Struggling to build topline muscle

Oh, Billie, I was reading that post in conjunction with your previous post, saying you were also wanting to develop her top line. She doesn't actually look that bad, although possibly because her head is down, she looks better than when her head is up. You might find that you can develop the muscles she needs through grooming.

OP, I'm not sure that you are ready to develop topline yet, he still needs some muscle on his quarters.
 
CobsGalore said:
Interesting, can you explain more? Does muscle appear on quarters before topline then!? I just presumed it would all come together :o
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He is fairly under muscled. What is the work load? I saw hacking and Pessoa but how much, for how long etc? And how much grass is he getting?
 
Pearlsasinger said:
Oh, Billie, I was reading that post in conjunction with your previous post, saying you were also wanting to develop her top line. She doesn't actually look that bad, although possibly because her head is down, she looks better than when her head is up. You might find that you can develop the muscles she needs through grooming.

OP, I'm not sure that you are ready to develop topline yet, he still needs some muscle on his quarters.
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No worries :) no to be fair she looks like that standing pretty much, but I still don't think it's much of a top line?
 
amymay said:
Mmm, think you're confusing what a fitter horse should look like.
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Me? His shape doesn't necessarily relate to fitness so I think there may be some confusion your end :p

I think he looks lean (not a bad thing) and I think he needs to build muscle. You see fit and tip top?
 
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He's not lacking muscle, he's lacking fat. If you want to see photos of fit horses have a little look at photo's in CR.
 
amymay said:
He's not lacking muscle, he's lacking fat. If you want to see photos of fit horses have a little look at photo's in CR.
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He has very little top line? How can that not be lacking in muscle? Am I missing something here? I am not comparing this horse to my own and my own horse, who needs to shed 50 kg, is not clouding my judgement (just putting it out there before you do), although CG's boy is clearly gorgeous and she has done a bloomin' great job in getting the weight off I think you are doing her a disservice to suggest that he is in perfect nick. Or am I seriously misinformed here?
 
I think he looks just fine!! are you aiming for compeitions in a certain discipline>

I think as long as a horse is fit enough for his job and able to use himself correctly then I wouldnt go specifically out of my way to build muscle just for the sake of it because genuinely what is the point.

He is a cob so will never have the muscle you would see on a sport horse.
 
Photos in cr tend to be horses ridden so not always that obvious to me what top line looks like on untacked horse. Prob easier to tell when it isn't there!

Mines got quite a curved back so even harder to tell although has a much better covering all along her spine now and now developing muscle at/around the wither pockets (?) which seems to be one of the harder/last places to develop.

Cobs - I think you can get top line without necessarily having built up along the bum/hind end, although obv will tend to develop at the same time.

I was told to change feed as well as do the work to build up top line so vet certainly seems to think feed can help, but isn't the magic cure on its own ofc.
 
Billie I think I'm seeing what you are seeing AND what AM is seeing... he looks a good weight, but having looked at the pics on my laptop instead of my phone he looks like he is lacking muscle from back of saddle area to point of croup. OP, is that right? Is that what you are concerned about?
Also on the second picture it looks like his neck is a little weak just above the wither, although it's hard to tell with that amazing mane :p

I think part of it is an illusion because of how he is put together, he's a different stamp to Billie's horse and looks a little bit long like my horse, so will probably struggle to get the all-over roundness ;)
But I don't agree that a cob can't be rippling with muscle, nor that there's no point - if he's weak behind the saddle then there is an argument for improving that :)
 
Very interesting info AMusing, thank you. When the physio came she said he had a tilted pelvis (?) so may find it harder to build up muscle on his back. Interesting that it was the last place to develop for yours too.

Milliepops, yes his croup is a little pointy at the moment, but also concerned about lack of muscle behind his shoulder.
 
CobsGalore said:
Interesting, can you explain more? Does muscle appear on quarters before topline then!? I just presumed it would all come together :o
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He doesn't look particularly lean to me (although I'm not saying that he is fat). He looks to have an under-muscled (aka weak) back-end, he needs to do lots of correct slow, steady work to build up the muscles there. The topline will come after that. It will take a long time.
 
CobsGalore said:
Milliepops, yes his croup is a little pointy at the moment, but also concerned about lack of muscle behind his shoulder.
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It's an obvious one but needs saying for completeness then... ;) How's his saddle fitting? If he's dropped a fair bit of weight, has it been checked since? :)

Hm. Re-read your OP. I'd still keep an eye on the saddle fit, if it pinches then I would have thought it would be hard for that area to muscle up. How old is he btw?
 
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Milliepops, I had some concerns about his saddle recently but had a remedial saddle fitter take a look and she said all was ok. I'm still not convinced though, but physio didn't pick up on anything so I'm not sure if I'm just being paranoid!

Billie, just seen your edited post. it's quite hard to see from your picture, do you have any others without tack? :)
 
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Sorry CG, I don't. This was taken yesterday but other recent ones are all ridden and not taken off te camera yet sorry!
 
CobsGalore said:
but physio didn't pick up on anything so I'm not sure if I'm just being paranoid!
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The horse owners' usual state of mind ;)

Agree with Pearlsasinger though, it is a long old job sometimes, especially if they aren't built in the most helpful way naturally. My mare is built downhill and is long behind the saddle. She looks pretty good now (IMHO!:o), but it took a lot of consistent correct work, really forward and into the contact in a soft round shape so she uses herself properly.

Your physio may be able to recommend exercises you could do, so might be worth an ask next time they come.

As he hasn't been in proper work again for long, try to be patient, and take lots of photos so you can see every tiny bit of progress. Great idea to get your instructor on board - video if you can so you can see how he can work and review it again later to make sure you get the same kind of work in between lessons :)
 
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CG, I got a pic of Olive tonight to show that the as far as top line and croup go they aren't that dissimilar I don't think, we seem to have the same issues. I think it is going to mean some proper hill marching for us. When she drops some more weight I am also going to look into one of the balancers that were recommended. She needs muscle everywhere, neck and back particularly and needs to shift some more fat.
 
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