evaluating an animal group for optimal welfare.” Greg Vicino

OK. so let’s take a closer look.

The Horse’s Opportunity for a Well Balanced Diet

How about feeding in a way that ensures full heath and vigor, both behaviorally and physically? So many owners associate feeding with showing love, rather than respect for the needs of another species.

We have feed that looks like muesli and makes us go ‘yummy’. We have baled forage that the horses gobble up, yet contributes to laminitis, because it’s so full of carbs.

"It's how you eat it... " Photo: J Clothier — “It’s how you eat it… “ Photo: J Clothier

And as Greg said, in a statement that made me sit right up, “It’s not just what you eat, but how you eat it”

Yes, we can take it still further. Small hole haynets moderate intake, while keeping the hind gut busy.

What’s more, the weekend after the conference, I found myself listening again to Sharon May-Davis, as she described her ‘hay high’ practice of using haynet height to restore physical balance to the horse’s lower neck and forelimbs.

The Horse’s Opportunity to Self Maintain

Track3 — Maintaining hooves. Photo: J Clothier

Some correlations are more obvious. You see, Greg Vicino’s full position is Associate Curator of Elephants and Welfare at San Diego Zoo.

One example he gave is that of providing varied sub-strata (ground surfaces) for elephants, so that they can maintain the soles and nails of their feet.

I know so many horses owners who are doing just that for their horses in their paddocks, so that unshod hooves can develop strength and balance.

And what about over-rugging?

The Horse’s Opportunity for Optimal Health

As a bodyworker and researcher into equine development problems, my feelings are probably predictable, and they may well be similar to your own. We all want our horses healthy and in fine form.

But where we have a problem is not with what we do think about, so much as what so often is not thought about.

Training methods, inappropriate riding style, too much exercise too soon… and I’m not talking about dressage, but everyday riders and owners here.

Thankfully, these subject areas that are so culturally entrenched are starting to open up more, particularly in areas such as saddle fit, head/neck position, and the ability of the horse to move in biomechanically sound ways.

The Horse’s Opportunity for Choice and Control

This I find quite moving… particularly the notion of making behavior meaningful. Think about it: what behavior may be meaningful to your horse? We are all curators of single or small groups of equines.

It’s easy for us to over-manage and micro-manage our horses’ lives, to the point where are few decisions left to make. We have many institutionalized animals that are denied individual expression.

Hello — Acting on curiosity. Photo: J Clothier

It goes without saying that we have to make decisions for our animals, and there are geographical, physical and financial limitations as to where and how they can be kept.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t do our best to make their lives interesting. In zoology, the term used is ‘enrichment’. It’s improving quality of life, beyond providing the essentials.

It’s about actively getting the most from life, not just avoiding negative states. So that’s different places to eat, finding different ways to eat. Having varied experiences. To express and act upon curiosity, Scope for play, scope for company. Places to scratch, places to roll. Other horses to touch.

The Horse’s Opportunity to Express Species-Specific Behavior

The preferred system of a boarding establishment may make for easy management, but your horse may be being denied this opportunity.

The horse kept in a small individual paddock is being denied self-expression, even when there’s an equine neighbor over the fence.

The constantly rugged horse is unable to roll and feel the texture of dirt in its coat. And what about ‘keep-em-clean’ hoods that hide the subtle facial expressions horses use to communicate with one another?

So, is your horse thriving?

We’re all on a learning curve with this one.

It’s true that many horses have it worse than our beloved animals at home, but that doesn’t mean that all our horses are getting enough of what they need for optimal quality of physical, mental and – yes – emotional life.

Physical, mental and - yes - emotional health. Photo: J Clothier — Thriving physically, mentally and – yes – emotionally. Photo: J Clothier

Likewise, the fact that other people are in a position to do it better than us – higher income and land ownership do open up more choices for animal management – doesn’t mean that we’re not getting a lot of it right (and, sometimes, better than those other owners).

So, let’s take this as encouragement to keep going and to keep striving, making improvements as we develop our understanding
of what it takes for our horses to thrive.

With thanks to Greg Vicino for allowing me to reproduce content from the forthcoming paper.

Please feel free to add your thoughts in the comments below.

