Regaining topline after time off - back dipping

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Maia

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I'm bringing a horse back into work that has had 18 months in a field due to injury. Prior to injury she had a good topline and a strong back that didn't sway when ridden.

Obviously she has lost a lot of muscle and is a little underweight, though I suspect the lack of muscle adds to the appearance of being underweight. I have started riding her this week, just in walk for 15 mins, and notice that as soon as I put weight on her back it "dips" and takes about half an hour and a good stretch for it to start to come back up and flatten out again. For the last 4 weeks I have been doing lunging and longreining with her for 10-15 mins 5 days a week and for the last two she has been working in a german bungie.

Anyway, to the point, should I give her more time on the lunge before getting back on or is it a case now of her needing to build the muscles up with the riders weight - on the lunge her back doesn't dip at all and infact has started to round more over the last 10 days. And will the muscle come back to allow her to work rounder with a rider? Can you suggest a good exercise routine to help me with this and how long should it take for me to start to see some improvements?

She has had back, tack etc checked and is a tb exrace horse - she had only been out of training a year (too slow on the track) prior to injury and is now only rising 6 (turns 6 in May).

Any ideas
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do you walk her before you mount? i ride a horse that has back problems and she's walked for five mins in hand before rider gets on, lets her stretch a bit and get her muscles slightly warmed up.
 
Yes, I've done 5 mins walking on the lunge without the bungie to allow her to loosen up and stretch first. Maybe I should do a bit more but atach the bungie after 5 mins. When I've been lungeing I've done 5 mins in walk with a few transitions without the bungie (a few minutes on each rein), then attached the bungie and done 5-10 mins with it in walk and trot, doing lots of transitions, (3-5 mins on each rein). Then to finnish off I do a few minutes in walk on each rein without the bungie. Perhaps I should get on to walk her off for maybe 10-15 mins following the lunge?
 
If you are ok to carry on the lunging before you ride then I would perhaps add a Harbridge. This will encourage her to work lower and stretch her back muscles a bit more before you mount. They are not expensive and are great at lowering the head without force.

Here is one
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Full-Sized-Black-N...7QQcmdZViewItem

I also think the pessoa is good, however is is quite hard work for the horse. So I would perhaps give it a few more weeks then perhaps introduce a pessoa to build up the muscles more.
 
you know the horse so if what your doing on the lunge works well then id carry on with that then try riding afterwards that way she's worked a bit longer and done more before rider is aboard.

i dont really know much about all the training aids and things to put on when lunging so cant comment on what would work etc with the horse in that respect.
 
I know someone who bough a Holstein youngster, she was very narrow with no muscle etc and due to rider injury the youngster was lunged for about 2 - 3 months, it did wonders for her! Her neck and her back muscled right up from just doing long and low on the lunge. I find that a few trotting poles get them stretching and lowering their head to work their back etc when you lunge, and i usually just use a headcoller and "tweak" the lunge when I want the horse to lower its head, and it seems to work on my mare and on the holstein mare.
 
The german bungie works in a very similar way to the harbridge but thankyou for the suggestion. I am not a fan of pessoas.
 
Oh, hadn't thought of trotting poles! Thats a good idea. Will perhaps try and do a few sessions like that a week. I'm beginning to think that from racing the mare never really built up the correct muscles in the first place and so now she is being asked to work under saddle again at the age of 6 she is essentially as weak as a 3yr old. Maybe I should stick with the lunging for a bit longer until she strengthens up?

Out of interest how long each time did you lunge the Holstein youngster for and how many times a week?
 
My friend lunged her a few times a week for about half an hour, I suppose it depends on your horse and the fitness of the horse. My mare was a racer, she's just gone 5 and I find that when I can't be bothered riding, a lunge on the headcoller over some poles gets her to strech and lengthen her stride and loosen up, its also a bit of a change from just normal lunging and riding. You can also do the poles under saddle aswell. I got the whole trotting pole thing from Mark Smith, its how he trains his youngsters. ( I had a ridden lesson with him over poles) They really helped to relax my mare and get her working lower, it must have worked because the Chiropractor yesterday commented on her muscle and strong back!
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Might just stick with lungeing (and some longreining maybe?) for another month then and aim to do some pole work a few times a week.
 
If she really has no muscle tone whatsoever then you should do more in hand and lunge work before starting ridden work.

My Anglo was out of work for 6 months and lost what little topline I had managed to get on him (he came to me 100kgs underweight).

I started him on 3 months in hand followed by an 8 week ridden plan, gradually building up the work.

For in hand work, I concentrated on getting him to work long and low, but making sure he didnt just run on the forehand. I set up trotting poles and alternated between lunging in huge circles (as big as you can get them) then doing extended trots over the poles. Lots of transitions to get the back end moving. I also did lots of in hand schooling to supple up his back and neck muscles so I could start doing leg yield in circles to really activate that hind leg. Long reining is also good.

I also used a bungie rein, but I had it on a loose setting to make sure that he worked on the bit rather than going behind it. I only used this for 6 weeks on the lunge, as I didnt want him to get his balance from the rein only. You could use a chambon if you are looking for another aid - I personally do not like pessoas.

I would also make sure that her tack is fitting correctly. I could adjust my horse's saddle to fit (saddle company saddle) but I didnt get on him until he was a MW as there was no way he would have been able to support me. I then only did lots of walk, leg yield etc and then built up to trots. I also walked out on roads to get his tendons hardened as they of course were like jelly. Only after about 3 months did I start doing any serious canter work with him and little jumps. But then I was only riding 3-4 times a week - if you have the time to work with her everyday you can compress this schedule. Just bear in mind that her back and other muscles will be sore - I found giving mine fenugreek and devils claw helped in forming the muscles.

If you have hills, hacking up and down in walk will do wonders for her back. Make sure she is working correctly up and down them as well. You could do this in hand or when you start ridden work (mine isnt sensible enough to lead in hand so I waited until I started riding him again).
 
Lungeing on a chambon on the flat and/or over trot poles is great for building up top line muscles.
Also, ditto above, if there are any hills around you I would do some in-hand walking (maybe long-reining) up those hills.
 
My horse lost muscle after some time off and we ended up going to see a back specialist as I was starting to suspect something sinister.
Fortunately his problems were just due to lack of muscle and the vet recommended 12 weeks lunging using a pessoa before he was strong enough to ride. I know a lot of people don't like them, but it really did make a dramatic difference. My vet does a lot of work with horses with kissing spines and he swears by them as the best thing for building up the back muscles. We did lots of work on the lunge with trotting poles and raised poles too.
It might be worth lunging for a bit longer to see how things improve, although after 3 months lunging last summer, I know how frustrating it gets!
 
Sounds like some more groundwork and some trotting poles is the way to go for another month or so then.

Re the pessoa. I'm afraid in my experience (and that include both myself and an experienced instructor using them) they simply "put" the horse in the "correct" position but also leaves them very much on the forehand and I have also know a few horses that soon started bucking a lot in them (and then when ridden). While I accept that they aid the strengthening of the back muscles I feel they are a bit of a short cut and you can achieve better results taking a little more time without them.

Each to their own I guess.
 
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