Understanding
the backbone of polo ponies
Anatomical structure of the spine
The polo pony's spine is composed of 7 cervical vertebrae, 18 thoracic vertebrae, with their 18 pairs of ribs, 6
lumbar vertebrae, 5 fused sacral vertebrae and 23/26 coccygeal vertebrae. We humans share the same number of cervical and sacral vertebrae as equines, and in the rest of the segments they outnumber us, which considering the size of this animal, its condition as prey and the weight of the abdominal cavity surrounded by the pairs of ribs, we can understand the need for an increase in joint surfaces: more joint surfaces + mobility.
Biomechanics
During the game, and understanding what the animal does biomechanically speaking in its spine, we can see and analyze different movements -which for a purely explanatory reason we divide them, but functionally they are performed together-. The main movements required by the pony are flexion, extension, sidebending or lateral flexion and rotation.
To carry out these movements, there are anatomical structures that participate in their execution. On the one hand, we have the muscles, which for their study and understanding, we separate them into different planes, from the most superficial to the deepest. With the contraction of the agonist and relaxation of the antagonist muscle, and among other mechanisms, the movement is created. In the following image by the British Gillian Higgins we observe the flexor and extensor muscle chains of the spine of horses.
On the other hand, we have the biomechanical participation of the ligaments that need to be stable in order to stabilize the joints and limit certain movements (See Blog article Ligaments, health and polo ponies.)
Key structures under mechanical stress and sensitive areas
Whether due to sport or driving, there are key structures and more sensitive and vulnerable areas of the spine that, anatomically and biomechanically speaking, would be more prone to injury than others.
One of the biomechanically sensitive areas of the spine that is highly stressed in polo ponies is the transition zone of the vertebral segment. I am referring to when the spine passes from one vertebral segment to another, we find the last cervical vertebra and the first thoracic vertebra, the last thoracic vertebra with the first lumbar vertebra, the last lumbar vertebra with the first sacral vertebra, the last sacral vertebra with the first coccygeal vertebra, and the first coccygeal vertebrae - which form the fix tail - with the following coccygeal vertebrae - or the free tail. In these transition zones the vertebrae share anatomical similarities or vestiges of another segment, but in terms of biomechanical mobility they correspond to a segment of their own. With the changes in the rhythm of the game, accelerations, decelerations, turns, these joints would be prone to mobility dysfunctions, and therefore influence corresponding physiological processes, such as neuropathies.
On the other hand, we also find the dorsal area from 10 to more or less 14/15, the influence of the rider and the saddle, as well as the cervical area due to the action of the rider's hands and the influence of the headstall and the reins.
What does the “whole” in the body mean in osteopathic terms?
The body functions as a sum and interaction of its parts where an application of force received at a certain point will have an impact or influence on that same place as well as on other more distant places.
In osteopathic medicine, one of its five basic principles deals with the unity of the body (see article Osteopathy and Polo). There are anatomical relationships that are more obvious than others, for example, when working and manipulating a vertebra, we will have an impact at a local articular/circulatory/neurological level, depending on what our objective is to work on, but at the same time, the work will reach more distant areas. For example, T18 (thoracic vertebra number 18), we will be influencing the diaphragm, and in turn through it the cardiorespiratory function - so important and pertinent in the performance of a polo horse (See article Heart and lungs), the digestive function through the passage of the esophagus into the abdominal cavity as well as its intimate relationship from its internal face with the stomach and liver, to name a few relationships. From a circulatory point of view, the aorta passes through the diaphragm through the aortic hole, which changes its name when it enters the abdominal cavity, but from a functional point of view it is the same aorta that leaves the heart with oxygen-rich blood, as well as the vena cava, which will bring, together with the lymphatic system, all the waste from the lower limbs, pelvis and abdomen of the horse; which will have an influence on the biomechanics of the hind limbs when performing the acceleration movement in the game... everything has a relationship with everything and an influence. Although sometimes, from a pathological point of view or in certain cases of rehabilitation, we must isolate ourselves from these relationships to remain only focused on the local, the relationships with the distant exist and in a healthy horse this is what we should favor, thus allowing the physiological processes to develop as the machine wisely can do...
References:
All images are from the book "Horse Anatomy for Performance" by Gillian Higgins 2012.
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