The Opportunities to Thrive were created as part of a welfare management system at San Diego Zoo Global by Vicino and Miller, with the latter now at the Chicago Zoological Society – Brookfield Zoo.

Greg A. Vicino, Associate Curator of Elephants and Animal Welfare, studied Biological Anthropology at UC Davis where he focused on non-human primate, husbandry, behavior, welfare, and socialization. Previously, he held positions as an Animal Care Supervisor of Primates for the San Diego Zoo, and interim Animal Services Manager Al AIn Zoo.

Mr. Vicino focuses on integrated management strategies, in which all animals receive the benefit of every specialty at each facility. With a heavy emphasis on feeding strategies, behavioral diversity, and species specific social behavior, he has championed the idea that every animal in our care should be given an Opportunity to Thrive.

Lance J. Miller, Ph.D., Senior Director of Animal Welfare Research, received his graduate training in Experimental Psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi. Previously, he held positions as a Research Manager at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Scientist for the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research.

Dr. Miller focuses on animal welfare to help ensure that each individual animal within zoological facilities is thriving. He is currently a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Research and Technology Committee, Vice Chair of the AZA Animal Welfare Committee, and a steering committee member for the AZA Behavioral Scientific Advisory Group.

Why It Matters To 112 Million Working Equines That You Read This Post

April 18, 2015 by Jane @ THB 2 Comments

Most of us have a good idea of what animal welfare means and why it’s important. But in developing nations, cultural and economic concerns can prevail when it comes to issues such as ending a working equine’s pain. It is not so long ago that horses, donkeys and mules across Europe, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand were primarily working animals. For many equines in other nations, that is still the case.

This thoughtful and sensitive post by Melissa Liszewski, Animal Welfare & Community Engagement Advisor of the Brooke, an international animal welfare organisation, gives an insight into a difficult subject, and describes a compelling legal solution developed in Ethiopia. It was first published on the Brooke’s blog in January 2015.

“I myself have seen animals in the countries we work in and I don’t even know how they have managed to remain standing, let alone pull heavy loads day in and day out …”

There are so many challenging aspects of the work we do here at the Brooke, but there is nothing like coming across an animal suffering from protracted or incurable disease, injury or debility to really put our animal-loving hearts and minds to the test.

Working Gharry horse abandoned when he became lame, with badly damaged right eye and very low body condition (c) the Brooke

We work hard to relieve hard working horses, donkeys and mules from their suffering. But what happens when despite our best efforts, and the best efforts of local stakeholders, an animal’s illness, injury or overall condition means they have a poor outlook for a fit and pain free working life?

I have often pictured a lush green oasis where all those hard working horses, donkeys and mules can retire and live out the rest of their days pain free with all the care they need, full bellies and lots of space to just do whatever they please all day as thanks for their many hard years of service.

“The hard reality is that such a beautiful retirement for both the animals we serve and the communities they serve is just a picture in our heads.”

The truth is that there are an estimated 112 million working equines in this world and although we work tirelessly to help as many of them as possible in a meaningful way, we are still only able to reach about 2 million of them.

Much like the owners of the animals we serve, we do not have endless resources so we have to do the best we can for the animals with what we have.

At the Brooke, we accept that euthanasia is an effective way to alleviate suffering and prevent future suffering. We have a Euthanasia Policy to ensure that when the practice is carried out by our staff or partners it is done with the utmost care and consideration of the animal’s experience.

(c) the Brooke. No reproduction of partial or entire text without permission of the Brooke. Sharing the link back to this page is fine. Please contact jane@thehorsesback.com for more information. Thank you!

When euthanasia is the only option

When suffering cannot be alleviated by any other means, euthanasia is the only humane solution. However, there are many complexities surrounding the practice of euthanasia that must be considered:

Can euthanasia be done humanely?

The answer is yes, but in some countries we work in certain methods of euthanasia are not available, cannot be imported and/or are not legal. Our teams then have the difficult task of weighing out potential suffering at the point of death with potential suffering if the animal was not euthanized, in order to always aim for the best welfare outcome for the individual animal.

Are there legal implications?

Abandoned for 3 months, this horse was blind and suffered from joint problems (c) the Brooke

In Halaba, Ethiopia our local team worked hard to get by-laws in place that would allow abandoned animals to be euthanized without the legal risk of someone coming forward after the fact and claiming their animal was taken without consent.

