If you have watched any of the CSI type of shows, you have heard of the hyoid process and how it is damaged when a person is choked. Very few people know how it relates to a horse’s ability to collect and relax.
In horses the hyoid is not a “single” bone (it’s not in people either, no matter what the shows imply), but a combination of several small bones/joints that influence the horse’s head/neck. The hyoid apparatus is a crucial part of the anatomy for responding to aids from the seat and leg. As a link in the “circle of aids,” it allows fine adjustments to be made in relaxed responses from tongue and jaw.
When horses are “through” and “on the bit/aids,” tension in the muscles connected to the tongue via the base of the hyoid is relieved by soft munching. This aids the readjustment of the neck vertebrae (reversal of the lower curve from convex toward the ground to concave) for the characteristic “arched neck”.
The hyoid is connected to the styloid process at the bottom of the brain case by ligaments. It connects the muscles and ligaments of the tongue, pharyngeal section of the windpipe and neck. Faults with the tongue are traceable to the intimate linkages in the hyoid system being overly tight.
When the horse is on the bit he should have sufficient room in his bridle (2 fingers minimum between the nose and the noseband/flash) to keep his jaw mobile in order to relieve muscle tension that build up when moving in collection or extension. Making adjustments in the hyoid by licking & chewing, horses may flick their tongues very briefly out the front of the mouth.
If a horse sticks its tongue out of the side of its mouth, over the bit or withdraws its tongue from the bit, it is a sign that bit, saddle, pressure from the seat combined with a fixed/hard hand or perhaps an injury is a problem.
Massage prior to a class is a perfect way to loosen up your horses head/neck/tongue. This will enable him to collect better and be more relaxed. This can directly influence their collection and extension.
Photos by Dr. Nancy Nicholson.
Hands Healing Horses 