Building muscle on one side

[melbournesunrise]

Had my new horse for a little bit now, and he's going really well - much happier in his routine and with me being his human, and much much better being ridden without the 'giraffe' style he had before I bought him! As soon as I could, I bought him a new saddle to fit him, and had it fitted by someone who knows what they are doing. She said that we would need to check it again in a few months time, as hopefully he would build muscle under one side of it and become less asymmetrical.

I've really noticed what she means due to the hot weather - after riding him, the sweat patches are different on either side! To my untrained eye, I can't really see it just by looking, but it is really obvious with the sweating.

I have the vet coming out in a couple of weeks (can't do it sooner ) for his vaccinations, so I'm hoping to ask her to check it out and hopefully have her make a physio or chiro referral for him. Until then, I'm hoping to figure out some things that might help to build the muscle on his weaker side. Any ideas??

 

[Bernster]

I'm sure some more knowledgeable will come along and help you, but I'll kick off a reply as I have similar issues with mine who is quite one sided. Obv first thing to do is check it isn't pain related or saddle/tack. If not, then for me it's a case of working their weaker side, getting them to work straight and properly pushing from the hind. Pole and lunge work or even in hand work.

I'm a wonky rider however so I've realised that I need more experienced help to straighten us both out, so I've enlisted the help of an instructor and we're about to start a training boot camp and need to get some physio or similar for myself.

 

[SEL]

Mine is one sided. We've got one of those pads under the saddle where you can put inserts so the saddle sits straight while the muscle builds up.

I think with her its because she has arthritic hocks (diagnosed at 6) and a small bone spur on one, so she is crooked to avoid it hurting. I'm in discussion with the vets about what we can do, but in the meantime its all been around working her properly to build up her muscles so she carries herself properly.

I was never a fan of lunging devices until I bought an equiami. I don't lunge in tight circles because of her hocks (we use the whole school), but she holds herself better in the device and I can really feel the difference under saddle as well. She's still better on 1 rein and her right shoulder is still not as developed as the left - but we've made huge headway.

 

[cundlegreen]

I've had really severe muscle wastage in the past, and used an EMS (electro muscle stimulator) machine on it, which worked wonders. Yours obviously isn't as bad as that, but it's a very good piece of kit to have in the tackroom. I put it on horses that need it for approx 20 mins, before riding. They are usually happy to stand eating some hay while it works on the muscle.

 

[Pinkvboots]

If he was very upside down and hollow before you got him it could have been that the previous saddle has caused muscle damage behind the shoulder, a good physio can help you with stretches and exercises to help it come back, you may also need a wider saddle and shim it while so the muscle has room to grow again, it can also be linked to foot comformation if the foot is more upright and boxy on one front quite often that side of the body is under developed.

 

[Pinkvboots]

One way of looking at back and shoulder symmetry is to stand behind your horse on a stool or something to make you a bit taller and look towards the front end you will see how the shoulder and back muscles compare.

 

[fredflop]

I would think a physio visit is an excellent idea... however in the meantime I'd work equally on both reins, but getting him to work as properly as you can. Could also be worth getting yourself checked out by a physio first as well then you know you won't be causing any problems

 

[sbloom]

Please go back to your fitter, uneven sweat patches on each side mean uneven pressure on each side, so the saddle is not sitting quite straight. You may need a shim pad, she will advise you. I would suggest looking at some in hand work like Straightness Training, it is entirely possibly to straighten a horse by riding or lunging (though I'm no fan of lunging gadgets) but you really need to know what you're doing. ST is broken down stage by stage and has a good support group on FB. it's not a perfect system but my customers see good results from it.