Nationwide in Pakistan, our team is working tirelessly to overcome the challenge of carcass disposal due not only to environmental and practical concerns, but also the fact that illegal donkey meat is a rising problem that could be wrongfully attributed back to our organisation if a euthanized animal weren’t disposed of properly, allowing someone to eat it and get sick.

These are considerations we must keep at the forefront of our euthanasia decisions as the effects could be catastrophic to local initiatives benefiting whole communities of animals if our reputation became damaged or trust lost.

Is it culturally acceptable?

There are places where we work that euthanasia is not seen as an acceptable practice due to religious or cultural reasons, or because owners feel they are killing an animal that provided them with a service, and prefer a natural death for the animal. Our staff work sensitively with individual owners in such cases, trying to balance respect for cultural practice or religious beliefs with the welfare needs of the animal concerned.

Is it ethical for us to intervene?

It is crucial that euthanasia is not carried out without the owner’s permission, meaning our teams must always obtain informed consent. Our teams in the field strive to ensure owners do not feel coerced into the practice, but come to the decision based on the facts they have been given by medical professionals, and their own desire to do what is best for their animal.

Sometimes, euthanasia is refused because an owner has no other source of income to provide for their family. In some communities we work, for example in India, the Brooke has helped set up group savings funds and equine insurance schemes, which can help owners make the best decision for their animal without economics being a barrier.

When euthanasia simply isn’t possible

Despite our best efforts, for all of these reasons and more, euthanasia is simply not always an option, and we must be prepared to do whatever we can in such cases to work with owners to ensure the animal is well cared for, relieved of their pain and rested until the very end. This is a painful reality at times for our staff in the field.

I myself have seen animals in the countries we work in and I don’t even know how they have managed to remain standing, let alone pull heavy loads day in and day out; deformed and damaged limbs, debilitating disease, old, weak and worn down animals at the end of their working life. I have also seen and talked to owners with their own heart-breaking stories of survival, not knowing what the future holds for their family and how they will get by.

Abandoned for over 3 years before euthanasia, this gelding was suffering from severe knee and pastern joint damage. (c) the Brooke

Most often, the owners of these animals are not intentionally cruel, and although it may be easy to judge from far away, we must put ourselves in their shoes, as they work hard every day to put food on the table for their family and provide a better life for their children than they had for themselves.

Making assumptions or judging others will not erase or improve the suffering of working horses, donkeys and mules but what may help is a good dose of compassion for both the animals and the humans who care for and depend on them.

Yes, I have seen debilitated working animals abandoned to fend for themselves against hungry hyenas in Ethiopia, but just a few kilometres away in the same country I have also seen poor owners steadfastly caring for animals that cannot work or contribute anything economically to their family, bringing them into their own homes at night to protect them from those very same hyenas.

There are many reasons and situations where euthanasia may be considered and it is always an emotional decision, both for our own staff and the local people we work with, but it is our duty to do what we can to provide comfort and relief to suffering animals who work so very hard for the people depending on them.

The success of the by-laws in Halaba, Ethiopia, along with training of local service providers to ensure humane euthanasia is possible for suffering animals, mixed with engaging local communities to improve preventive husbandry practices and ensure euthanasia is an acceptable option when required, is proof of what can be done to help hard working animals.

This is our mission and this is what we stand for at the Brooke – I hope that you will stand behind us.

The Brooke is an international animal welfare organisation dedicated to improving the lives of working horses, donkeys and mules in some of the world’s poorest communities. The charity provides treatment, training and programmes around animal health and wellbeing, operating across Africa, Asia and Latin America.

You can follow the Brooke on Facebook, while more information on the organisation’s work is available on the website: www.thebrooke.org.

Is Your Mare Having a First or a Third World Pregnancy?

February 1, 2015 by Jane @ THB 1 Comment

When foals are born prematurely, many people tend to think it’s just one of those things. Causes such as placentitis (inflammation of the uterus) are fairly well-known, although the causes behind many premature births remain a mystery.

What’s less recognised is that the mare’s general health is often a factor in prematurity, and that how we feed the mare can have a strong influence on this.

