14 year old 15hh appy gelding........
Thankyou for all your advise.....yes i have been worried about the suspensory issues and unsure whether to work him at all, i've been looking at boots to offer some support to his hind legs and will certainly have a look at polo/sports boots.First of all, I do love the spots.
Starting from the ground up...... Be carefull with his suspensory issues. A lot of this is coming from not using his hind end properly. He is not flexing much through his stifle and hock, leaving the fetlock to take a brunt of the suspension. I would wrap his legs while working him, not just splints, but polos or sports boots to support the fetlock. He is dragging his hind end behind him, instead of pushing, this contributes to the tight hamstrings and tight lower back, and further contributing to the lack of topline. The dropped back is making the barrel look a little dropped and pushed back, similar to a person letting their belly hang out. He is pulling himself through his front legs and the bottom of the neck, giving him that "ewe neck" look. The muscles in his shoulder look very tight and underdeveloped. His bracing through the lower neck gives the neck that curled up look. He is basically just a little upside down.
I don't think he needs more weight, and its not a matter of just adding more muscle. He needs to learn correct posture. Correct balance and posture will help the body to move like it is supposed to move. Correct movement will always show in the end result of the body. I also would not call it conformational issues. We don't look at a person and say they have bad conformation, they may have a different length of bone, or different genetic tendencies, but these are not the things that will make a person look poor in their body, it is their posture and athletic ability. With the right tools, you can teach this to your horse, strengthening his entire body and encouraging the healthy muscle development.
Its actually usually opposite, the posture/muscle issues led to the poor suspensory. If you are familiar with polo wraps, use those, if not, use something like the professionals choice SMB. This will restrict some movement in the fetlock and cause him to use his other joints a little more efficiently. Almost like if you try to walk without moving your toes at all, your other joints will have to bend more to walk.
I would probably start with hand walking for a while, a slower walk rather than faster. Start slow and build up, this will start to help his whole topline. Light currying along the topline will also help the circulation in that area. Not just a light curry over, but a good amount of time stimulating the area.
You will notice a change with just the hand walking, and after a certain amount of time, I would start offering a little more support. I use long reins or balance bands to help the horse establish its balance from the left to right, then it will be easier to stretch the topline and start using the hind end better. Long reins can be tricky, and take some training to use correctly. I have heard good things about the pessoa balance system, but I use something different that was pattented by my trainer. I could be wrong, but I am guessing that he would need some type of support before he could easily travel in a circle on a line.
Usually, this type of damage is caused by poor riding, poor saddle fit, or both. Horses naturally carry more weight on the front legs, even though the hind legs are better designed for it. In the wild, they travel a lot and have an opportunity to learn to balance, however, with people, they rarely have the need to travel and then we compromise their weight carriage without teaching them how to carry themselves correctly. Some horses rebel, some horses just keep trying, doing what they can with the body they have. Horses have to be 90% lame before showing signs (attracts predators in the wild), so there can easily be problems in the musculoskeletal system without any obvious limping.
His whole body can improve, but it will be a slow process. It will start from the back and move its way forward. He needs to strengthen his core, and everything else will follow. He can handle light work, occasional trail ride, pony ride for a cousin, etc. If you wanted to do anything extensive with him, I would recommend a lot of physical focused work to build up to it. You basically have to become his personal trainer. Even if you don't want to do a lot with him, taking on a project like this can turn into a great learning experience.
Half an hour of handwalking every day with leg wraps will do wonders in the beginning. Dressage work will help, but I would try to find someone with more of a classical approach for this guy. Good luck with him.
He does have the most adorable face but yes he also does have suspensory problems, he doesn't seem to put any weight on he's on good grazing but just maintains his weight at the same, very bad ewe neck!!I am in love with this horse's coat and face. But on to the critique...I would say he has an ewe neck, post-legged with deep pasterns in the hind, calf-kneed in the front, and could use some more weight. I can't really tell from these pictures but check to see if his hooves are even. Also in all the pictures he is standing with his front feet wide apart, suggesting suspensory problems or pain.