Topline & strength

[horsegirl]

HI All,

What's the best way to build and keep topline & muscle strength when I can't ride much during the week as it is too dark? I have a pessoa and use it (fairly loose) about once a week for 20 mins but poor horsey is getting sick of being lunged!

 

[AmyMay]

I think that there's probably not much you can do if you only have the opportunity of working your horse once or twice a week.

My preference would always be ridden work over lunging in these instances.

 

[Tempi]

i lunge mine both once a week in a pessoa. I think they are great for building topline. But if you dont have access to anywhere to ride in the winter then its going to be really hard for you to build topline as it needs constant daily work, not just riding on the weekends. is there perhaps somewhere you could go to that has a floodlite menage or something if you really feel you want to start building topline? if not the nights start getting lighter towards the middle of feb, so maybe just wait and start the serious work then?

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

I'm afraid there appears little you can do at the moment. You'll have to work him at weekends & keep him ticking over until the spring when the nights get lighter then you'll be in a position to increase his work and work on the topline. Sorry there's little else you can do.

 

[Petrie]

Yep, I agree. If you can only ride twice a week, I would just enjoy some nice hacks and a bit of schooling just to keep him ticking over, then work on the topline when you can ride more often. You won't affect it much with only two rides a week.

Pessoa's are great, but I would have thought you need to use it for half an hour twice a week on top of all your other hacking, hill work, and schooling, to make a significant difference.