It’s easier to think that an underlying infection just happened anyway, or that some other external factor caused the premature birth.

Something toxic that was accidentally eaten by the mare, a traumatic event or an uncontrollable infection are far easier reasons to latch on to, rather than acknowledging that our own approach to feeding the mare may have contributed.

How Can Horses Have a First or Third World Pregnancy?

In horses as in humans, the diet of expectant mothers can have a huge effect on the outcome of the birth and the infant’s development. In humans, there are differences between the problems that occur in developed and under-developed countries.

Exmoor mare on her natural terrain (c) paul h - Fotolia.com — Exmoor mare on her natural terrain (c) paul h – Fotolia.com

In poorer nations, bad nutrition due to lack of food is an issue, whereas in wealthier nations, the problems are often linked to obesity and eating too much of the wrong type of food.

It’s the same with horses. However, a mare experiencing a First World pregnancy can be in the same country, region or town as a mare experiencing a Third World pregnancy, because it all comes down to how the owner manages that horse. They could even be in neighbouring paddocks.

That’s not to say that regional issues such as drought or over-abundant rich grass don’t make a difference – of course they do. And it’s not being over dramatic to compare drought affected areas with famine zones.

Yet it’s how we respond to those challenges that marks out how they affect the mare. But can a mare’s feed affect the chances of a foal being born prematurely? Sometimes, but not always – but that’s no reason to overlook it. If we can tilt the odds towards a healthy outcome for a pregnant horse, then it’s up to us to do so.

And the great thing is that if we feed the mare properly and a foal is born after a full-term gestation, good nutrition will improve its chances of being born in great health and with a good start in life..

© All text copyright of the author, Jane Clothier, https://thehorsesback.com. No reproduction of partial or entire text without permission. Sharing the link back to this page is fine. Thank you!

Nutrition, Placentitis and Premature Foals

Through good nutrition, we can influence the chances of our mares experiencing one of the biggest causes of equine prematurity – placentitis.

Placentitis accounts for around 1/3 of late abortions, premature births, and births of full-term but weakened (dysmature) foals. It can also lead to the foal’s death in the first day or two of life, as the foal can be infected in the uterus with the same bacteria that caused the problem.

The most common form is ascending placentitis, where the mare’s uterus is infected by bacteria (commonly a streptococcus species) via the reproductive tract. I won’t try to describe the process here – there are lots of descriptions online that do the job perfectly well and far better than I can.

The premature birth occurs because the tissues in the reproductive tract become inflamed and the mucus layers that protect the uterus become compromised. Once the placenta itself is affected and damaged, the foetus can’t be supported. Without veterinary intervention, a premature birth can easily follow.

Why an Underweight Mare May Have a Premature Foal

Placentitis is a greater risk for underweight and undernourished mares.

Dry areas create different dietary requirements. © cratervalley - Fotolia.com — Dry areas create different dietary requirements. © cratervalley – Fotolia.com

First, they are likely to have a compromised immune system, as they haven’t received the correct nutrition for function of their organs. Second, in these mares, the anus can also become sunken and swollen, causing the vulva’s opening to widen, making it easier for faecal bacteria to enter. It’s then easier for the bacterial infection to break down the cervical mucus barriers and invade the uterus.

If the mare has a depleted immune system, she is more vulnerable to infections anyway. This is just one of many double whammys that accompany malnutrition.

Even if placentitis isn’t involved, plain old lack of food can still lead to prematurity. Research shows that if a pregnant mare is severely undernourished, the placenta compensates by becoming thicker. So while the foal may be smaller due to lack of nutrition, it also has less space within which to survive.

This again can make a premature birth more likely, with a greater chance of an underdeveloped foal that needs veterinary attention.

Another risk of an enlarged placenta is dystocia, or incorrect foetal positioning due to a restricted growth space in the uterus. This often leads to premature birth as well.

On top of that, when the mare is undernourished, her colostrum and milk production may be poor – even more so if the birth is also premature – reducing the foal’s chances of a healthy start even further. It’s another double or even triple whammy.

Why an Overweight Mare May Have a Premature Foal

Remember that a round and shiny mare is not necessarily a healthy round and shiny mare.

