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Saggy belly - how to fix it?

5K views 17 replies 9 participants last post by  egrogan 
#1 ·
The horse I ride - and the owners allow me to help take care of - has a saggy belly. I'm not sure if it's fixable - but I don't like it. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I could fix it? That is, If it is fixable?
 
#2 ·
Subbing... I asked the same question and was told trotting up and down hills with the rider in a two point position will help but I can not ride right now due to a solid layer of ice hiding under very slippery powdery snow (perfect for snowboarding lol)

Also working on collection and getting their back rounded and using the ring of muscles.

Can't wait to hear more opinions :)
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#6 ·
By saggy belly do you mean the horse has no back muscles/topline to tuck his belly and work, or do you mean a hay belly? Or perhaps even a bloated belly? Saggy could mean a lot of things.

My mare's belly became 'saggy' when I worked herafter she was out of work for a few months to have a foal. I first thought it was worms, then bad hay...but that wasn't it. She had simply lost the muscle that she usually used to keep it 'tucked' and neat. Once I got her working well again and using herself correctly, it dissapeared in a matter of weeks.
 
#8 ·
My horse bores easily so I try to avoid a lot of lunge work unless we can mix it up. I have to keep her thinking by switching things up. So its helpful to know ground poles will work too. Now at least I can switch between hills and poles. Thanks :D
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#9 ·
There is a tickling type excercise my chiro showed me years ago to help keep my old guys topline from sagging. Surely cannot hurt. They all have a "tickle spot" of sorts under theis belly, close to where their belly button would be....Some are more sensitive than others, but is you basically stick a finger (some take 2) into them until you see them raise their back muscles......Make them hold it a few seconds, then release. Do it several times every day. Helped mine.......I will see if I can find something to illustrate it....
 
#11 ·
Yay something else to try :) as soon as my girl gets bored she tunes out and stops listening. She isn't bad just ditzy and air headed but Only when she is bored. Otherwise she's super smart and attentive. She definitely has her own personality LoL

I'll post progress pics as we go along too...
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#13 ·
I've been tempted to click on this thread since I first saw the title! Let's see...ground work, jogging up hills, trotting over poles, tickle my belly...um, my HORSE'S belly....I dunno. Seems like a lot of work. How about one of those things they advertise on late night TV...:wink:

Sorry. Back to topic for the younger folks. I was trying to explain to my wife yesterday that all those G forces I pulled flying fighter aircraft had stretched my skin, but she keeps saying I'm getting OLD! Silly wife...she must be getting senile! :lol:
 
#14 ·
Yeah, I hate to imagine what my horse thinks of MY saggy belly!

in any case, I just wanted to reiterate here that to bring the belly up, the horse engages the belly muscles NOT the back muscles. Engaging the back muscles would shorten the back (make it drop downward) and would thus make the belly sag more.

my little mini rant.

Cavaletti are very good for this. You can run along beside your horse and work on your own belly at the same time.

backing up uses belly muscles, if done correctly. Train horse to stand its front legs on a very solid pedestal. this is good for back and belly.
 
#18 ·
Train horse to stand its front legs on a very solid pedestal. this is good for back and belly.
My old girl has the saggy belly/weak topline problem too, I'm always looking for new ideas. I've tried all the suggestions here but don't see a whole lot of improvement, unfortunately- we're working with cavelleti now and I'm a bit hopeful this will be the best activity yet. One piece of advice based on my experience- for the belly tickle, my girl is decidedly unsensitive and her "tickle spot" is very far back on her belly- pressure from my hand isn't enough, so I use a hard plastic straw or even a hoof pick in order to get her to lift at all.

Tiny, can you explain more by what you mean above? Do you mean very literally just have them able to stand up on a stool or something like that? I'm not sure I'm understanding how/why that helps strengthen belly muscles.
 
#17 ·
To each their own Tiny-I will go with what worked for me and my guy, and the people actually educated in this type of stuff recommend. If you actually try it, you can see it tightening all around, sort of like us doing Pilates for our core muscles. That works for MY saggy belly. Try it-it might just help.

Actually, the stretching of the back muscles leads to a saggier belly in horses (and people....) you need to strengthen those muscles, as well as the others. Same thing for strengthening my back.....
 
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