Conditioning Different Horses

[dawnhorse01]

As the title says, I'm working on conditioning two very different horses. The first one is a 20 yo OTTB gelding. Long story short, I bought him underweight, managed to bring him back up, then he dropped again. He's been recently moved to a pretty good quality pasture. His ribs have already started to smooth out after only a couple weeks, but he has very little muscle mass, is still ribby, no topline, etc. He's been worked lightly on and off for a couple years now. My goal is to get him fit enough to be ridden for an hour or so mostly at a trot five days a week by spring. My first question is, should I even be focusing on getting him fit, or getting him nice and plump first? Could I be underestimating his condition since he's a thoroughbred? Secondly, what sort of plan should I follow? Most of the ones I see are geared towards fat horses in stalls. I also have to ride in the pasture, I don't have a trailer to go on trails and I can't go on the road because I ride alone.

The second horse is a super fat 4-5 yo mustang mare. She was started on the ground as a 2 yo, then put on the back burner for the last couple years. She has a colt at side right now who will be weaned next month. Until he's weaned, I'm going to be focusing mostly on getting her back to being handled easily, but afterwards I want to start getting some of the fat off of her. She is unbroke and will be sent to a trainer late winter/early spring, but is it possible to work some of the weight off in-hand and if so how should I do it? I'm not sure how much control over her feed I will have, and I'd like to avoid lunging if possible.

Thank you so much!!

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Have you had the TB tested for cushings weight loss is a symptom and I wouldn't work a ribby underweight horse I would wait until they are a better weight, seen as his 20 is he capable of getting very fit have you had him checked by a vet?

Is he getting any other food apart from grass?

I would wait until the foal is weaned then start some in hand walking then just increase and maybe do some long reining, I would probably take the riding part slow because of the break maybe re start as such just to be safe and sure she has actually been backed.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

As above really.

I'm not sure I would want to work a 20yo tb at trot for an hour most days.sounds like a lot of work to me for a horse that was probably started young. He's at the age where he more than likely has arthritic changes so I would very much be involving my vet if I was expecting to do that amount of work.

 

[dawnhorse01]

Have you had the TB tested for cushings weight loss is a symptom and I wouldn't work a ribby underweight horse I would wait until they are a better weight, seen as his 20 is he capable of getting very fit have you had him checked by a vet?

Is he getting any other food apart from grass?

I would wait until the foal is weaned then start some in hand walking then just increase and maybe do some long reining, I would probably take the riding part slow because of the break maybe re start as such just to be safe and sure she has actually been backed.

The reason he's been fluctuating so much is I bought him underweight, he'd been bullied by other horses and the owners were falling on hard times and sold all of their horses. He held his weight but didn't gain any until summer, when he moved to a lovely pasture and he was doing really well, then it was all eaten up and he started to drop again. He's just been moved to a new pasture and I've already seen improvement.
When the grass starts to die he'll be on grain again. I have not had him checked, but I have videos and know he was ridden regularly and looked good in summer of 2023. I don't see why he wouldn't be able to do that again, he certainly has the drive for it.

Thank you!

 

[dawnhorse01]

As above really.

I'm not sure I would want to work a 20yo tb at trot for an hour most days.sounds like a lot of work to me for a horse that was probably started young. He's at the age where he more than likely has arthritic changes so I would very much be involving my vet if I was expecting to do that amount of work.

Over the summer I rode him about once a week with lots of trotting and some loping, he was happy to do it. He's my first horse so I've only recently learned that I needed to get him fit before expecting that sort of thing, I never had to consider that with lesson horses. I think he could and wants to, but I don't want to hurt him so thank you for your input.

 

[Alibear]

Sometimes, with older horses, it's more beneficial to work on suppleness rather than cardio to get them fit. Improving suppleness also helps build muscle. So, 20 - 30 minutes of schooling may be as beneficial as the daily trotting you plan.
Your mare may well drop condition at weaning, so as others have said, I'd wait until that's done. As it's coming into autumn/winter, it may well mean she drops weight anyway. As long as she leads nicely, can be groomed, and picks her feet up nicely, that is usually enough if you're sending her away for training. With our old boy doing well on grass and less well on more grain-based diets, an ulcer supplement could be worth a try.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

The reason he's been fluctuating so much is I bought him underweight, he'd been bullied by other horses and the owners were falling on hard times and sold all of their horses. He held his weight but didn't gain any until summer, when he moved to a lovely pasture and he was doing really well, then it was all eaten up and he started to drop again. He's just been moved to a new pasture and I've already seen improvement.
When the grass starts to die he'll be on grain again. I have not had him checked, but I have videos and know he was ridden regularly and looked good in summer of 2023. I don't see why he wouldn't be able to do that again, he certainly has the drive for it.

Thank you!

He may need hay as well in winter.

I'm thinking your not in the UK ?

 

[Goldenstar]

I would certainly be giving the TB a supplement to help build muscle.
I would also be giving a him a good source that’s high in protein .
I am guessing you are in the US I would be giving him some alfalfa hay when you catch him off the pasture
I would not give a lot say two kilos and see what the difference is ,you can then increase or decrease as you need.