Aside: did you know that overweight pregnant women on a high sugar, high carbohydrate diet have a greater chance of having a premature birth than women with a healthy diet? (Cnattingius S, Villamor E, Johansson S, et al. Maternal Obesity and Risk of Preterm Delivery. JAMA. 2013;309(22):2362-2370. doi:10.1001/jama.2013.6295.)

If a mare is overweight with abundant grazing and low exercise levels, her obesity may be linked to sub-clinical laminitis – ie, the signs are not yet noticeable, as the hooves aren’t visibly showing the effects, although her metabolism is affected.

Condition score doesn't tell you if the nutrition is correct - or not. © cratervalley - Fotolia.com — Condition score doesn’t tell you whether the nutrition is correct. © cratervalley – Fotolia.com

Many so-called good-doers or easy-keepers are affected by Equine Metabolic Syndrome, previously known as insulin resistance, which also results in obesity and laminitic outbreaks. A mare that is already insulin resistant can abort or have a premature foal.

Here’s how. High insulin can cause inflammation in the reproductive tract, just as in the hooves. The inflammation leads to changes in the mucus production, and this can allow chronic uterine infections to happen. And here we are, back to risk of ascending placentitis.

On top of this, insulin levels normally rise during pregnancy, meaning that a mare with pre-existing high insulin levels may have serious issues that cause her to founder before foaling. (If she suffers a retained placenta, then the chances of toxic laminitis are even higher, with foundering happening quicker if the hooves are already compromised.)

Incidentally, over-feeding can lead to difficult births, with obese mares lacking the muscle tone for effective contractions. Links have also been established to over-long pregnancies that produce dysmature (under-developed although full-term) foals. Dysmature foals can have similar musculoskeletal issues to premature foals.

Remember that horses can be overweight without having Equine Metabolic Syndrome, simply because they’re being overfed and are getting too many calories. Good care does not equate to giving over-large feeds. There are kinder ways to show your horse that you love her.

Feeding to Reduce the Risk of a Premature Foal

Clearly, you can’t tell whether a mare has a healthy diet simply by looking at her, even though a condition score will indicate whether she’s too thin or too weight.

So play safe. Get her nutritional needs even half right and you’ll dramatically improve your mare’s chances of a problem-free pregnancy, and the newborn foal’s chances of healthy development in its first months of life.

If you can reduce the chances of a premature foal, it's worth doing — If you can reduce the chances of a premature foal, it’s worth doing

There are as many approaches to nutrition out there as there are approaches to other areas of horse care, but most agree on the general principles of feeding a pregnant mare. Look at the commercial feed companies’ advice pages and you’ll see the same points coming up again and again.

To repeat, there are many causes of prematurity. However, it makes sense to influence those that we can influence, even when it’s something as simple and easy as feeding the right stuff. This means avoiding those First and Third World pregnancy problems by feeding the mare for good nutritional health – for herself and the unborn foal.

I’ve listed the key points in this single page PDF: Feeding the Pregnant Mare

1. Energy intake

Most of the embryo’s growth occurs during the last stages, the so-called third trimester, of pregnancy. For this reason a mare in the last 3 to 4 months of pregnancy needs a higher energy intake, but without the calories. What she needs is more protein. What she doesn’t need is more carbohydrates.

Protein is used in the unborn foal’s development. 22 amino acids make up protein, but lysine is critical for development. If it is too low or missing, it will prevent the protein being utilised effectively in the foal’s growth in the uterus.

So while you’re upping the fiber available and mixing up extra feeds during these last months, it’s important not to rely on high levels of grains and mixed feeds containing molasses. Instead, if your grass is depleted or poor quality, you should focus on good quality hay, fed little and often (there won’t be space for large feeds in her gut due to the growing foal).

2. Roughage

Constant access to low-carb roughage will help to maintain the mare’s digestive functions. Why should you limit carbohydrate intake? Undigested carbohydrates add to the risks for horses with Equine Metabolic Syndrome, as mentioned earlier. In any horse, an overload can upset the gut’s microbial population, increasing colic risk.

Both conditions can cause pregnancy issues and premature birth. Colic can create unacceptable uterine conditions, leading to premature birth, while elevated insulin due to high carbohydrate levels can open the way for secondary uterine infections (as mentioned earlier).

