05/21/2026
🐴Most people assess hind limb function by looking at how far the hoof tracks up, how much engagement appears to occur, or how expressive the movement looks 🐴
But locomotion is far more complex than just bigger movement or more reach.
What matters is how the horse coordinates balance, force and movement throughout the entire body — while that movement is occurring.
Because movement does not originate in isolated pieces.
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The sacrum sits within the pelvis and forms part of the spinal column itself. It connects to the pelvis through the sacroiliac joint — where the sacrum joins with the ilium.
Unlike the cervical, thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, the sacral vertebrae are fused — creating a structure specifically designed to transfer and distribute force from the hind limbs into the spine and forward to the forehand.
This matters enormously when we think about locomotion.
Because the movement of the hind limbs directly influences the pelvis.
The pelvis influences the sacrum.
The sacrum influences the lumbar spine.
And that force continues travelling forward — through the thoracic spine, ribcage, forelimbs, cervical spine and into the head and neck.
This is one reason we often see compensatory tension and altered movement strategies appear through areas such as the thoracic sling and neck when pelvic movement becomes asymmetrical or restricted.
Movement is not occurring in isolated sections of the horse.
It is continually transferring, adapting and redistributing throughout the entire body.
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As the hind limbs move, the pelvis subtly shifts and changes position — transferring through the sacrum and along the spinal column in three planes:
• Flexion and extension
• Axial rotation
• Lateral bending
These combine to create dynamic spinal oscillation throughout the body.
Not fixed positions the horse holds — but a continual, flowing, wave-like movement that travels through the entire horse with every stride.
This is why we need to stop viewing the spine as something that simply holds positions.
The spine is a constantly oscillating and adapting movement system.
And when the body cannot transfer and distribute force efficiently, it finds stability another way — through brace, restriction and tension instead.
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Something simple you can try right now:
Watch your horse walk away from you.
Notice how the pelvis subtly shifts and oscillates with each stride as the hind limbs alternately advance, load and push off.
One side advances while the opposite limb remains grounded as the body moves forward over it before transitioning into push-off.
The body continuously adapts around those shifting forces.
That movement is not random.
It is the beginning of spinal oscillation travelling forward through the horse.
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Once we understand where movement originates and how force transfers through the body, we begin to understand why weakness, asymmetry, restriction or tension in one area so often produces visible effects somewhere else entirely.
The body is continuously working to distribute load and maintain balance as efficiently as possible.
And the movement patterns we observe externally are the visible result of how successfully — or unsuccessfully — the horse appears to be managing that load distribution internally.
What we can directly observe is the asymmetry, the timing, the oscillation — or the absence of it.
What we are interpreting is what that may mean beneath the surface.
Both matter. But it is worth knowing which is which.
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Here’s something worth sitting with:
If conformation influences the shape, angles and orientation of the pelvis, sacrum, lumbar spine and hind limbs — could it also influence how easily a horse accesses certain planes of movement over others?
And if so, what might that mean for how we approach balance, training and soundness — for each individual horse?
Over the next few posts I’ll be breaking down these three planes of spinal movement further - I hope to see you here 😊
💬 Drop a question below if anything here sparked something for you.
