Q:I was told by a trainer that my horse has atrophy in her neck that could cause problems later in life. Can you tell me what I may be facing in the future? She is a 4-year-old mare. What, if anything, can be done?

Margo Land

A:It is my experience that atrophy of the musculature of a horse's neck is usually caused by direct impact blunt trauma. The most common cause is a kick from another horse, although it can also occur when a horse runs into a solid obstacle. Sometimes stallions and mares bite foals when placed in a group or herd environment. Although muscle atrophy is the common outcome, I have not seen a functional problem develop later if there were no issues soon after injury. I believe almost all cases of focal muscle atrophy of the neck are blemishes and do not create problems later in life.