To discover exactly where longitudinal and lateral flexion occur in the horse, we must take a very close look at the poll. Many think of the poll as the place where everything happens, but don't always understand why and how.

What many consider as the poll actually is composed of three different aspects. The poll is actually the "external occipital protuberance" and often in riding literature the atlas and axis vertebrae or aspects of their function are included in discussions when often only the poll is referred to.This can create great confusion.

To understand flexion better we need to understand the poll and the atlas and axis better.

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