The Panniculus Carnosis Muscle - Find out more..........

As the sun comes out, and so do the flies we will begin to see our horses shaking their skin to rid themselves of the pesky insects 🦟

As horse lovers I am sure you will have witnessed the horse’s ability to shake their skin when something irritates it 🐴

But have you ever noticed that they are only able to do this on certain parts of their body❓

This is because the muscle that is responsible for moving and wrinkling the skin only extends as far as the knee or hock and is not present at all in the neck.

You will notice that if a horse gets an irritation on the neck they will shake their head to try and remove it, and if they have one on their lower leg they will stamp a hoof or reach around and attack it with their teeth 🦷

▪️The muscle responsible for the skin twitch reaction is a thin sheet of subcutaneous tissue called the Panniculus Carnosus.

▪️When sensory nerves in the horse’s coat hair or their skin are stimulated by an irritation such as a tickle from a fly, neural messages are sent from the brain to the Panniculus Carnosus causing it to contract and twitch the skin.

▪️You may have also seen your horse do this at the wither too if they have a sensitive spot from where your saddle has been sitting or even from the seam of the rug they have been wearing all winter❓

🖐 Try running the palms of your hands gently with even pressure all over your horse, you can use the reaction of the Panniculus Carnosus to identify any possible sore areas

If your horse has a reaction it may be a good time to think about contacting your Equine Massage Therapist to investigate further and hopefully relieve the tension ✔️

As a final note next time you see your horse grazing on a nice sunny day why not take a few moments to watch them and how their bodies react to the flies and see the Panniculus Carnosus in action ☀️