I am new to owning thoroughbreds. I purchased Moose about 3 months ago. He has put on a little weight since I have bought him. He is still in a healthy weight range. His neck has always looks thin to me even though the rest of him looks fine. Is this a top line issue? I haven’t rode him yet since I bought him. I wanted him to have plenty of time to adjust to his new home and my other horses. My other quarter horses haven’t been ridden much this winter but they still look as toned as ever. I’ve heard thoroughbreds are more prone to getting the ewe neck look than other breeds. Is this true?
Depends…sometimes it’s conformational, sometimes they aren’t carrying enough weight to hide it. It also smooths out in a lot of them as they learn to relax and lower their head and neck giving to rein pressure instead of running into it.
Three months is nothing in letting down and reconditioning horses off the track and you are looking at air fern QHs with totally different body type for comparison. Be patient.
If you could get him lunging in a confined area in side reins, it would help him start to redevelop and add weight someplace besides his belly, better for him physically and mentally and he can start to learn his new career.
Each horse is an individual. I have had TBs that are built like tanks and those that are “aerodynamic”. My current TB has been very hard to put weight on despite diet assistance. His neck has always looked undeveloped despite correct flat work. After 6 years of owning him I started adding a protein/amino acid supplement (Purina Super Sport) to his diet at the recommended dosage. Within a few weeks his topline started looking better. At the recommendation of my vet, I started feeding him double the amount recommended by Purina after he had been on it for about 6 months because his development seemed to plateau. You would not believe the difference it has made. His neck is now think, topline developed, and he has finally put on those last few pounds around his rib cage that have been impossible to put on in the past.
It seems to depend on how much correct riding and conditioning they have had over their lives. A young race horse does not have much neck muscle. An OTTB that has been in correct riding for several years will develop as nice a neck as he has genes for (often very nice) and will keep it unless he loses a lot of weight overall, just like any other horse.
Keep in mind that “ewe neck” properly applies to a neck that is set on low and has a tendency to be “upside down” with a high headset and bulging underside. They can be improved with proper work and stretching.
Many OTTB have lovely neck conformation, their neck ties on high and they can carry it in a proper curve with training. They are not really ewe necked. They are just young a scrawny. Other OTTB really do have a ewe neck and downhill build. If you post good conformation photos we can weigh in on what is going on with Moose in particular.
It is true that most QH are “easy keepers” compared to most TB. They are naturally more muscled especially in the hind end and back, and they put on weight easier and keep it on less food. Most TB have higher metabolisms and a different kind of muscle.
Comparing QH and TB is like comparing human body builders versus human sprinters. Different body type, different muscle type, different talents. And QH even with short thick necks can be functionally ewe necked, neck upside down and tied on low.
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I don’t know why my pics always upload blurry but that’s the best picture I have that shows him from the side.
It’s a really small picture 
Is he OT? Or “just” a TB? Either way, it’s not all that uncommon for TBs to have less naturally muscled necks than, say, stock horse types.
We need a lot more information on him - age, history that you know, and his current diet as well as anything you know about his past diet.
He is an off track thoroughbred. He turns 4 in a couple months. I have no idea what his past diet was as a racehorse. I feed him Timothy hay mixed with alfalfa. It’s about 70% Timothy and 30% alfalfa. He only gets grain as a treat once in a while.
I have seen videos of him when he was fresh off the track and he has a thin looking neck but it still looks proportionate to his body. So that makes me think it’s just an overall loss of muscle now that makes his neck just look weak. I’ll keep working on figuring out how to post a pic that people can actually see
Is that pic any easier to see?
To me he looks like a horse whose neck ties on low but also who is young and just hasn’t developed neck muscle yet. IME it’s easier to develop body muscle than neck muscle for a horse who is on pasture.
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That picture does make it seem like he’s got a lower neck tie-in, which in an of itself will make it hard(er) to develop a lovely muscled neck. Look how much higher Bogie’s horse’s neck comes out of his shoulder. It’s going to take several years of long slow correct work to develop healthy muscling on his neck.
I would put him on a ration balancer if his weight is good as it is. That will help with the nutrition from the protein and amino acid side of things.
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He looks very butt high or perhaps that’s the angle? Either way I would start him on a ration balancer or something like Progressive Add Supplement + flax or cocosoya for some good fat + Omegas. Baby TBs can be terribly gawky creatures., but they do need their protein + Omegas. I would lunge him in a Pessoa system, maybe a chambon, you want him to stretch down w/the nose poked out, not behind the vertical, to really develop that top line. You are going to have to counter some natural conformation here but eventually it will get better.
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