Best way to build up condition and muscle

McNally

McNally

Well-Known Member
Joined
24 February 2009
Messages
1,579
Visit site
One of my horses 14yr old ID X type this winter has lost a lot of muscle under the saddle area and off his bum.
I only took him over as "mine" last year so this was the first winter i was in control of his feeding (was previously his groom)
Due to joint problems when i got him he desperatly needed to loose huge amounts of weight and hadnt been in work for ages.
I think i may have over done the diet slightly. Over winter he's had plently of hay and a small hard feed 2x daily consisting of Spillers herbal mix, Hifi and speedi beet.
Work wise he is hacked lightly 3-5 times a week on average.
The weight im not worried about. You can see his ribs from certain angles but this is how the vet said he needs to be really to put less stress on his joints.
I really want to round his bum back up and get a better top line on him bt am finding this difficult! He cant school firstly i have no school and my fields are trashed and under water but more to the point it puts too much stress on his joints (he always went lame after a school session with previous owner but was a dressage horse hence the long periods of time off before i had him)
He rides in a nice outline tho' sometimes over bends. I try and keep him doing stretches and vary the terrain as much as his soundness allows me to.
TBH im not 100% certain if the roundedness of him previously was just down to fat or muscle and maybe its just now he's lost so much weight muscle wastage is more obvious?
Any ideas as to how i can help him shape up? The temptation is to pump feed into him but i know soon enough spring grass and all that he will be huge and lame again!
 
A third way is long and steady walking over as many different terrains as you can manage as well as up and down hills. No need to trot on the roads, just steady marching will help no end to his muscle problems especially if you can increase the time gently and you can school as you go, who needs a school, they're vastly over rated besides not being good for joints and minds sometimes?!
 
Hills, hills and more hills . . . lots of marching walks and slow trots and canters - anything basically that makes him push from behind :).

P
 
The right work is key but you do also need the right building blocks in the diet ie. good quality vegetable protein. I would definitely look at a conditioning feed which will contain this - Calm & Condition, Baileys Top Line Conditioning Cubes, Build-Up - any one of these will contain more and better quality protien than your Herbal Mix. Feed what it says on the bag too so that he gets the right amount! Good luck!
 
as has been said above - lots of steady walking out over all sorts of terrain - hills is good.
Consistent work is best too - better to be out 6/7 days a week for 40 minutes each day than once or twice a week for longer. Allow yourself enough time too - it will probably take him a couple of months to build up good muscle.
 
barnbrookaa said:
Two things:

Calm and Condition and Sacriocranial Therapy :D
Click to expand...

Thanks everyone. I am currently trying to find help with riding my other horse, so i have time to ride this one more often so fingers crossed there!
What is Sacriocranial therapy?
I will try some other feed but will it not just put fat on him? I really really need to keep weight off?

As for long walks we can manage that and there are a few good hills round.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top