Preface The horse is not made to be ridden. The horse should not be ridden at the cost of his health. This is a daily practice preformed by people who even claim to love their horses. Love which causes damage and pain to another creature is a sick love. Throughout the whole of human history, people have done horrible things to animals and to each other out of lack of education and lack of development. Now, in a time of abundant knowledge and developemental growth, it is time to show that this damage and pain is still happening with horses… through the people who ride and use them for their own pleasure or profit. I state that there is no one, single horse who likes to be ridden. We would like to believe they like it, but that does not make it true. It is time to rethink tradition and to face the facts.
Horses usually suffer silently, but when one sees behaviors and actions such as these, the horse is suffering:
- Horse jerks or flinches while being groomed
- Horse dishes the back ventrally when touched
- Horse refuses to give a hoof for cleaning
- Particular body regions are very hot
- Horse prefers one body position , such as: holding head only on one side or the other, tail only on one side or the other, only one hind leg is exonerated, not the other, etc.
- Horse presses it’s head against solid objects
- Grinding of teeth, wind sucking, cribbing, chewing on ropes
- Horse does not want to move
- Head shaking
- Horse defends himself, raises (rears), bucks, kicks under or out behind, holds head extreamly high
- Horse is lame
If your horse is lame, then you should know that your horse suffers pain.
There are many people who can see or feel what is going on in a horses body and many of these people have nothing to do with horses, meaning that they do not have them or do not desire anything from them. This is a very interesting subject, as those people have no difficulties in understanding even the most complicated biomechanical mechanism just by feeling and common sense. It seems that only people who want to use the horse in some way need proof of this causing of damage and pain. I think bringing to light the ethical reasons one should not use another creature for one’s own aims and desires should be enough, but I am aware that there are people who have no such atittude. So it is nessary that now, we must go deeper into this subject with scientific knowledge of anatomy and biomechanics.
The skeletal system is the rigid framework of bones wich gives the body shape and protects the internal organs.
In this section of the study I would like to focus on Columna Vertebralis (def. The series of vertebrae that extend from the cranium to the coccyx, providing support and forming a flexible bony case for the spinal cord ), and back problems in general. The bones of the vertebral column are divided into five groups:
- Cervical: 7 vertebrae
- Thoracic: 18 (17 to19) vertebrae
- Lumbar: 6 (5 to 7) vertebrae
- Sacral: 5 vertebrae (fused togeher to form the sacrum)
- Coccygeal: 15 to 21 vertebrae
Cervical: The flexible group of cervical vertebrae that supports the skull and neck.
Holding the head erect develops and maintains the cerviacal curvature.
The 1st and 2nd cervical vertebrae are unique, as is the 7th with its
prominent spine. The formation of the transverse processes of C1-C6
transmit the vertebral arteries to the base of the brain. This series
of vertebral foramation also form a canal for the spinal cord.
Thoracic: This rather rigid group of thoracic vertebrae, with which the ribs
articulate, support the thorax. Its prominent curvature is developed durring fetal growth.
Thoracic vertebrae are characterized by long slender spines, heart-shaped bodies,
and facets for rib articulation.
Lumbar: These stubby, quadrilateral lumbar vertebrae,
carry a large share of the body weight, balancing the
torso on the sacrum. The lumbar curvature developes by walking and
standing erect. This vertebral group is quite mobile; when lifting
from the ground and flexing this group, great pressure is often put on
the discs, which may induce their rupture if the body is compromised in some way.
This may injure the spinal nerves which pass from the spinal cord through the inter-
vertebral foramations.
Sacrum: Five sacral vertebrae fuse to form this single bone. It transmits
the body weight to the hip joints via its articulation with the pelvic
guide.
Intervertebral discs are located between the vertebrae. External fibres merge with the longitudinal, ventral and dorsal ligaments. There are distinct and very different short and long ligaments located along the Vertebral Column.
