HOW TO BUILD MUSCLE UP ON A HORSE (EXERCISES MAYBE)>>

[Frazer]

My 9 year old tb mare has been in work just over a year due to jumping injury. She is fit and can do hours of hacking, jumping etc.. However her muscle is lacking and her conformation is suffering because of this.

Does anyone know of any good exercises or lunging routines to help her. Or is it just hours after hours of lunging and schooling! She is getting enough fodo allthough isn't up to weight at this time (grass very poor). Does anyone know of any supplements for weight gain and muscle gain

please help>

 

[BethH]

Long reining is great for building muscle in the correct places, it teaches the horse to balance itself properly and work long and low stretching out the back muscles and building a good topline. Hours and hours is not a good idea as 20 mins of schooling is equivalent to 1 hours hack so I would start off gently and do no more than 15-20mins and gradually build up over a few weeks, keep your sessions short and sweet and end on a positive note. Whereabouts in kent are you as I am also a kent person? It is important to find a good instructor that can teach you to do this properly, as you need to get your body language right, I prefer it to lunging as you work far more in tune with the horse and it is far less aggressive than lunging. Hope that helps.

 

[no_no_nanette]

Agree with BethH, its really helpful to work with an experienced and sympathetic instructor on this .... Where does the mare need to build muscle? There are obviously different schooling exercises depending on what you are trying to achieve. And what is it specifically about her conformation that you are concerned about? 'Cos this could be "chicken and egg" - maybe poor conformation in one area leading to poor muscle tone? Any schooling should be "little and often", and I'd definitely avoid all the "quick fix" devices that I've seen so many horses ruined by. Uphill work is often really helpful to build muscle behind and to get a horse stepping under. Also when she's stronger, gridwork/bounces - but it comes back to what you want to do with her, and what needs working on. Feed companies are often really helpful in advising on feeding to build muscle tone and topline - I really like Baileys for this. Their advice number is on their website. Good luck!

 

[Caritas]

I found that lunging in a pessoa helped my horse greatly after back surgery, I do generally believe that the trot work helps to build topline more thatn the canter work. I also use top spec feed balancer and believe me, my horse really looks great, the vet compliaments me everytime he sees him, good luck.