building up muscle

[x_claire_X]

hi
i've been a member for a while but havent posted i just read and elarn ;)

my mare lost a lot of weight a couple of months ago and now shes put on enough weight to start being ridden again but she needs to build up muscle especially on her back and bum!!

what type of schholing excersises will help build up and for how long, how many times a week etc should i be doing them?

shes not the easiest to school, i school her on a piece of sand next to her field and she has the distraction of the beach on the opposite side of the river and the other horses in th efield so she has to be kept interested.

she is quite good to school when i rid eehr properly ( when my mums on the ground telling me what to do :o ) she just gets bored of doing circles and serpintines

any ideas ?

heres some pics of her
http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/x_claire_x/spirit%202/?action=view&current=11july4.jpg&refPage=&imgAnch=imgAnch6

http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/x_claire_x/spirit%202/?action=view&current=11july5.jpg&refPage=&imgAnch=imgAnch8

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/x_claire_x/spirit%202/july034.jpg

thanks claire and spirit

[hotamy20]

hiya

I had a horse that needed to build up muscle i went out and bought a leather thick strapping pad you can get them from any big horsey shop like robbinsons.
you smack the horse on the muscle with it and stroke past you dont do it to hard thow just enough that the muscle tenses.

Also sorry to say:rolleyes: lots of circles and brisk transitions will build up muscles as long as they are done correctly and from behind so lots of prepareing the horse before you ask for a upward or downward transition.
You can do them anywere, in the school, on a hack etc. :D

I could advise you on more things but i dont no what level you are on, :)

[skye06]

I find hill work very usefull for building muscles. Of course it doesn't matter what you do unless your horse is working from behind and using his muscles. I also use longreining and lunging to build muscle.
When the muscle starts to come on well and you start jumping gymnastic jumping can be wonderfull too.

[x_claire_X]

hi thanks :)

i dont hav ea deat wish so wil leave out smacking ;)

transitions do keep her occupied will do more of them.

as for what level i'm on erm i've had lessons learning to walk trot and canter then i've just been hacking out , i dont like schooling so its as much keeping me interested as spirit :o i will get an intructor out once shes a bit fitter.
we do hill work when we hack ( i'm trying to be good and school more though)

thanks for advice, could anyone give a brief description of the sort of schooling session i should do (ie how much walking, trotting etc for how long and how many times a week is ok without doing too much?)

claire & spirit

[jenren!!]

Spend 5 minutes to start with just by letting Spirit stretch her neck down. Let her stride out, stretch her muscles. Then do a couple of minutes of trotting, on each rein and let her stretch. Then shorten your reins and start some transition work. Do lots of walk to halt, halt to walk, walk to trot, trot to walk, halt to trot, trot to halt and so on. This will build her muscles and keep her waiting for the next instruction. Then start working on a few circles and figures of 8, do lots of spiralling. As she hasnt been in work long, dont overdo it. Half an hour will do for now. Only do larger circles and keep your transitions spaced out so you dont overstretch her. You will eventually feel her getting softer and find the exercises much easier so you can do them longer and smaller etc.

The main thing is dont do the same thing everyday, school her about half an hour about 4 days a week, and the others go for some nice relaxing hacks.

I hope this helps :)

Jenny xx

[x_claire_X]

thankyou :D

i went down about an hour ago with the intention of schooling...we both ended up lying in the river :o )

[Est]

Anything that will get her using her hind legs more will help, but if you both suffer from schooling blues then you will need to plan more cunningly than that! ;)
Use poles or cones or buckets or anything at all really :D to mark out a rough school.
Try 10 mins of quick transitions and changes of rein - don't go more than one whole circuit of the manege in a straight line - go A-C, B-E, across the long diagonal, across the short diagonal, 4-loop serpentines, two half 20m circles, two half 10m circles, a loop and back to the track, etc. Change pace at least every 30 secs, and insist on an immediate, energetic response.
Her concentration will match yours ;) so tell yourself that for those ten minutes you are going to really work up a sweat and not get distracted!! Give yourself a point for every change of rein and every transition, and see if you can beat my friend's score of 30 points in ten mins!
Then clear away the school and put up a line of things to do bending races round and some obstacles to circle round. Insist on a really energetic trot with a good bend through her body as you go in and out of the bending poles/buckets/cones. At the end of the line do a good circle round your obstacle (a coat on the ground, another bucket, a flag) or better still do figure-of-eights round several things on the ground. Walk back as fast as you can, then trot away as slow as you can. If you have them, add in some trotting poles too.
Alternate evenings, go on a fun hack and do lots of halt-walk-halt and walk-trot-walk transitions, again asking for an immediate response. Leg yield to the side of the path and back again.
She could do this kind of stuff every night, but one or two days off a week will give you a mental break and stop it becoming repetitive.
All this will get her using her hind legs and building up muscle, and hopefully neither of you will get bored!
Don't forget to warm up and cool down on a long rein for 5 mins (but still ask her to walk out with energy and not dawdle round!)
PS She's a lovely horse, very pretty :)

[eml]

You could 'school' her on a hack. To build up muscle all she needs to do is work over her back, lots of transitions, hills etc will really help. Strapping ie muscle massage will also help.

[Cheeky]

Heya

Lovely horse . .very pretty!

Hill work is good for muscles, so is walking (NOT TROTTING) on roads. Working (lunging, light riding) in deep sand is good too.

Good luck! Trotting is good also :)

[x_claire_X]

thankyou everyone :D

you've been really helpful i'l putting all your advice into practice over the enxt week and let you know how we get on :)

[jenren!!]

Good good. Print it out and take it with you :D. I also agree about schooling when you hack. There's alsorts you could do, like leg-yielding and practising riding in a straight line. You have the hills as well which is very useful.

Jenny xx

[BeachRiding]

Lots of hills,transitions, and trotting!

[andreaB]

my horse had phsio earlier in the year & the physio had me using a tens machine on him for a few weeks

something she also recommended was weight boots on his back legs to help build muscle as he is natuarlly more powerful in front than behind

looking at the pics of you horse i would be tempted to suggest a session ith a good physio , they would be able to help identify area's of weakness & muscle wastage & give you specifically tailored exercises pitched at a level appropriate to your horse