thoroughbreds and topline...(bit long!)

phoebeast

phoebeast

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i got my new TB, an ex racer and eventer in november, who'd been on box rest for about a month beforehand and had only had 2 weeks of schooling and some gentle hacking by the time i took her on. she lives with my two other ponies.

she passed vetting, is a good weight, i feed her plenty (alfa a oil, sugarbeet and baileys no.4 twice daily) and due to work i've only been able to ride her 4 times a week which is generally hacking 3 times and an hour's schooling (as i don't have access to one until the weekend).

of course at the moment i don't have any grass as i've split up the field, she's fed plenty of haylage every morning and night, and is rugged up appropriately.

i've built up her work slowly, starting with 20 minute walks and trots uphill and we're currently going out for about an hour and a half. i've been working on getting her supple and round and she's going really well. i get her to work round hacking as well.

however although she seems to be getting fitter, she isn't building up any significant muscle on her back. she's not thin but it's just not developing. she seems happy in herself, her saddle's pretty rubbish but fits ok with a riser. we've been doing plenty of polework and a bit of jumping.

i'll be able to do more work with her now it's lighter, are there any excersises or anything i should be doing? or are my expectations too high? 4 months just seems a long time.

sorry i feel a bit hopeless really!
 
You have my sympathies (I too have an ex-racer!!). He has built up slowly over the past 18 months and now looks really well IMO.

The first thing I'd look at initially is your saddle - you say it fits OK with a riser but I would really recommend getting a decent saddle fitter out to have a look and maybe make some changes - if he's not comfy he wont be working properly and building muscle. In fact he may be resisting and doing more harm than good.

In terms of other things to try I found that the exercises that worked best for Baz were asking him to work in a good outline whilst doing lateral work like leg yielding and shoulder in. These are fantastic for suppling and therefore muscling!

I also lunge using side reins about once or twice a week and this encourages him to work properly.

Of course you need to keep up the feed and keep an eye on the weight - summer's nearly here though so you should see improvements naturally when the grass comes through.

Good luck :)
 
Really agree with saddle fitter coming out as any problems with saddle will hamper muscle development on top line.

Encourage stretching down and forward

Good luck, mine is similar
 
Got my sympathies too..mine is an ex-racer and it took a really long time to build his topline..so jealous of those warmbloods sometimes :)
From my experience, just making sure they kept weight worked, and generally doing lots of stretching, long and low, and then more up and round..bending etc. So lots of changes in frame and just get him to actually stretch and use his nexk and back. Other than that, jumping helps...but its just time really. It'll get there eventually!!
 
Pads just move pressure from one area to another and a horse will never build muscle if the saddle doesnt fit. Apart from being uncomfortable so the horse wont want to use itself properly, a saddle that doesnt fit wont allow the muscles to develop because insufficient blood flow will get to the muscles. So ditto the others, it is vital you sort the saddle out asap.

Once that is sorted then progressive training will build muscle but it will take many months. Any exercise that gets the horse to carry itself correctly and using its hindquarters will build muscle. Maybe have a few lessons to help? An eye on the ground can make sure you are working to the best of both of your ability and not wasting training time.
 
When i first got my x racer as a 4yr old he had no topline n not much muscle anywere apart from is bum lol (he was turned out in field 4 months previous 2 purchase) But it took about a year of working him on the bit doin lots of circles, leg yieldin etc and lots of conditioning cubes to get him looking brill :D
 
As the others have said and I would also be inclined to feed anything from the floor so he's always stretching and not shortening up and pulling as he would with a haynet; simple but effective usually.
 
I know it isn't everyones cup of tea but under the advice of my vet ,my tb went on an intensive pessoa programme as such . He built up from 5 min a day to 25 mins over the course of about 6 weeks. He is such a long horse (7' or 7'3'') and he wouldn't naturally offer any outline at all. The pessoa just allowed the start of the correct muscles so that we could then build on that when schooling.
 
You have my sympathys, I have had aTB, for 15 years, his topline was just coming until he went out on loan, 6 years ago, now it is a battle to even get some meat on him, he is now nearly 30 so have all but given in, but if yours is young enough to work still, I i used, build up, SB and alphalpha, that worked wonders
 
Tbs take a long time to build up topline, especially if they are ex racers. Charlie built up his topline really well last year, following long and low exercises, pole work and plenty of trotting uphill in an outline. However, due to injury last year, he has now lost all of his top line and we are now in the process of re-building it. I agree with the feeding of the hay off the ground. I now find with Charlie that froom last year he now offers me long and low and an outline fairly quickly, even after time off.
 
thanks everyone for your suggestions. i know i've been naughty with the saddler, but i'll get one out asap. it's good to know that i'm not really doing anything wrong!
 
I have a TB mare and her neck is looking good at the mo but having just had her back looked at for the same reason as you she has now started to develop much more topline. She had a samll misalignment in her spine and had absolutely no shape or muscle from her withers backward. Her neck and shoulder was bouilding well though. I would recommend getting someone to have a look despite how pointless it may seem to through £60 at something that may or maynot be there. I have really noticed a difference :)
 
I really agree with you about the benefits of using a Pessoa. My last TB was weak behind and had poor topline. My physio recommended using Pessoa every other day on long and low position and riding the other days. It worked extremely well and made him much stronger.
I have had my 8yr ex racer for 2 months and have just started work with the Pessoa now. His neck is stick thin so we are definitely in for long haul!
Do get your saddle checked though. Unless the basics are in place you can't really move on.
 
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