SynthesisScientific reports2024
Hyperflexing the horse's neck: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Scientific reports, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Conflict Behaviour Frequency During Show Jumping Competitions: A Practical Study.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Opportunities for agency in domestic horses: Applying the behavioural domain to increase equine welfare.Animal welfare (South Mimms, England) · 2026Review
- Motion Coupling at the Cervical Vertebral Joints in the Horse-An Ex Vivo Study Using Bone-Anchored Markers.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Article
- Regulatory Integrity and Welfare in Horse Sport: A Constructively Critical Perspective.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Article
- Influences of Double Versus Snaffle Bridles on Equine Behaviour at Dressage Competitions and Factors That Interact with Their Effect.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Article
- Head and Neck Positions Affect Equine Kinematic Variables in Marcha Batida Gait-A Pilot Study.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Article
- "But my horse is well cared for": A qualitative exploration of cognitive dissonance and enculturation in equestrian attitudes toward performance horses and their welfare.Animal welfare (South Mimms, England) · 2025Article
- Horse vision through two lenses: Tinbergen's Four Questions and the Five Domains.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The article reports a meta-analysis of 58 peer-reviewed studies investigating on dorsoventral hyperflexion of the neck in horses, a practice under substantial public and scientific scrutiny for the past two decades. The following databases were last searched on 28.05.2023: CAB, Google Scholar, Web of Science, NAL/Agricola, PubMed and ScienceDirect. After evaluating the conclusions of each study, we performed statistical analyses to establish a consensus on welfare and performance (performance marks, kinematics and musculoskeletal) outcomes in horses performing with a hyperflexed head and neck posture (HNP). The analysis revealed that a significant majority of the articles (75% of n = 36; Z = 3.00; P>|Z|=0.0027) expressed concerns about the welfare of horses working in this posture. Parameters such as dressage training level, prior experience, duration, and method of achieving the hyperflexed posture did not influence welfare concern conclusions significantly (P > 0.1). Therefore, it appears that the practice impairs welfare regardless of how it is imposed. A concurrent assessment of the weight of evidence for performance benefits showed inconclusive results: approximately one-quarter of the studies showed benefits and one-quarter detrimental effects, while the largest proportion (44%) showed no significant effect on performance. On balance, it appears that the costs associated with hyperflexed HNPs exceed potential benefits.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.