Muscle Building??

Question

My arabian horse(bred to work cows)is just NOT building ANY muscle. I have been working the SNOT out of her and there is no progress. She is fed very well and has the best care possible for a horse.... any tips to build some muscle??

thanks,

becca

Answer 1

do work moving up hills. it helps so much for their butt muscles. circles, little or big, help with their abs. there is also muscle- building feed but i wouldn't recommend it as that is kinda cheating and i don't think it is very healthy to do.

Answer 2

If you have a hill anywhere near your barn try walking, trotting, and doing some canter up and down it. You can also back him up the hill which does wonders for their hindquarters. I used a little incline next to my barn and every day after my ride I would just trot and walk a few times up and down (the mare was a little spooky so I didn't canter) and do some rein backs and a little lateral and in about three weeks she went from almost no muscle at all to being very fit. (She tried to buck me off when I first started conditioning her and didn't get close and a couple weeks after I started the hillwork she could really throw a buck! Not the best thing in the world, but she did get a lot stronger!)

Also I know that SmartPak Equine has some muscle builder supplements that you could feed to her. You might want to talk to your vet because there may be something missing from her diet that is not allowing her to gain muscle.

Answer 3

trotting and also take her on trail rides...mostly uphill that will get ur horse buff lol

Answer 4

1. Trot

2. Trot in small circles

3. Trot over ground poles

4. Walk to trot transitions

5. Trot to walk transitions

6. Trot to halt transitions

Make sure your horse is forward into your hands and on your aids. If she's strung out and on her forehand she won't build the right muscle.

Work regularly and consistently, give her a few months.

Answer 5

Hi Becca,

Sounds like you have been working your mare!  Good for you.  I am with you on this one, and I went back and looked at the photo you posted on the other question, with the photo of her hip....

She has a nice looking hip in the photo, but YES some horses a born with GREAT big hips!

Our head horse has a huge muscly butt and hip with the definition lines in them....  Our heal horse is built much leaner and will get the lines, but NOT grow a large hip.

Working you mare on hills for long periods of time (without pulling something) will build and condition her muscles.  We generally ride for 4-6 hours at a time out on our trails here (but we live in the mountains)...  Of course you have to work up the conditioning and stamina of the horse.

KEEP up the work, muscles take a while to define, you won't see them too quickly...

Answer 6

Trotting poles and round pen work will help. Up and down hill work will be great for building muscle. Also, if you live near a pond or stream (no rock or muck bottoms) walking her in water is much more difficult on land, it will create resistance and she will build up muscle by doing that.

Answer 7

Try trotting her A LOT. Trotting builds muscle, cantering builds endurance.

Answer 8

try rounding her neck. it builds muscle in the neck and back.  i know if you ride western itll look a little weird but in the long run, her neck will be beautiful!

you rond her by pulling her head slightly to the inside and kick with your inside leg and hopfully she will round and look like this:

http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/vi...