The rhomboids are a muscle that you will most likely see mentioned in detail in your report, usually with a mark along it denoting some sort of tightness or stress point.

The rhomboids are responsible for lifting and lowering the shoulder, moving the shoulder forwards and elevating the neck.

The rhomboids are prone to stress points around the wither area causing the horse to react on palpation. The stress point can exacerbate any tightness that might be felt through the shoulder, from the withers down through the scapula area.  During palpation I often find tightness throughout the whole of this muscle, especially around the mid-point.

A good indication of tightness in this muscle is a loss of flexibility in the shoulder muscle and the feeling that your horse does not quite have the front end power he used to have when you are riding.

Treatment for this muscle can vary from horse to horse.  As it is a deep layer muscle some horses are happy for me to work deep into the muscle while other prefer a more superficial approach.  I will always start soft and build up.  Techniques include wringing, hacking, squeezing, kneading and planing/circling. 

The best reaction I have seen during a treatment was from a horse who does not like her neck worked too deeply.  She had a really large active stress point halfway along the muscle on the offside of her neck.  I released it by using light hacking motions over the area.  The whole of the rhomboid muscle unravelled before our eyes in a big wave like motion.  The horse took a big breath and completely released.  I wish we had captured it on video!

A sore rhomboid muscle can derive from many things, including;

- rider imbalance; causing the horse to use his head and neck to help him balance

- poor fitting saddle; the back dips down away from pressure causing the head to push up and back through the neck

- schooling; poor warm-up / cool down before or after schooling or if the horse is unfit and schooled too hard

- jumping; take-off and landing stress through the shoulder causing the horse to tense up through the neck

Breaking up schooling with stretches really help when working this muscle.  I often recommend asking your horse to really drop his nose and stretch his neck forwards when riding and, of course, this will benefit the whole of the horse.

An under developed rhomboid muscle can make the horse appear ewe-necked and potentially cause him to work in an incorrect posture but with the correct work carried out regularly it can easily be improved.

The photograph below of the mare and her foal, as well as being really cute and a lovely picture, highlights the rhomboids along the mare’s neck really well.  Can you see the line from her ear down to her shoulder?  The other muscles that you see defined are the splenius and the brachiocephalicus that are discussed in separate posts.



Remember, all the horse’s muscles work as one unit, and the root cause of brachiocephalic issues can stem from issues elsewhere in the body as the horse learns to compensate his way of going to reduce pain.

If you suspect your beloved friend has any issues with this, or any muscle, please don’t attempt to treat it yourself, give your local registered therapist a call and get it sorted professionally.