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 Expert
Posts: 3815
   
Location: The best kept secret in TX | Searched the forums for a thread but couldn't find one... What workouts do you do to improve your horses topline, hip and shoulder? |
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Rad Dork
Posts: 5218
Location: Oklahoma | I took my old pole bending poles and laid them on the ground so that the base was slightly off the ground and did lots of trotting over them. Lots of long trotting and revamped his diet (added Alfalfa and put him on THE MM) and he looked like a different horse in three months. Hills are supposed to be good I think. |
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 Bulls Eye
Posts: 6443
Location: Oklahoma | Trotting and walking up hills really makes them get their backs rounded |
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Expert
Posts: 3815
Location: The best kept secret in TX | Looks like I'll be getting some poles to trot over... we have very flat ground.
Thanks guys:) 
Any other ideas? |
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Bulls Eye
Posts: 6443
Location: Oklahoma | poles are great. I space mine about 4.5 feet apart (a normal trot stride is 9 feet) so their feet hit the ground in between the poles. I also lunge with a surcingle and side reins (my background is english) |
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Expert
Posts: 3815
Location: The best kept secret in TX | TwistedK - 2015-02-19 1:53 PM poles are great. I space mine about 4.5 feet apart (a normal trot stride is 9 feet) so their feet hit the ground in between the poles. I also lunge with a surcingle and side reins (my background is english)
Great info thank you.
Interested in why you use a surcingle, and what it does for the horse while lunging? |
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 The One
Posts: 7997
Location: South Georgia | IRunOnFaith - 2015-02-19 2:57 PM TwistedK - 2015-02-19 1:53 PM poles are great. I space mine about 4.5 feet apart (a normal trot stride is 9 feet) so their feet hit the ground in between the poles. I also lunge with a surcingle and side reins (my background is english) Great info thank you.
Interested in why you use a surcingle, and what it does for the horse while lunging?
For collection. Collection works and develops the muscles along the topline, as does collected loping. |
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Bulls Eye
Posts: 6443
Location: Oklahoma | IRunOnFaith - 2015-02-19 1:57 PM
TwistedK - 2015-02-19 1:53 PM poles are great. I space mine about 4.5 feet apart (a normal trot stride is 9 feet) so their feet hit the ground in between the poles. I also lunge with a surcingle and side reins (my background is english)
Great info thank you.
Interested in why you use a surcingle, and what it does for the horse while lunging?
I use a surcingle instead of the saddle due to all the d-rings. It allows me to place my side reins in varying positions depending upon what I am trying to accomplish. Coming from the english world, we used surcingles and side reins when doing lunging work. It does help with collection. My favorite tool of the trade is the Pessoa Lunging system. It is a system of pullies and rope and goes around the haunches really making the horse get their hind end engaged and rounding their back, thus improving on impulsion, collection, and topline. |
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Expert
Posts: 3815
Location: The best kept secret in TX | TwistedK - 2015-02-19 2:02 PM IRunOnFaith - 2015-02-19 1:57 PM TwistedK - 2015-02-19 1:53 PM poles are great. I space mine about 4.5 feet apart (a normal trot stride is 9 feet) so their feet hit the ground in between the poles. I also lunge with a surcingle and side reins (my background is english) Great info thank you.
Interested in why you use a surcingle, and what it does for the horse while lunging? I use a surcingle instead of the saddle due to all the d-rings. It allows me to place my side reins in varying positions depending upon what I am trying to accomplish. Coming from the english world, we used surcingles and side reins when doing lunging work. It does help with collection. My favorite tool of the trade is the Pessoa Lunging system. It is a system of pullies and rope and goes around the haunches really making the horse get their hind end engaged and rounding their back, thus improving on impulsion, collection, and topline.
Awesome stuff. I will check it out and try it.
My gelding has been off about a year and a half due to an ilness and digestive issues.Got that all taken care of and cleared by the vet a few weeks ago. Finally think he is ready for some muscle now that he has a big hay belly. He lost a lot of muscle being off and being so sick...
Hope to help him out on the ground before getting back in the saddle. He's a little toot without ground work. Glad to know I can improve his topline from the ground.
Thank you!! |
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 Expert
Posts: 2013
Location: Piedmont, OK | backing up inclines, trotting poles help as well as putting your fingernails in the center of their belly and pushing up so they lift their back and hold for about 10 to 15 seconds. |
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 Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | I'll attach a screenshot of a simple rehab schedule that my vet suggested to build up back muscles. I really should use a surcingle but I have no idea how to lol AND my ding dong gets all fussy when I show him the lunge whip and ends up carrying himself pretty nicely anyways. Especially when I add the ground poles.
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Expert
Posts: 3147
| Use bell boots that protect the coronet band and hoof. My mare rapped her front hooves to the point she irritated the lamina at the front of her hooves. |
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Red Bull Agressive
Posts: 5981
Location: North Dakota | If you're lunging I also really like to use a chambon. It works better than side reins imo to help them stretch forward and down and really stretch their back. I made a super ghetto version out of a running martingale attachment, tie down, and some yacht rope. Works great! |
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 The BHW Book Worm
Posts: 1768
| http://youtu.be/I8cOq7YWXys
Im huge believer in very solid horsemanship. This video explains the proper way a horse should be working its back to retain topline muscling. |
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 Husband Spoiler
Posts: 4151
Location: North Dakota | I use a chambon as well. I don't have a surcingle so I use my english saddle. But I use my chambon and put a few ground poles down to really get him reaching and striding. I start out with the poles a little closer together so the horse learns to step over them and understands how to place his feet over the poles and then I slowly pull them further apart to encourage the horse to reach for the poles to stride out to get over the poles. That is a great workout! Don't over do it though because it is tiring. I don't do an entire circle of poles. I place about 4 poles on one side of my round pen and sometimes 4 on each side so the horse gets a little break before having to pick up and stretch.