3. Minerals – General Points

Angular limb deformities in foals are often linked to poor mineral intake © http://eswt.net

Ensuring an appropriate mineral intake is really important. It’s vital for the mare’s immune system, meaning she is at reduced risk of infections, including the bacterial infections that lead to ascending placentitis.

It’s reasonably well-known that macro minerals (including calcium and phosphorus) and trace minerals (including copper and zinc) are essential for the unborn foal’s health bone and joint growth. If you want to minimise the risk of angular limb deformities of any growing foal, be sure to get these right when you’re feeding the mare.

There’s something even more important. The mare’s milk is low on mineral content, so the unborn foal stores essential trace minerals (zinc, copper, selenium and manganese) in its liver for use during the first 3 months of its life. It’s not going to get them anywhere else once it’s born.

4. The Most Important Minerals

So, when it comes to minerals, if you deprive the mare, you’re also depriving the newborn foal.

Calcium is vital for the structure, mineralization and strengthening of the developing foal’s bones. It’s also crucial for milk production. Calcium deficiency has also been associated with dystocia (incorrect positioning of the foetus, leading to birth complications).

Flexural deformities can lead to premature birth and related complications © www.horseadvice.com

In combination with phosphorous, calcium also plays a role in brain and nerve function. Phosphorous must be present in the right proportion for calcium to be absorbed – most commonly quoted is 2 parts calcium to 1 part phosphorous (ie, 2:1 ratio).

Foals not receiving enough copper have more early osteopathic problems, including physitis and angular limb deformities (particularly flexural deformity – think club feet). You don’t want any of these problems in your foal, which needn’t be premature to have them.

Horses can’t get nutritional iron deficiency, despite the fact that foals do need more than adult horses. It’s not widely known, but excess iron can actually lead to a relative deficiency in copper and zinc, leading to joint issues.

Selenium is hugely important. With too little, there’s a greatly heightened risk of a retained placenta, which, if not treated urgently, leads to toxicity and a critical laminitis episode in the mare. This could kill her.

It’s also true is that selenium is vital for functional immune and antioxidant systems, and therefore lower risk of infection. Low selenium can also lead to poor quality colostrum – this is a major issue for any foal, but massively so for a weakened premature foal. It’s another triple or even quadruple whammy.

Be careful. Many commercial supplements are high in iron, but low in selenium. You need to get the dosage right, as too much selenium can be fatal too. You can read more here.

Iodine requirements are also complicated. Either too little or too low can lead to a foal with incomplete development of the joints. Adding indiscriminate amounts of kelp to the mare’s feed isn’t a good idea.

Think About Prematurity Before It Happens

The best time to start thinking about pregnancy issues in your mare is before you need to.

Rather than keep worrying about horror stories in social media, take a short while to get informed on the basics of feeding the pregnant mare.

It needn’t be complicated or expensive – if you get the above factors right, yet it could make a huge difference.

Nobody wants the trauma of a premature or under-developed foal, so it’s wise to do what you can to minimise the causes of that happening.

With good nutrition, you can aim for the best of a First World pregnancy by reducing the chances of problems, even though nobody can eliminate them all.

I intentionally haven’t gone into quantities or amounts in this article, with the exception of the calcium-phosphorous ratio. I recommend getting a hay or pasture test done before organising your mare’s feed, so that you know exactly what’s already going into her system already. Many major feed companies as well as government agriculture departments offer this service. In Australia, I recommend this service from Carol Layton of Balanced Equine: Why Test Your Pasture or Hay?

© All text copyright of the author, Jane Clothier, www.thehorsesback.com. No reproduction of partial or entire text without permission. Sharing the link back to this page is fine. Please contact jane@thehorsesback.com for more information. Thank you!

What This Pony’s Tail Tells Us About Owners Who Abandon Their Horses

August 10, 2014 by Jane @ THB 26 Comments

I’ve been thinking about horses and abandonment recently. By abandonment, I mean a situation where a treasured or most favored horse has suffered an irreparable injury and has suddenly been dropped by the humans who previously lavished attention upon it. It happens quite a bit.

Do the horses know they’ve been abandoned? Yes, I believe so.

