Help improve lost topline

[MellyMoo]

Last winter my event mare wintered out due to personal illness. She is a good doer and for all but the last fortnight she did very well. However in the last fortnight she did suddenly loose a lot of topline. Even though this is now a year on she has still not got 100% of what she had. Previously her hindquarters had been heart shaped and now it is much more angular. Most people would think she looks fine as it is not significant however I can notice the difference.

Last season she did do a couple of events and she was not as athletic as she usually was and I think losing the topline affected her more than I first thought.

She is a lazy opinionated goat when it comes to flatwork and she hates the school. She is in full work at present although not jumping. I have no access to hills. I lunge her in side reins or a harbridge and use raise poles weekly. She does canter work and has no reason why she couldn't jump, I just haven't got round to it. She hacks 3 times a week.

She has a good amount of food (depending on how fat she is!) currently including haylage, Alfalfa, pony nuts, top spec and also Spirulina (high protein supplement).

Really looking for any training ideas or any feed people have used and recommend.

Many thanks

 

[JillA]

Have you thought of Cushings? Muscle loss is one symptom, how old is she?

 

[MellyMoo]

Very doubtful it's cushings as she's only 11 and there are no other symptoms.
She does also have regular visits from physio and she doesn't think anything metabolic is wrong with her.

 

[joulsey]

Are you sure it was actual muscle and topline and not a fatty crest to begin with?

Its just you mention heart shaped bum and her being fat sometimes, so has she not just lost weight over winter?

 

[WindyStacks]

You sound like someone who likes their hacks - anything en route you can pop over? I'm forever scanning my routes for something to jump!

Fwiw I've got similar with my boy who's lost condition through lack of use following injury. I do have hill-work - he needs as much as anything miles and miles of up and down. As for food, I'm just about to go over to Simple Systems which is more forage-based.

 

[MellyMoo]

I need hills!!!!!

Def not a fatty crest. She is a good doer but not so bad to have fat deposits.

Thanks for the thoughts though guys

 

[Bernster]

If you're comfortable there's nothing physical going on, then how about pessoa or equiami lunge work, inc over poles? Pessoa worked wonders on mine and she started to develop a great topline with regular work, combined with schooling/lessons. I don't like side reins personally as I think they just pull the front end in but don't work the back end, whereas the pessoa and equiami are better for that.

 

[Wizzkid]

Following as I am also looking for some exercises. We use raised trotting poles and Pessoa/long rein at least ones a week .
Does anyone know if raised canter poles would be of any benefit?

 

[MellyMoo]

I think that raised trot poles will be harder than canter ones as they really have push more and work for it.

I will go back to the pessoa and give it a try, thanks