Building up back muscles..??

[speedqueen]

My new 12yr old welsh D X connemara has some muscle wastage due to having had a badly fitted saddle and I was wondering what you lot would recommend for building them back up. He has a new properly fitting saddle..probably wont fit for too long tho, well not if I can get his back muscles sorted.:rolleyes:

There are so many lunging gadgets available now I am at a loss as to which way to go..:confused:

Any suggestions greatly appreciated....:)

[speedqueen]

I don't believe no-one has had the same problem...:confused:
I realise given time and a well fitted saddle the muscle will come back but surely there must be some lunge work that will help too...??

[coss]

if the horse works long and low (correctly) with or without gadgets it will help build the muscles. lunging on a slight slope will help too. I've heard of people having success with a pessoa but have never used it myself.

[xstephx]

If you can lunge your horse long and low without gadgets then great but i also think a pessoa can be very useful and actually gets them working correctly....well thats if its used properly. Long and low work really helps them work and stretch over their backs building up the muscle slowly. Good Luck!

[Jumperbabe]

My horse recently lost a lot of muscle due to being lame and out of work. Now that he is doing better I've been walking him backwards about 20-40 yards every day. My friend is an equine massage therapist and told me that is a great way to improve the back muscles. She even suggested doing it on a slight incline, but right now I'm just starting out in the level arena.