Getting more muscle?

Question

this contains alot of questions:

1) the horse im working came to me bony. he's a 13yo qh who does really good in pleasure. his poll is bony, his chest is weak, and so is his neck. since he's been trained as a pleasure horse, he's naturally downhill and its a real struggle to ask him to sit so that he'll work his hind end. other than walking him up steep atv trails once a week, which is what i do, working him in the trot bigger and longer each workout, circle work, and longer workouts, is there any other way i can increase muscle?

2) i think his body is uneven because every time i get on i feel like i have to ride without stirrups because on him only, my left stirrup feels longer than the other. and its hard to keep my right hip on him with my leg back because he's...skinnier on that side. will counter cantering help develop that side? or is that just the way he is?

3) ever since i've been riding him, my hamstrings have been killing me. ive been riding 14 years, and never had this

Answer 1

Hill work both up and down helps build muscles, but if you have a sandy lake or river area, working at a LONG trot (Extended) in that sand will really increase muscle tone.

Start out at a 15 minute WALK on the sand then gradually build up to trotting in it for 5 minutes and gradually increase the time involved.  You should notice the difference in a month and remember to feed him MORE also.  Give him a couple flakes of alfafa hay twice a day, and free feed him ground alfafa and molasses until the weight and muscle have been rebuilt.  For added weight, I also feed a 3LB coffee can of rolled barley and corn, with a 1/2 Cup of corn oil and 1/2 Cup of apple cider vinegar.

Answer 2

1) continue with the hill work but start trotting him up AND down the hills.  Do a lot of transitions and changes in direction when you ride him.  Also, turn him out as much as possible so he's moving around a lot.

2) I think this problem will resolve itself as he puts on muscle and as long as you work him on both sides.

3) This could be because you're riding without stirrups.  Or, are you using much more leg to keep him going than you do with any other horses?

Answer 3

thick sand and trotting whenever you can.

also swimmin is very good for building up muscle but it bepends on whether you can access that or not.

im trying to get my qh to work off her back end atm and ive just been doing little things like walking along a fence backing then turning to the inside makinf sure she spins on her hinds and just doesnt follow her front. a lot of backing is good too as it does build muscle in hindquarters and teaches to use them more.

hpe could help ( excuse the spellin)