Edited by Just Bring It 2015-02-20 9:36 AM
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Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | Thanks for posting that link! It led me to a bunch of others that look like they will be good to watch! |
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Expert
Posts: 3815
Location: The best kept secret in TX | I just love all the info on here! Thank you all so so much!
I can't wait for my surcingle to come in so I can get started! |
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  Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | cavyrunsbarrels - 2015-02-19 11:59 PM If you're lunging I also really like to use a chambon. It works better than side reins imo to help them stretch forward and down and really stretch their back. I made a super ghetto version out of a running martingale attachment, tie down, and some yacht rope. Works great!
Id only recommend this if people know how to use this properly .. so many people misuse this and ruins a horses back and poll and mind.. |
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Veteran
Posts: 255
Location: Alberta Canada | Everything mentioned.....also walking over larger objects like logs works great since it naturally makes them put their heads down & reach up under themselves with their hind legs. I even set up old square bales all over the yard since I can't always go out on the trails. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1066
| The equine sports therapist we use recommends LOTS of backing. She owns and operates a very popular rehab facility complete with an equiciser and she says the barrel horses she gets in spend every other day on the treadmill in reverse as it strengthens their hind ends and top lines. My gelding had an SI issue and I have noticed a significant improvement in 3 weeks of backing.... I don't believe he'll need his SI injected when I get him vetted this spring which us huge for us. Start with 5 minutes/day, work up to 15 minutes/day. Other than that I really like trotting poles too, but the sports therapist is also an advocate for allowing the horse to move naturally rather than with any type of contraption shaping them. T |
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
| Borrowed this from a friend over the winter and it's made a huge difference in my guys topline and his willingness to come on the bit under saddle.
http://www.doversaddlery.com/balance-complete-training-system/p/X1-...
Simple to use with a lot of adjustment. I prefer something like this over a simple surcingle and side reins as it encourages them to bring their back end up under them. My horse tends to want to be front endy anyway, so I was afraid he would just lean forward on side reins.
The rigging is all bungee material too so it has a nice stretchy feel to it. I've been very pleased.
In the summer we also do a lot of riding in the hayfield which has some nice rolling hills to it. |
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Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | Tys-ol-lady - 2015-02-22 11:32 PM The equine sports therapist we use recommends LOTS of backing. She owns and operates a very popular rehab facility complete with an equiciser and she says the barrel horses she gets in spend every other day on the treadmill in reverse as it strengthens their hind ends and top lines. My gelding had an SI issue and I have noticed a significant improvement in 3 weeks of backing.... I don't believe he'll need his SI injected when I get him vetted this spring which us huge for us. Start with 5 minutes/day, work up to 15 minutes/day. Other than that I really like trotting poles too, but the sports therapist is also an advocate for allowing the horse to move naturally rather than with any type of contraption shaping them. T
Good to know on the backing as mine just got his SI injected. He used to hate backing up but does it more willingly now. When I trot ground poles they are usually on one side of the circle and I lunge him without any contraptions and you can see him round up as he approaches them. |
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Husband Spoiler
Posts: 4151
Location: North Dakota | Tys-ol-lady - 2015-02-23 1:32 AM The equine sports therapist we use recommends LOTS of backing. She owns and operates a very popular rehab facility complete with an equiciser and she says the barrel horses she gets in spend every other day on the treadmill in reverse as it strengthens their hind ends and top lines. My gelding had an SI issue and I have noticed a significant improvement in 3 weeks of backing.... I don't believe he'll need his SI injected when I get him vetted this spring which us huge for us. Start with 5 minutes/day, work up to 15 minutes/day. Other than that I really like trotting poles too, but the sports therapist is also an advocate for allowing the horse to move naturally rather than with any type of contraption shaping them. T
I agree to a point. I don't want to force one to hold shape but I do want to encourage my horse to move correctly so their muscles can stregthen to help them learn how to hold themselves correctly. But if done wrong you can do more harm than good. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 928
Location: Northern CA | Backing, backing, and more backing. With my 3 year old, whenever I am on the ground, we are backing. From the stall to the tie rack, to the arena, etc. I just make it a point to not lead him forward. He can get kind of heavy if I do a lot of backing while on him, so I save it for the ground where I can get after his feet. Has really strengthened his top line and hindquarters as will as rounded him while riding and he is now much better about knowing where his feet are. |
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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
| I, too, have been told backing a lot, including backing in circles. All of it unmourned to encouraging the back to come up more easily. Also walking over randomly placed poles and walk a couple strides trot a couple walk a couple. Start out doing this on the short side of the arena a couple of times building up to more slowly. Make sure the downward transition is done as gently and subtly as possible. |
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