Tightening stomach muscles/ toning up!

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littlen

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Has anyone else owned a horse who is an okay weight apart from having a large stomach, think big/bloated looking grass belly, ebhas the stomach of a mare who has just had a foal! Is there anything I can do about a horse who is shaped this way? Are some horses shaped this way naturally? Does anyone have pics of horses this shape I can use to compare?
 
there is an exercise you can do with the horse to address this specific area which would help but of course will not achieve a complete transformation. It involves part of the processes the horse uses to back up on command, if you watch carefully you will see that preparatory to moving the legs there is some abdominal lifting. With careful training (clicker or low cal treats) you can teach the horse to hold this position. It strengthens the abdominal muscles and by association, the back.

Yoga for horses!
 
Lara Griffith's ride Dawning Hopes is like this. When she first walked in at the BD convention Jans B asked her if the horse had been a broodmare. Once she got going though and using herself properly the low tummy disappeared.
 
My boy has had a grass tummy since I've owned him, nine years. The only time he lost it, more or less was when he had a winters schooling.

However, since I only hack these days I think it will never go, he is 19 yrs old. he only needs a pipe and slippers to complete the look.

Jane
 
Assuming the horse isnt wormy, very effective exercises for toning the abdominal muscles are working on a slope, raised poles and small grids/jumps.

If the horse is old then its part of the natural ageing process.
 
I bought a mare from a very good yard who always vaccinated and wormed etc, and after a few weeks of having her she had a grass belly and looked like she was back in foal (she had one the year before I bought her)

I decided to try worming her again and sure enough the belly dissapeard.

worth trying a diferrent wormer (I swear by the pramox and equest programme)
 
How much work does your horse do? Hunting once a week in hill country soon tones them up! When I bought my boy in the summer he had a grass belly but still looked quite poor, now when I lunge him I can see his stomach muscles but he's well covered all over.
 
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