01/04/2026
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐บ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐๐๐ผ๐ฎ ๐๐๐๐๐ฒ๐บ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด:
๐๐ข๐ฏ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ข๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ช๐ค๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ช๐ด๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ต๐ฐ๐ฎ๐บ & ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฃ๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ด.
So I decided to also re share this [ PART 1] as a strong anatomical explanation, for why no really does mean no when it comes to the Pessoa.
๐งฉ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฑ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ & ๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐
This post reached far more people than I expected when I originally shared it, and given the number of horses, particularly performance horses I continue to see affected by poll and cranio-occipital trauma, it is well worth revisiting and now as a further link to that vulnerable area re: the pessoa!
An anatomical structure that is far more clinically relevant than many realise.โผ๏ธ
๐ ๐ง๐ฒ๐ฟ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ผ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐:
Myo = muscle
Dural = dura mater, the protective membrane surrounding the spinal cord.
The myodural bridge represents a direct anatomical connection between the re**us capitis minor muscle and the dura mater of the spinal cord. This occurs in the spaces between the atlas (C1) and axis (C2), and between the atlas and the occiput.
Importantly, this region is one of the very few places in the body where the spinal cord is not fully protected by bone.
Alongside this muscular-dural connection, the greater occipital nerve (arising from the dorsal ramus of C1) traverses this region, making it particularly vulnerable to mechanical irritation, strain, or compression.
In performance horses where fine neurological regulation, balance, and sensory integration are critical, disruption in this area can have consequences far beyond the poll itself. Clinical signs I observe can be influenced not only by trauma or mechanical strain, but also by inflammation, environmental factors, and other contributors to nervous system sensitivity.
โก ๐๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐:
Because of the proximity to the brainstem, dysfunction at the cranio-occipital (CO) junction and myodural bridge can create widespread neurological consequences.
The brainstem governs essential autonomic and sensory functions, including auditory processing, swallowing, extraocular muscle control (vision), and regulation of muscle tone.
โ ๏ธ Chronic irritation in this region may therefore manifest as heightened hypersensitivity (sound sensitivity, light sensitivity), swallowing difficulties, and abnormal muscle responses.
This helps explain why horses with poll trauma or pull-back injuries can present with long-term behavioural and physical signs that appear disproportionate to the initial event.
โ ๏ธโ๏ธ ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ฆ๐ ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐
If your horse -particularly a young horse pulls back and shakes their head immediately, I strongly advise having a qualified equine osteopath assess them within a week or two if possible.
๐๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐ง๐จ๐๐จ ๐
โโ DO NOT TEACH TO TIE UP VIA A SOLID OBJECT โโ
๐ฅ ๐๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐น๐๐ฑ๐ฒ:
Hearing and sound reactivity; horses that spook excessively or become intolerant to normal environmental noise following poll injury, likely linked to altered brainstem auditory processing.
Ocular issues; difficulty tracking, changes in blink reflexes, or a horse becoming head-shy around the eyes.
Swallowing and bit acceptance; resistance to the bit, increased choking episodes, tongue thrusting behaviours, often associated with disruption of brainstem-mediated swallowing reflexes.
Chronic tension and guarding; persistent bracing of cervical and poll musculature, even at rest, driven by ongoing neurological irritation.
Unexplained behavioural changes; anxiety, head tossing, or hypersensitivity to light touch around the poll.
โ ๏ธ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐:
This is precisely the region over which a halter or bridle headpiece lies. A single pull-back incident can cause significant trauma, not only to the soft tissues, but to neurological structures responsible for integration and regulation.
These injuries may require long-term, careful management, and this also explains why palpation of the poll can elicit exaggerated responses โ the tissue here is not merely muscular, but deeply neurological.
In practice, I have also observed certain training approaches in dressage where riders pursue the so-called โnuchal ligament flip.โ This is not a desirable training adaptation, but rather an induced strain on the nuchal ligament and supporting suboccipital musculature. Repeatedly training dysfunction in this region risks perpetuating cycles of instability, pain, and neurological irritation.
๐ซ ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ง๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐:
Disturbance of the CO junction and myodural bridge is rarely an isolated issue. It can initiate an ongoing cycle of neurological stress, pain amplification, and compromised sensory integration.
๐๐ค๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐ง๐๐๐จ๐ค๐ฃ, ๐ ๐จ๐ฉ๐ง๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ก๐ฎ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐จ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ง๐ค๐ช๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ช๐จ๐ ๐ค๐ ๐ง๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ "๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐๐จ".
Prevention remains the best defence against injury in this region as the consequences are not only behavioural. musculoskeletal, but often lead to neurological and systemic.
Evaluation of the Structure of Myodural Bridges in an Equine Model of Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes - PMC https://share.google/vjTJFdEy7RmaqVnFk
๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐ง ๐ฎ ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ง
๐งฉ The Sacral Myodural Bridge:
Another of Many Reasons to Rethink the Pessoa Training Aid ๐ด
Original pessoa post : https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1C2mfh3YQz/
