If when you cross over in front he braces the least and that zings his neck, like when you reach for a blanket and they get an electric shock, then they are wary, not sure what did it but it hurts!
Perhaps that could contribute to his problems?
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Thanks for the suggestion, I love this idea! I need to find a day when he’s displaying the behavior in order to test the theory – I’m kicking myself for not having thought of it before, since we already do a lot of clicker training and carrot stretches. Cheers 
Edit: replied to wrong person 
this is my first rodeo, so please excuse my incompetence haha
Totally totally possible! Certainly I get the sense that there’s a ‘zing’ of some kind (just based on gut instinct). I also was mulling it over today and realized it’s possible it’s multifactoral – e.g. eyesight causes spookiness, when I cross over he spooks slightly backwards, which zings his neck. Unfortunately he’s got enough stuff going on that it could be any combination of factors. Thanks very much for your thoughts!
Thanks for your thoughtful response (and for saying that my prev response wasn’t completely incoherent, lol).
Re:lunging – Got it, that’s good that you’re generally able to tell in the moment when something is uncomfortable, since it can be so hard to isolate a factor if they’re displaying soreness afterwards. Right now lunging doesn’t seem to be an issue for him but of course that could change at any time. I’ll monitor! And I appreciate the tip about pressure on a noseband – I hadn’t thought of that as a potential issue, and it’s a great callout since I routinely ride in a rope halter. It does make sense that putting pressure on the nose could hurt, since that presumably puts torque on the neck?
I like the metaphor of the house of cards you describe. When a horse has physical limitations (and it seems most do once they reach a certain age), it’s tough to figure out where to push for correctness, and where to accept that the compensatory patterns you describe are keeping them comfortable. It seems there’s a pretty wide spectrum of servicably sound, but it’s not always obvious when you’ve reached the edge. I know I’m likely on borrowed time with my gelding, but would like to enjoy ridden work with him for as long as possible, of course, as long as it’s fair to him.
Thank you for the recs on injections, carrot stretches, trims, and poles! Will add these to the long-term plan. I’ll see if my farrier is down to come out more frequently. Is there a particular reason the poles work so well for you, or a particular goal you have for that work? I ask bc I do a lot to help with his movement + add variety, but hadn’t considered them as a specific intervention for his c-spine symptoms, if that makes sense.
And I appreciate the gut check on sight vs other possible triggers. It’s good to know that the behavior is presenting similarly in other horses.
I’ll continue to update! Totally go figure, that the second I post about it, the issue is no longer present. Another lovely barn day of free lunging, playing with tarps (he wore it for the first time today – v fashionable), no-stirrups work, munching spring grass, and rolling. Crossed in front of his face a zillion times with no reaction at all.
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