Building Up Topline

[pnap]

Right - had Jack checked by the physio lady yesterday and she reckons his old saddle was poorly fitted which has resulted in some serious muscular atrophy through his topline. (He was a riding school horse before I bought him 3 months ago). She has given me some massage techniques to help loosen him off and some exercises to do in order to get him to stretch but if anyone out there has any ideas on exercises I can do in the school to help build him up they'd be greatly appareciated. She doesn't think I should lunge him (or at least cut down my 3 times a week to once) and I should do more ridden work. He's 17.2hh and I'm about 5'3" so getting on and off isn't the easiest

so if I can set things up beforehand it's always helpful.

 

[JenHunt]

encouraging him to work from behind, in a long, low outline will help him stretch over his back and build up those muscles.

lots of transitions get him working through into your hand, and when you ride a downward transition try to think forward into (say) walk rather than back from trot... this keeps the engagement, and keeps the low outline, stopping him leaning and helping build up a)his responsiveness and b)those muscles.

otherwise, depending on his level of schooling try some leg yielding , shoulder in etc to help keep the suppleness there too.

good luck!

 

[harmony_]

my tb mare looses topline throughout winter, and she is on a feed called wheat feed, idk if it will be any help to yours, but this keeps it on her, improves her coat condition, but doesnt fizz her up.

of course all horses are differant though!
hope this helped.

 

[AmyMay]

My new horse came to me with a pretty much non existant top line. Like yours, badly fitting tack had been one of the issues that had caused this.

To be honest all I have done is ride him - I haven't particularly worked him on the bit, but I have always worked him in to a contact. You can do work in the school - but comming from a riding school, you may find that he will work much more productively for you hacking him out. He is probably bored to tears by working in a menage.

Walk, walk, walk, walk and walk some more, slowly build up to trot work etc. The correct diet will obviously help as he is such a big lad.

 

[pnap]

That's a good point about going round the school - it is such hard work getting him going in there - probably cause it's all he did for a while and he's bored of it. Have resorted to wearing very short blunt spurs on occasion. Completely different beast out hacking though. Think I'll try doing some transition stuff out hacking as he's a lot more forward going and listens better - though not always to the stop commands

. Trouble is getting him out the yard on his own but that's another story.

 

[AmyMay]

[ QUOTE ]
Trouble is getting him out the yard on his own but that's another story.

[/ QUOTE ]
Been there, done that. AmyMay came from a riding school - so sympathise entirely.

Patience and perseverence paid off in the end. I once sat on her for 4 hours pointing her in the direction I wanted to go before she eventually went

. I had to repeat the same thing the next day, and the next and so on until she eventually walked straight off the yard.

Perhaps not everyone's way of doing things - but beating her didn't work, and getting myself more and more worked up about it didn't either. Sitting on her and waiting did though.

Good luck with yours.