How long to build up topline?

[Mince Pie]

Due to an old injury of mine, my pony has been out of "real work" (he's only been hacked out) for about a year. Subsequently he's got basic fitness and no top line at all.

I've brought him back in to work and he's now doing 1 hack a week, 1 session on the lunge a week and 4 schooling sessions a week, 2 in tack and 2 in a bareback pad. Schooling sessions at the moment are about 45 mins approx as I am still aware that he isn't fit enough to do more at the moment.

Obviously as he gets fitter I will ramp up the work but I want to know how long it would take to build up his top line following the schedule?

 

[WelshD]

I guess it depends on how bad it is and how much topline the horse had previously

Ive been told several times that it takes two years from nothing

A well known producer told me when building top line/condition you should see an improvement from any change of feed/regime within six weeks, if no improvement it needs tweaking then allow another six weeks etc..
He also advised long reining instead of lunging

 

[mynutmeg]

I'm interested in this as well as my mare is just starting to come into work after about 2 years of doing nothing but have a foal due to injury. She has nothing on top at all - I didn't think she had that much to loose but it's amazing how much she's lost around her spine. She's gone from being quite comfy bareback to rather uncomfy now.
We've just started lunging and long reining for 10-15 minutes and a 2 minute walk down the drive bareback (no saddle that fits at the moment)

 

[khalswitz]

My exracer took six months of just building fitness, with some but not a massive amount of muscle building (he was ridden 5/6 days a week schooling and hacking at fitness paces), then a change of diet and workload increase, and another five months of top line building. He has gotten rid of his ewe neck and his bum and shoulders are huge now, plus has filled in the hollows by his withers. But it took ages, and that was 5/6 days a week, with initially 30-40 mins a day, building up to now he gets an hours schooling or two hours of hacking, but interval training/cross country pace practice on the forestry tracks.

 

[Mince Pie]

Most of his schooling work is done in trot and canter, or on the days when I am using the pad (my injury was a back injury so the pad is more for me to know I am sitting straight) about 1 hour in walk and canter with some trot work. All his hacking is done in an outline and working correctly and up some very steep hills. When I am allowed to jump again I will swap one of the "bareback" sessions will become a jump session.