Outlines and muscles...

[iloveCharlie5]

Hey all!
Just wanted to ask if there was anything I could do to help my 16yo showjumper/hack build up some muscle in her neck-we do regular schooling, stretches and she eats all the right stuff for a nice topline but she's still very hard to put into an outline; she knows how to do it because she's done some dressage as well as showjumping, but I was wondering whether it was because she's not extremely forward going, and also doesn't have very good muscle in her neck-this is because when we bought her 5/6 months ago, she was very thin due to her owner keeping her on next to nothing because she had laminitis when she was 9. we've fed her up and she's become nicely filled out now and much fitter, we've started jumping her again, and so now im focusing more on developing her muscles and flatwork now that she's back into jumping.
Any suggestions would be great, thank you so much!
Kat

 

[Parker79]

Hi there - this isn't meant to sound patronising.....do you feel confident in how to work her correctly? for her to work correctly she would need to be active. Before doing anything has her back been checked?

If you want to build muscle then you can look at things like working her at a walk over slightly raised trotting poles so she has to really lift her back legs....you could also get someone to show you how to do belly lifts amongst other things, I would want a physio to advise though.

I would get an 'mot' on her first though and go easy on the jumping if she is lacking muscle.

 

[iloveCharlie5]

Hi! Yes, both me and my mentor feel happy with me schooling her, as I said she was very unfit and scrawny when we got her and so we've built up the work slowly and now she gets ridden around 5 times a week, and jumped properly every week or so. I get lessons from a well respected dressage lady every week and she's helped build up muscle tone a lot by instructing us both. Also, my friend is an experienced show cob rider; she rides her sometimes too.
She's had a full very check very recently, and even though she's 16, she's healthy as a horse!!
Her back has been checked yes.
Thank you for your advice and help!
Kat

 

[Booboos]

As an average, in my experience, it takes about 2 years to build topline (including the top muscles of the neck) especially in a horse that has been used to work hollow (i.e. has the wrong muscles, e.g. muscles on the underneath of his neck). You just have to be patient, take your time and work her long and low as long as possible (at this stage she may find this quite tiring).

 

[rowy]

It takes a very long time to build muscle, particularly in older horses.
My thoroughbred I started doing dressage with her 3 years ago when she was 17. When I started she had more muscle under her neck than on the top. It took a while and I used to hack, school and lunge her in a outline varying from long and low stretching to a higher normal outline. Only now at rising 20 am I happy with her top line. She has turned into a proper beef cake!
Will post some pics later if you like when I am at a computer.

 

[Parker79]

Hi! Yes, both me and my mentor feel happy with me schooling her, as I said she was very unfit and scrawny when we got her and so we've built up the work slowly and now she gets ridden around 5 times a week, and jumped properly every week or so. I get lessons from a well respected dressage lady every week and she's helped build up muscle tone a lot by instructing us both. Also, my friend is an experienced show cob rider; she rides her sometimes too.
She's had a full very check very recently, and even though she's 16, she's healthy as a horse!!
Her back has been checked yes.
Thank you for your advice and help!
Kat

Sounds like you are working hard, I LOVE this video - it is very short but brilliant -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8cOq7YWXys&list=FLG4QCGQEolQfowvJ2b-1spg&feature=mh_lolz

My back person doesn't like lunging much but does suggest very short periods of time using a bungee. The raised poles is excellent too, along with asking for the back legs to cross over by doing tight serpentines over poles - also might be worth have her hamstrings checked - often if they have been ridden incorrectly (prior to you having her) they get very tight hamstrings and might need some loosening up.....all these things help but as someone else said it will be mostly time, good luck and pics would be fab! x

 

[iloveCharlie5]

Thank you all for your advice and videos and pictures, it has helped a lot and I realise that its going to take a while but that I will have to work her in the ways that you have suggested-thank you so much!!!! I will post some pictures very soon
Kat

 

[rowy]

August 2010 (17 years)

May 2012 (19 years)

 

[Cortez]

Looks MUCH better in 2012 - that dip in front of withers is practically gone and her loin and hind quarter are firmer. Well done: only correct schooling will do this.

 

[fatponee]

Sorry to hijack thread - I just wanted to say Parker79, that video is great!!

 

[Cortez]

Oh, and that video is NOT how you engage a horse's back BTW. You have to have CONTACT.

 

[iloveCharlie5]

Just wanted to update you all-i recently started lessons with a new instructor who has assessed Carrie and told me what we need to work on-he says that before we got her (we've only had her a few months) the people were working her in such a way that she's built up all the wrong muscles in her neck, and therefore is very stiff. I am working more bending exercises into her schooling (the whole thing is focused on bending and teaching her to hold her head up herself-i'm not forcing her to go in an outline, as the previous owners must have done-but instead teaching her to hold her head up herself and suppling up her neck before i ask her to come into the contact and into an outline when she's built up the right muscles)
Would anyone recommend regular lunging and as Parker79 said i think, working with a bungee in lunge??
I'll also inclue some pictures of her a month or two ago
Thank you all so much for your advice!
Kat

 

[hann4]

Always remember to have an outline you need the correctly developed muscles, i'd say aim on working up the muscles before you try for an outline, hill work, ground work (lunging) or using a pessoa can help to build muscles, i'm currently building muscle on my youngster before i start working on her outline