When the Nauchal Ligament in the neck is Longer than the length of the neck itself, (think of it as an overstretched rubber band loose, inside of a straw), you get a fallen crest. A fallen crest is the lack of tightness in the topline of the horse as seen below.Ī fallen crest is caused by the Nauchal Ligament in the neck. The crest and neck may increase and decrease in width, height, and weight due to fat, water, exercise, and the crest line may tilt to the left or the right if the horse has lost fat, muscle, or water, causing the hair of the horse to ‘bounce’ up and down on the side that the hair falls, but the actual line of the neck when looking from the hind end will still be straight, This lack of fitness is NOT a fallen crest, just a part of the body that is over or under worked.

A horse that will have a fallen crest will have a fallen crest, and a horse that will not have a fallen crest (unless injured) will not. It may be seen sooner in the life of the horse because of these factors, and may be more extreme due to these conditions. It is NOT caused by horses that are too fat, horses that have lost weight, horses that are not worked, etc. What Causes a fallen crest? A fallen crest is caused by a conformation flaw. What is a fallen crest? In spain it is often refered to as a ‘cuello del gato’ (a neck of the cat) because when looking from the hind end of the horse towards the poll, the neck curves and apears to have a cat sleeping in the neck line.

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