Take this pony, who currently goes by the name of Bob. His conformation speaks of Quarter Horse crossed with Welsh, with the Quarter Horse mainly walking behind the Welsh. Paddock condition doesn’t help on the looks front, as he’s obviously a ‘fat on fresh air’ type. But I’m putting that to one side, as it’s Bob himself that I’m interested in.

A power-packed pocket rocket, he’s one of those lovely straightforward guys that makes you smile almost as soon as you meet him. He gives every appearance of having been a true sports pony and, whatever his sport was (barrel racing?), he did it fast. The lad finds it hard to stand still in the paddock – he is wired to move.

And yet, with a damaged knee that tells of an unpleasant accident, he subsequently found himself at the sales.

At some point during this process, his tail was cut off. I somehow doubt that the person responsible did it to make memento jewelry. We have to assume that the hair was sold, as the owner at that time knew the pony was advancing on a one-way trip to the meat man (or to ‘the doggers’, to use Australia’s typically direct term).

How to get a few more bucks out of a horse

In economic terms, this action could be called ‘asset stripping’ – ie, getting every last cent possible by breaking a possession down and selling the parts. There’s obviously no regard for preservation of the whole or what’s left at the end.

Now, I do realize that once a horse is slaughtered, its remains are subject to asset stripping. Indeed, there’s a company near here that collects tendons for use in research. I also realize that by the time a horse hits the slaughter house floor, its tail will be somewhat less than clean, for a variety of reasons. There are obvious practicalities involved. But what I’m concerned about here is what’s happening to a living horse. So, let’s return to Bob…

Clearly, he hit a remarkable upswing when he was bought from the sales by a good man with plenty of land. Thankfully, the new owner wasn’t concerned about lack of ridability due to the knee injury, and was happy just to watch Bob being a pony in the paddock. If the pony demonstrated that he could carry a toddler along on the lead rein, then that would be great. But if he couldn’t, that was fine too. He wouldn’t be required to earn his keep – he could just be Bob.

At this point, I was asked to come out and give the pony some bodywork, just to see whether it would help make him more comfortable.

Now, during a bodywork session, it’s always apparent to me when a horse has lost its trust in people. I don’t mean a horse with so-called behavioral issues, although there are plenty of those, but a horse that knows its people have given up on it.

Such horses maintain a distance – not necessarily detaching themselves from what is happening, as they can be very physically cooperative. But they don’t come forward in an emotional sense. There’s a reserve that is incongruous to everything else that is going on.

It’s like being with a partner whose mind is partly on the football. Their presence is missing by, ooh let’s say 5-25%, depending on how much they support that team. No way can you not be aware of it! (I’m trying desperately to think of the female partner equivalent and failing at the moment.)

I spent an hour working with this pony and yet he still maintained his not-quite-there reserve. That was the choice that felt best to him at the time, and that was OK with me. So I left, expecting that to be that.

Driving away, I thought more about that crudely chopped tail. The tail that somebody’s hands had once carefully groomed had, ultimately, been roughly removed. I had to wonder whether it was by the same or another pair of hands.

The next day, earlier than expected, I received a phone call from Bob’s owner.

“I went to the paddock today,” he said, “and that pony walked straight up to me for the first time, looking for a fuss. He’s not done that before.”

Now, this is the kind of thing I like to hear. It might sound a small thing, but as the owner recognized, the small thing was significant precisely because it had been absent before. Something important had changed for Bob during the intervening hours.

He felt physically better and had decided that it was OK to trust a person again.

I am so pleased that this outcome transpired for this particular pony. And I am grateful for meeting horses like this, for it’s their beautiful forgiving souls that prevent my anger from rising.

For the truth is that I quietly despise owners who will use such a willing horse or pony up, and then dump their injured animal at the sales, in full knowledge that it is only ever going to be slaughtered at the end of a few stress-inducing weeks or days. Very few share Bob’s luck at this stage.

I am certainly not misguided into thinking that there is a home for every broken and injured horse, or even that all horses can find a home, injured or not. Those who make it to companion or paddock ornament status are incredibly fortunate. And I recognize that not all horses are treated as I treat mine. People own horses for different reasons.

But I have to ask, what price a dignified end? It seems that the attraction of a couple of hundred bucks, symbolized by Bob’s severed tail, is simply too much for their owners to turn away.