Thank you for making this so clear and easy to follow. I just adopted a 15 year old seriously underweight TWH gelding. I am so excited to begin helping him develop and strengthen his back and overall musculature!! I am going to begin with these exercises in hand : - ).
Instead of using the hoofpick i use a roundbrush with increasing pressure going in circles under the belly. My horse finds this a wery positive exersise becouse she loves being scrathed under the belly and i love it becouse she lifts her back a lot! Remember to never hold the back high for more than 30 seconds. Give release and repeat😊 Love your videos
I have just bought a 16 year old ranch horse from Wyoming. He has lordosis, maybe congenitally, maybe from being ridden by a heavy wrangler. I don’t know. Anyway, I’m looking forward to trying these exercises to help strengthen his back muscles. Thank you.
Thank you for this video! I just purchased a 25yo Missouri fox trotter who has a very weak topline. I have started him on a muscle builder and complete feed (pellets) as I know diet is very important to building that topline. All that said though, what is your recommendation for a horse of this age? He's seemingly healthy otherwise, gr 1 club foot in one foot. He's got energy that matches my young children. A little stiff at times so I want to make sure I am doing right by him. Obviously having a good topline too, will help him feel better and make riding as enjoyable as it can be for his age.
Hi Desiree - thanks for your comment :) what a caring owner, our oldies still often have so much to offer. Definitely overall a balanced diet - start with energy/protein/forage balance, then consider getting a diet analysis. Some extra Vit E, and possibly an anti inflammatory joint supplement would work well.
Thanks, some good ideas here. My pony is able to look like he's working correctly when I can feel he isn't lifting through the back properly, and he is therefore not building back muscles well. I will start some of these walk groundwork things, especially the hill work. But interested to know what you would suggest for a horse who tends to overbend and drop the contact but also not lift the back? At the moment I'm lunging in cavesson with no 'gadget', he's never had a gadget in fact. Also he kicks at asking for back lifts, but I'll try starting further towards the girth area.
I love these! I am not a rider but taking care of my daughters Hunter horse while she’s away in college. Our property is super flat and we don’t have hills. Is there a way I can get the same results on the flat, in hand?
Good question. The answer is a very non committed maybe. When you are on the horses back there is an unnatural influence on the way they carry their muscles in their back due to the saddle and weight. If you have a super well fitted saddle, and are really confident that the horse will lift his back muscles in the correct way despite a rider, then yes they would help. My opinion is that they will always work more correctly for themselves without the interference of saddle and rider. The idea here is to strengthen the back enough that the rider influence is less :)
