Traditionally, it has been considered that the correct execution of manual dexterity movements fully depends on the brain, mainly on the motor cortex, and the spinal cord would “simply” be the substrate for the information to be transmitted to the muscle. However, stereotypic features of these movements suggest that some level of control may be exerted from the spinal cord (SC). In this project, we aimed to unveil the presence and location of this hypotetic spinal neuronal network. We inflicted excitotoxic injuries to rats at different cervical SC levels using kainic acid, for exclusively affecting spinal networks while preserving descending commands. Motor deficits were evaluated by comparing the performance, before vs after the intervention, in reaching and grasping accuracy and multiple other behavioural tests of forelimb muscles’ function that likely require distinct neuronal networks. Only C3-injured animals showed a significant impairment in the execution of forelimb skilled movements (e.g. reaching and grasping, staircase and horizontal ladder tests). Histological analyses revealed a grey matter and neuronal loss that correlated with the segments of injection. To dismiss the possibility of the partial loss of motoneurons and/or sensory feedback being the cause of the behavioural deficits observed, a subsequent experiment was conducted in which the C3 dorsal and ventral roots were sectioned, therefore eliminating all its direct afferences and efferences but preserving spinal networks’ integrity. Those animals did not suffer manual dexterity impairments. Our results suggest the presence, at spinal segment C3, of a neuronal network necessary for controlling reaching and grasping.