Building up topline?

[Jingleballs]

Pony is starting to get nice and fit and lean but is still lacking topline.

Physio has been out and given him his pre season check and everything is fine - she's suggested walk/canter work over poles to help his back develop. He's not great over poles - he's fine in walk both on the lunge and under saddle but when you ask him to canter them he'll either be silly and take a flyer or will stand all over them so it's not easy to work him over these.

He's hacked (mostly in walk) at least once a week with lots of hill work. He's also lunged once a week - I don't use any training aids as he tends to fight these and goes better with just a lunge cavesson.

I also do a lot of flatwork with him and get him really going forward and working correctly.

Is there anything else I can do to help develop more topline or is it just a case of keeping going as I am and it will come eventually?

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Try putting your single poles out at random. Your horse will have to adjust his stride as you canter round your arena.

 

[Jingleballs]

Try putting your single poles out at random. Your horse will have to adjust his stride as you canter round your arena.

That's what I do but honestly he's a nightmare - when I'm on him I can control the canter but on the lunge he makes no effort to adjust his stride and will happily launch himself over them all day long or stand on them and send them flying!

 

[L&M]

As much hill work as possible and always feed from the ground.

Also have you tried a lungee bungee? My cob likes it as it is more flexible than some other training aids and reasonably priced. You can also use it in ridden work but I just use it when lungeing.

 

[be positive]

If he wont canter properly over them it will do no good for his muscles anyway so I would not try in canter for now.

If he works well in a correct way his topline should be building up it may be that he is not working hard enough and lifting his abdominal muscles.

Try raised poles in trot, have alternate ends raised so that he has to lift his feet as he goes over them, also if you place 3 two trot strides apart and use them for trotting if he settles when you are doing canter work you can just go over them occasionally in canter without making a big deal out of it.

Other exercises that will help are to get him stretching long and low in trot at the start and when cooling down.In canter do working then medium back to working encouraging him to lift his back by going into 2 point seat.
Plenty of leg yielding is also helpful.

 

[Jingleballs]

Sidney - I've never tried the lungie bungie before - I did have a topflyte topline activator and he really seemed to fight it. He will work long and low on the lunge of his own accord but it can be inconsistent and if he's in one of his spooky/distracted moods he'd rather go round like a giraffe so perhaps something like that might help just to encourage him to stretch down.

be positive - he definately lifts his abdominals when he's worked - it's really noticable on the lunge how much he lifts his tummy when he's working correctly.

I'm going to start putting out some cavaletti poles this weekend to get him lifting up over them so hopefully that will help.

I do try to warm him up on a long and relaxed rein but recently as he's gotten fitter he's gotten sharper and spookier and sometimes I'm forced to pick him up sooner than I'd like just to get him focused enough. I always ask him to stretch and work low as part of his cool down so I'll keep doing that.

 

[AmyMay]

He's hacked (mostly in walk) at least once a week with lots of hill work.

Up the hacking work. Always trot up a hill - working in to the contact. Start doing some canter work - again always in to the contact. And make him work generally.

 

[Jingleballs]

Up the hacking work. Always trot up a hill - working in to the contact. Start doing some canter work - again always in to the contact. And make him work generally.

Now that the nights are lighter he'll hack probably 2 to 3 times a week - he's hacked about 3 times this week already. Most of it is roadwork or hardcore so I don't like doing a lot of trot work on hard surfaces - he'll do a bit and only in small bursts on the uphill stretches although I'll also be gradually increasing this.

We don't have a lot of "off road" hills to canter up - there is one steep but short one that I take him up a few times so I'll also try and increase this. Hoping to take him to the gallops next weekend - that's apparently on a hill so will hopefully help!

 

[AmyMay]

Now that the nights are lighter he'll hack probably 2 to 3 times a week - he's hacked about 3 times this week already. Most of it is roadwork or hardcore so I don't like doing a lot of trot work on hard surfaces - he'll do a bit and only in small bursts on the uphill stretches although I'll also be gradually increasing this.

Trotting on the roads, provided done properly will not damage the horse. You don't need to ban along for hours - just adopt a nice rhythm with the horse working in to the contact. Don't trot on hardcore.

I would look to be hacking out at least 4 times a week - using the weekends to your advantage with the amount of time you can spend out and about.

He'll be looking brilliant in a couple of weeks if you just up the workload, and work him properly.

 

[1Lucie]

I am currently doing this myself at the min. I had had advice from back lady, saddle fitter etc. I am currently doing this if it helps...

Per week...

1 day Hacking (as much on a long rein as i possibly can).
1 day schooling with lots of work on a long rein, with bit of trotting, cantering, poles in between to prevent it from becoming boring.
1 day lunging encouraging him to stretch down, 10mins with side reins on loosely. I intend to increase this to a pessoa once he builds up a bit more.

and 1 of the above in addition, so 4 times a week. Plus carrot stretches after exercise.