Help for falling crest, please!

[Bramblehill]

The crest on my daughter's 3 year old mare is rolling over a bit . She has a VERY thick mane, so I trimmed about half of it on the underside, but she has a very thin, loose neck with not much muscle. She's never been underweight and is wormed regularly. Are there any specific exercises that I can do to help her develop in the neck area? Is this a fault that could be passed on to any potential offspring??

 

[Sonya]

I don't know about genetically if it could be passed down. I would say yes, a thick mane could be passed down to offspring. A gelding I got about 6 weeks ago had a fallen crest, he was just a little underweight. I've been giving him flax and his crest came back up (plus I thinned the mane like you did). You could also flip her mane to the other side and put a mane tamer on it to help. I was going to do this too, but never had too. Flax helps add extra fat to their diet and that's all mine needed I think. Good luck.

 

[Frankie]

Any horse can develop an excessively large crest. It is usually seen in stallions, ponies, Morgans, and draft breeds.

It is usually from fat deposits above the nuchal ligament. Either caused by over weight, or a metabolic condition such as thyroid problems.

An excessively large crest not only looks bad, but it puts more weight on the forehand

Obese horse needs a proper conditioning program to help control the weight of the crest and fat deposits.

Once truly broken, it can not be repaired.

If either of your horses have a fallen crest, I would guess at some point the horse had been overweight, if you're sure there are no other health conditions. Thinning the mane will not prevent it from falling, only lighten the pull.

It may look to be falling, but if it actually hasn't, conditioning and proper nutrients will help restore.

 

[Bramblehill]

We've had this girl since she was 4 months old and she is the only one on the place that's never been a little pudgy occasionally. She's consistently been at a good weight. (Hope that doesn't sound defensive!) She does have really wimpy neck muscles. You can take the crest in your hand and shake the whole neck.

 

[Frankie]

Then she would be the one who could improve through conditioning.

good luck