Muscle Building excersises?

Question

I just bought a 6 yr old TB Gelding, who has tenderness on the right side of his groin. He is "the one". The vet told me when im building his muscle back up, to just work that one side a little more.(he hasnt been worked with in 8 months.) He has a great disposition, and he is calm and gentle.You can tell he has a lot of muscle to gain back. He is going to be my jumper. He has been professionally trained for English nd Jumping. What are some good excerises to use?

Heres a couple pics of him-

http://larissa-ann.piczo.com/?g=38780304&cr=1

BTW-he is onyl on hay right now i will be puttin him on grain and if he doesnt thicken then i will be adding beat pulp.

Answer 1

If your vet has OKd him for riding, then do it.   Do bending exercises.   Practice circles and spirals.  

Try a dressage-focused instructor:  she will know about lateral work, bending, etc.  

He doesn't look bad for only being on hay.  Usually TBs need grain, so I think he's doing well.

Answer 2

Hi there,

We like trail riding in the mountains, but we live in the mountains, hills build butts up fast!

Sand is another good one to ride them in.

He looks like he needs a bit more weight, but I like them stocky and filled out!   Make certain you worm him too.

GREAT looking horse!

Answer 3

He does look pretty good considering he's 8 months out of work and only on hay!  Is he too sore to ride or is he ok?

When I got my horse he was very thin and had almost no muscle on his rump and hind legs.  I started off by lunging regularly (3-5 times a week) for 10 mins each way to get his fitness back up before starting any muscle building.  Once he got fit though i stepped it up, doing a lot of cantering on the lunge, particularly over poles and eventually small jumps which is really good for muscles.  You might want to do a few extra jumps on the right side if thats his weaker side.  But make sure you don't overdo it on one side and ignore the other as he will become unbalanced.

If you can ride him you could take him out for a long ride every now and then.  If you live in a hill area that would be great! The more hills the better!  

In the arena the best thing would be lots of small circles, focusing on getting him to really bend into the circle as he moves.  Once he can do thin at a walk on both side, you can move on to a trot then canter etc.  Again its important not to favor the right too much so he remains balanced.  

Hope this helps! Good luck!