Short ligaments are:
- Ligamanta Flava
- Interspinal Ligamants
- Intertransverse Ligaments
The long ligaments - placed over more vertebrae :
- Nuchal Ligament (Funiculus Nuchae, Lamina Nuchae)
- Supraspinal Ligament
- Longitudinal Ventral Ligament
- Longitudinal Dorsal Ligament
The Nuchal Ligament extends from the external occipital protuberance, runs above the cervical vertebrae and attaches to thoracic vertebraes 3, 4 and 5, where it then continues into the more rigid Supraspinal Ligament, which runs along the thoracic and lumbar vertebraes where it continues into the Longitudinal Ligament that attaches to the second secral vertebrae. These ligaments together create one long continuous ligament of various strengths and densities from the skull to the secrum, to support the entire vertebral column.
Knowledge about load capacity, kinematics, dynamic and biomechanic functions are necessary for the understanding of the complex functions of Columna Vertebralis, and of course the horses body in general.
Zschokke (1892) made the fist exact investigations on the flexibility of the vertebral column. The Supraspinal Ligament is very important for the stability of the vertebral column and the spinous processes of the vertebrae. Removal of the first 5 spinous processes of vertebrae under a weight of 80 kg (176 lbs.) , caused the vertebrae to crack. By removal of all spinous processes of vertebrae, the vertebrae cracked under weight of only 8-10 kg (17-22 lbs.). He discovered that in a back with intact spinous process of each vertebrae, the avarage sinking of the back under a weight of only 50-80 kg (110-176 lbs.) was 4 cm!!! Enough to cause the spinous process to touch and rub against one another under the weight.
EVERY horse ridden without natural free collection or longer then 15 minutes a day sufferes pain. And some will still have back problems even if this parametar is considered. It is very logical, one does not need even comprehensive anatomy and biomechanic knowledge to understand this. What happens with human tissue under pressure? How long must there be pressure until it starts to become painful or numb? Horses and humans are both mammals, so it is the same feeling. What happens to such a delicate organ as the vertebral column under weigt? What happens by dorsoflextion?
Why are people able close their eyes in front of such obvious facts?
Back problems can be classified into three basic types of injuries involving either the muscles, tendons and ligaments (soft tissue injuries), bones and joints (osseous injuries) or nervous system ( neurologic disorders). They all interact with each other. There is no single disorder in the body which does not affect the entire body as well. Primarily, back injuries affect the paraspinal musculature or vertebral articulations. Severe injuries may gradually improve but never totally resolve or subsequently develop debilitating arthritis or soft tissue fibrosis. Chronic overuse injuries (microtrauma), are caused due to poor saddle fit, riding in general, shoeing and other manipulations on or of the horses body.
There is direct link between biomechanic and pathological changes in the vertebral column. Townsend (1985) and Daemmrich (1993) found out that osteophytes (bone spurs) on the ventral vertebrae usually appear between thoracic vertebrae 10 to thoracic vertebrae 17, and the biggest osteophytes appear at thoracic vertebrae 11 to thoracic vertabrae 13, in the area where the human sits on the horses back, making this area suffer maximum lateroflexion and axial rotation. The kissing spine syndrom is based on repeated imposed or forced ( NOT physiological) lowering of the vertebral column. This happens in such an excessive way by... riding.
All horses are affected by riding and the laws of biomechanics are clear. For the older horses it is even more dangerous as older horses, like elderly humans, are susceptible to loss of vertebral column felxibility, joint degeneration and loss of muscle strength. Aged horses also have increased healing times and increased chances of having chronic conditions or abnormal musculoskeletal compensations from prior injuries.
To be continued…
References for the complete study:
BUDRAS-ROECK 2004
Anatomy atlas of the horse
RIEGEL-HAKOLA 2006
Atlas to Anatomy and Clinic of the Horse
ADAMS, O.R. (1969)
Subluxation of the sacroiliac joint in horses
Proc. of AAEP
BADOUX, M. (1975)
in: SISSON, S., GROSSMAN, J. D.
