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hannah87

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i just cant seem to imporove my geldings topline and upper neck muscle / round his bum etc. He has crappy conformation ie a slight ewe neck, is quite long in the back and neck.
ive had him a couple of years now and bought him as a 9 year old that had only really being hacked around by a novice and allowed to carry his head like a giraffe constantly so major build up of lower neck muscles , not helped by ewe neck.
ive spent most of his work doing long and low and he has bing carying himself in a novicey outline now for a few months..
wen he is working he is tracking up, mouthing the bit, his tummy muscles are tensed etc and is working properly..
there is an improvement on his neck muscles - more developed on top but still v overdeveloped underneath. altho he has a jumpers bump and muscley back end he still has a fairly sharp slope to tail.
so baically he still looks like he has v little topline etc.
he is fed spillers topline and condition, is genearlly v well, coat shiney good condition etc
i have started to lunge in pessoa once a week also but i dont like to do too much lunging..
just getting disheartened that he dosent look that much better after all the hard work (even though he is going alot better)
anyone got any words of wisdom?!
 
let me know if theres any top tips as my mare works nicely(head not upside down)has been very fit 4 events but never has a defined topline(lovely rounded bottom).shes3/4TB and always looks like a fit TB(which is how she shud look i suppose).
Do u need lots of fat to turn it into topline/??as theres no fat on my girl,shejust would not get fat,no matter what i feed.
Where-as the fat nellys at the yard look as tho they have great topline,but im sure its fat not muscle as none of them are fit or worked for hrs on end?? suppose its how they are made,bit like us???!
 
my gelding is a TB x ID. I think its partly the way hes put together thats part of the problem but im pretty sure any horse can have their topline improved upon right?
 
How long have you been using the pessoa? I've bought one and am hoping for the same results, my horse is an arab, and like yours by the sound of it, is fit and works nicely but I'd just like a bit more topline! Did about 3 weeks, twice a week, before field got too wet to lunge...moving to a yard with a school so will start that again soon!!
 
have only been using the pessoa a few weeks.. but im not a huge fan of lunging and he is sucha big horse i worry about his joints etc. altho will contiue to use it once a week or so..
he just still looks so upside down and am beginning to think he will never change shape?!!
 
I have had an eleven year old gelding TB X for a year and he hadn't done any flat work previously. I have spent a lot on lessons with a good trainer and when he works well his neck muslces are lovely but just standing I think the same as you, stonger muscle underneath his neck. I have come to the conclusion that a TB is not meant to have a big fancy neck like you see on some warmbloods. When you watch the top event horses they look fantastic when they're doing dressage but when going across country their topline doesn't always look as good. My boy had a rotated pelvis injury when I got him and the chiro said his hind 1/4 muscles were terrible. I've lunged him once or twice a week in a Pessoa at her recommendation and done loads of stretching work with my instructor and the chiro has said his muscles are great now. Has anyone tried the Equine America muscle supplement? I was thinking of giving it a try.
 

I know exacly how your feeling hun. I spent two years working Arch long and low and with no effect what so ever.
Now I have made a few changes to his life, the main one being, I feed his hay off the floor now and not a haynet. That has really helped. I also have started lungeing in a pessoa and have had fantatice results so far. He is much more balanced and is now eccepting the bit instead of fighting it all the time. Archie was a giraffe aswell and now he works with his end down. Its very rewarding , so keep at it and good luck.
 
yeah i feed his hay off the floor too, just keep thinking i must be missing something - there are horses that are allowed to go terribly and still have better muscle build up than mine!! i feel like im doing something drastically wrong but i dont know what!!
 
i was going to a small dressage clinin every week before i came to uni and having informal lessons witha v expereinced friend.. havnt had any whilst been at uni altho planning onstarting soon -m wanted to get him completely settled etc and justhad too much on tbh but its next on the list!
 
Is this the same gelding who you posted about a couple of days ago saying his saddle doesn't fit properly?

If so, you'll have trouble building topline properly as he won't work truely 'through' whilst under saddle.
Aside from that though, some horses are naturally muscley, whereas others just... aren't!
 
yep same horse... am getting saddle fitter out so hopefully that will help - altho friend said his saddle wasnt particulary badly fitted just not as good as it could be.. anyway will soon find out perhaps that is part of the problem - as he has changed shape abit to make his sadlle no longer fit, it is now restictting any more topline build up?
 
Could well be, one of my mares went up 4 width fittings in 8 months
shocked.gif
from working 'properly'.
She was particularly articulate at getting her point across when her saddle started to get uncomfortable
tongue.gif
 
Yes it is. Am desperately waiting for that new saddle. I hope it does make a difference. I'm hardly riding at the moment since feeling the difference it made to his going makes me feel guilty that I've been subjecting him to a saddle that clearly isn't the right fit. Thanks for the comment !
 
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