When I dismounted after my ride I noticed something odd. My mare had her head pretty low, which in itself is a bit unusual for her, hard to describe but there was a rhythmic ripple going up the bottom of her neck. By up I mean the opposite of swallow direction.
She was distressed as in sweating or agitation of any kind. She was relaxed. We had had a fairly easy straightforward lesson. The first part (trailer loading) was a bit tense nothing crazy- then we had a 20 walk lesson, working on rhythm-transitions-staying on the bit, then done. She didn’t work hard enough to have a sweat under the saddle.
But, I have not noticed this reverse throat action before am I just unobservant?
It may be the jugular pulse, ie. blood flow in the carotid artery! If so, that can be a really good sign - it usually means your horse’s under-neck muscles (brachiocephalicus and/or sternocephalicus) are nice and relaxed, which is usually associated with good mental relaxation and/or at least a tendency to not brace the under neck and thoracic sling tissues.
I can’t seem to find any videos on youtube (I see a bunch in a facebook group I’m a part of, but they aren’t public). I’ll try and get a video of my horse’s pulse when I go to the barn tomorrow (assuming she’s relaxed enough to cooperate 
).
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This is a great diagram. Well that is pretty cool. Thank you!
if you can find her mandibular pulse point you might be able to see that the venous pulsing is fairly in time with the pulse you feel
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Another vote for pulse.
Any tips for actually finding the mandibular pulse? I can’t quite seem to put my finger on it (haha). But seriously - I would really like to be able to check his heart rate like this.
it actually takes a very light touch. It helps to try after a good work out, remove the bridle and put on a halter since straps might interfere
if your horse has a lot of hair or is bit chonky it is a little more challenging
practice finding your own pulse at your wrist. I found that challenging when I first tried and even now there is a fine line on the position and pressure
BE AWARE in a sick horse a heart rate and pulse rate may not be the same. Heart rate should be taken with a stethoscope on the heart. A weak or sick horse may have altered circulation pressure and the pulse may read different
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