Supplements for building topline, waste of time?

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Flakey123

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I am currently trying to build up my horse's topline after having a year off. I know a lot of it will be down to exercise and we are working on that as much as possible with slow hill work on hacks and correct schooling.

I was wondering if anyone has used supplements aimed at building topline? and if you have had any positive results from them or are they just a gimmick and waste of money? I just want to know if it's worth adding this to his diet to help us.

He is in a pretty good condition considering he hasn't been worked much. I will try and work out how to post a picture so you can all see :) ....... advice on how to do that would be much appreciated too!
 
Can you get supplements that would, say, bulk up just your biceps?

So no, you can't get supplements to just build topline either. If he has a haynet you might consider feeding from the floor, that would have more effect:)
 
I don't think a supplement would do much, but to be honest I haven't heard of any supplements that explicitly claim to build topline! I think that just ensuring that he gets all the necessary vitamins would be enough - either using a supplement or a balancer.
 
Equine America do one called more muscle. He's currently on 2 meals a day of chaff and calm & condition and I add linseed oil to the mix.

He's out during the day but has ad lib haylage at night.

Weightlifters take supplements to help build their muscle (I am guessing its a lot of protein) so I thought maybe this supplement maybe an equine version perhaps?
 
Vet put my horse on equitop myoplast when she was coming back into work after surgery. The idea is it provides all the amino acids needed for muscle building - it wasn't just a vitamin supplement. It also cost £75 a month. To be honest it helped a little bit but not that much that I would ever dream of having it if insurance wasn't paying. Correct work is the most important thing anyway.
 
Does he get any bucket feed? Any vit/mineral supplement?

He should be getting enough protein from the forage you're providing. Muscle is protein. You could consider adding lysine (buy it from ForagePlus or Equimins) as this is the amino acid most likely to be limiting in the equine diet and if you are limited then he won't be able to make full use of the protein you are providing. If he's not getting a forage balancer I'd add one too. Apart from that I'd not bother with any other supplement - it's going to take time and work :)
 
My horse has always looked good on winergy condition feed, I've tried Allen & page calm and condition and top line conditioning cubes and neither of them worked. I've never used a supplement just a good feed and schooling.
 
You need to add more calories and quality protein in simple terms. Tbh getting advice from a nutritionist (independent or feed manufacturer) would be helpful.
Personally I have had good results from adding D & H Build and Glow, which is high in oil and protein. It is added to existing ration when extra condition needed. I have fed it when doing fairly hard fittening work, and noticed difference in increasing muscle. Also lots of energy for the extra work.
 
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