Building up a bum ?

moody_mare

moody_mare

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My baby horse ( who isn't that young anymore! ) is now working nicely in a consistent outline, but her backend is still quite weak & there isn't much muscle. So any suggestions on how I can build it up would be appreciated :)
Thanks!

Will upload a few photos later
 
lots of hill work :)
my boy lost a bit of muscle tone around his rear end so we were doing lots of hacking with hill work and using draw reins/side reins.
 
i lunged with side reins - horse had a minor scat attack :p but he eventually managed to figure out what he was supposed to be doing with his feet.

i was amazed how much he rounded when they were on, even on the longest setting
 
Pessoa is only any good if you know what you are doing and can actually lunge properly and work the horse- not just exercise it.
Anything that engages the hindquarters will build muscle. So raised poles, lateral work, grid work, transitions, etc. Adequate goog quality protein in the diet is also needed alongside the proper work. And the saddle and bit needs to fit so the horse is physically able to work properly.
 
teddyt said:
Pessoa is only any good if you know what you are doing and can actually lunge properly and work the horse- not just exercise it.
Anything that engages the hindquarters will build muscle. So raised poles, lateral work, grid work, transitions, etc. Adequate goog quality protein in the diet is also needed alongside the proper work. And the saddle and bit needs to fit so the horse is physically able to work properly.
Click to expand...


^^ agree with this. my vet recommended doing pole work and then raising them so he has to pick up his feet and use his back end properly. i was mean though - i did it in draw reins :rolleyes:
 
If no hills then raised trot poles on the lunge and when ridden, in a straight line and on a circle. I prefer to raise them at opposite ends rather than a line of straight poles. Have found this really effective on different ages/breeds. We do it twice a week, bounce work also helps.
 
Interesting thread as I've been having similar ponderings myself recently. Bit of a dippy question but how do you all raise your trot poles - do you use a low setting on the jump wings or just prop them on something low? We have the plastic blocks for wings handy but not sure how low they'd go to make raised trot poles as opposed to a jump!
 
Walrus - if i used raised poles, i tend to rest them on the bottom lip of the school fence, obviously it doesn't raise them all along the lenght, but does give them some lift :)
 
You can prop them on the arena fence, or use small blocks of wood/ jump wings/ buy them specially from derby house or JSW. Start with them low and then take it from there!
 
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