The Anatomy of the Domestic Animals
RICK PARKER
Equine science
UELTSCHI, G. (1996)
Zur Röntgen- und nuklearmedizinischen Untersuchung des Pferdesrückens
Internationaler Tierärztekongress über Rückenprobleme bei Sportpferden
Bern, Schweiz
TOWNSEND, H.G.G. (1985)
The relationship between biomechanics of the thoracolumbar spine and back problems in the
horse
Proc. AAEP
TOWNSEND, H.G.G., LEACH, D.H. (1984)
Relationship between intervertebral joint morphology and mobility in the equine thoracolumbar
spine
TOWNSEND, H.G.G., LEACH, D.H., FRETZ, P.B. (1983)
Kinematics of the equine thoracolumbar spine
HORST WEISSDORF, H. GERHARDS, HUSKAMP, DEEGEN (2002)
Praxisorientierte Anatomie und Propaedeutik des Pferdes
SEIFERLE, E., FREWEIN, J. (1992)
Aktiver Bewegungsapparat, Muskelsystem, Myologia
SCHEBITZ, H., BRASS, W., WINTZER, H.J. (1993)
Allgemeine Chirurgie für Tierärzte und Studierende
ROONEY, J.R. (1982)
The Horse’s Back: Biomechanics of Lameness
ROBERTS, E.J. (1968)
Resection of thoracic or lumbar spinous processes for the relief of pain responsible for
lameness and some other locomotor disorders of horses.
Proc. AAEP
NOWAK, M. (1988)
Die klinische, röntgenologische und szintigraphische Untersuchung bei den sogenannten
Rückenproblemen des Pferdes
GOODY (2004)
Anatomy of the Horse
LEWIS, L.D. (1989)
Einfluß der Ernährung auf die Entwicklung des Bewegungsapparates und seine Erkrankungen
LEACH, D.H., DAGG, A.I. (1983b)
A review of research on equine locomotion and biomechanics
JEFFCOTT, L.B. (1981)
Diagnosis of Back Problems in the Horse
Proc. AAEP
JEFFCOTT, L.B. (1980a)
Disorders ot the thoracolumbar spine of the horse - a survey ot 443 cases.
JEFFCOTT, L.B. (1980b)
Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of back problems in horses
Proc. AAEP
WOLFGANG RANNER
Das Rückenproblem beim Pferd
Eigene Untersuchungen und kritische Betrachtungen
JEFFCOTT, L.B. (1979c)
Radiographic examination of the equine vertebral column
JEFFCOTT, L.B. (1979b)
Backproblems in the horse - a look at past, present and future progress
DÄMMRICH, K., BRASS, W. (1993)
Krankheiten der Gelenke
Back pain is a common problem in riding horses. (Jeffcott 1979). While it has been known for centuries that horses have back pain, the technology to accurately diagnose the cause of primary or secondary back pain has only come about in recent years, and even this insufficient. The main problem in the traditional treatment of horses is the LACK OF EDUCATION of horse owners and riders. Here in Academia Liberti, we are trying to build the bridge between equine science and the average horseman who sees horses for use and riding. I am convinced that as soon as the avarage horsemen GET TO KNOW about the anatomy and the biomechanics of his/her animal, and HARM which he/she causes through riding, that riding a horse will be seen by all respect, as a barbaric act of the illiterate and simpleminded horseman.
Damage to the epaxial (muscle) tissue above and surrounding the vertebral column is the most common cause for backpain in the horse. (Jeffcott 1993) To make the this study complete, we also need to involve the muscle tissues in the thoracic and lumbar area. Jeffcott and Dalin (1980) divide the main muscles in the horse’s back into three groups: - Superficial muscles: trapezius, and cutaneus - Deep muscles : serratus dorsalis cranialis, serratus dorsalis caudalis, longssimus dorsi, multitidi dorsi, iliocostalis dorsalis, and intertransversais lumborum - Sublumbal and gluteal muscles : psoas minor, psoas major, iliacus, quadratus lumborum, and glutealis medialis
Thorakales Interspinales Syndrom (TIS)/Kissing Spine Syndrom (KSS)
Natural Asymmetry by definition, is a slanted propulsion of the hind legs of the horse, by which cause a lateral shift or offset in the front legs. There is assumption that the reason for this is the location of the foal in the womb.
