Top line and muscle development!

Hey guys! I have a gorgeous paint who is my hunter and jumper boy who has seemed to lost his top line, he usually has a lovely straight flat back but he's lost his back muscle from lack of riding and now I want to get it back and fast.

Also i'd like alot of muscle development tips!

Thanks!

Hiya, I got a mare to break that had been left out in the field till she was 6! Civil we horse to work around (light cob type) but when it came to training her she would hold her head very high drag her back feet and hold her tail between her legs, so after a week of basic training (just lungeing of a head collar in a pen to get her used to my voice, comands and going in a circle) I put side reins on her with a happy mouth snaffle she took to them straight away, I think she liked the pressure, within a week I could see a huge differnce in her top line, she had great muscle tone along her neck ,down her hind quarters, was gliding along and was holding her tail better! She was like a dressage horse to watch. When I backed her she was so easy to ride she worked from day one on the bridle, and because the side reins strenghtened the muscle in the right places I found she had a fantastic jump, so to keep her on the right track I would warm her up for about 15mins with draw reins, (you shouldnt make the mistake iv seen that people have them far to tight and the horses nose is nearly at their knees! So use them at a length that your horse can still comfortably move their head but are still having to work a little harder, aim to have your horse foaming on the bit as well, good sign they'v "accepted" the bit and are working from your hand and leg.. if that makes sense lol ... to finish of lol this isnt really something that can happen over night, your best to gradually work at it, nothing good came of a rushed job.. trust me my own mare was very badly broken and riden by a rough man for her first 2years and 7years on am still trying to cure her! So take your time, you sould watch some videos on youtube, you always learn loads from watching other riders, seeing how they train their horses.. sorry this is so long, I hope you can get a we bit of help from it lol
Slán

How To Develop A Topline


And

HorseHelp: Building up your horses back, In-hand and Under Saddle

I recently found those two threads and they are very helpful! Especially the 2nd one :)

I know I sound like a broken record on every one of these threads but, correct riding builds correct muscles. There's nothing magic, or easy about it. Hill work can help once the horse is conditioned enough for it but correctly ridden hill work!

Unwoven unfortunately there is no quick fix to get a topline, as anebel said, its correct work that will help a horse develop the muscles it requires.

A horse that has been off work for a period of time needs a minimum af three months to start getting in to condition, muscles will develop after that. Especially with winter coming, you need to make sure warm up and cool downs are a big factor so he doesn't get stiff.

For a horse that has been out of work I like to do a lot of lunge work, done correctly you can see how the horse is moving, how its back is moving, hind legs are moving, and if it willingly drops its head.

I'm not a big fan of doing all these muscle excercises unless you truly know what you're doing in case you do it wrong and cause more harm than help. If you do want to do them, I would always suggest get a chiro out to show you the correct excercises that need to be tailored to your horse's needs.

This really helps me with ideas and tips. Thank you guys, I used to do the stretches with him and stopped. Maybe that's why it also went down. His nutrition is good, I have him on a hi fat and hifibre food, and always the best hay.

(: I also used to have many hills where I used to have him.

I have a paint and am stuggling with the same thing. I am trying, as sugested by my instructr, long low work. HOPE IT HELPS

Im no fan of draw reins or side pulls.
Developing a topline takes hard consistent work. The only way to do it is you on their back asking them to engage their hind end. We do rollbacks, then lope off, figure eights and take them over logs etc. Keeping the hind end engaged will build a nice topline and put all the muscle in the right places.
In my experience using draw reins will give the horse something to lean on especially if they are not fit. Your horse from what you have said knows his stuff so he doesnt need to be told where his face should be, he needs help developing his topline so he uses his back end correctly and doesnt end up sore from being heavy on the fore.
Best of luck

It depends how you use draw reins, and what for. To develop top line I would agree and say that its wrong, as anebel said, correct riding will form topline. My dad's mare is very strong on the bit, she just pulls around, learnt from her time as a carriage horse. However, he spent three weeks in draw reins with her, and she learnt she only had herself to pull against and worked for her as she now works better from behind and is much softer and lighter in the hands.

Different things for different people ;D

^^^and Im glad it worked for your mare , however, and I could be wrong but I took it from the tone of the post that the OP said her horse was well broke but has just lost his topline from no work.

Its a totally different situation as she doesnt say he runs through the bit and he certainly wasnt a buggy horse so its for sure he has no problems from that.

She should be able to simply ride the horse back to fitness, and that just takes time.