# help my horse has a small butt



## Skippy! (Dec 18, 2006)

I'd love to see some pictures before I can give any honest advice  Im not sure how small of a booty were talking here.

When I was getting Rain toned up for yearling halter, I would back her up in hand a lot. I've found that backing a horse helps them use their hind end in different ways and makes more muscles develop. And when I was toning Skippy! up, I would do a lot of _effective and collected_ extended trots, really making him reach with his back legs.

I dont think its the size of the butt that matters... its how your horse uses it ;P If he/she is really toned and supple, it doesn't matter if the hind end is narrow or broad... you have the movement and momentum you want =)

I hope that helps get ya started


----------



## morganshow11 (Dec 19, 2008)

Grain will not help the horses butt get bigger just the belly.
Transitions and conditioning will help...it sure helped my horse.....


----------



## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

It's simple to say but hard to do - work him off his rear. If your horse is muscular in the front it's because that is how he is working. Draw reins in untrained hands can be very severe and an artificial way to work him off his back end.

Do a lot of transitions and, if possible, a lot lot of trotting up hills. It is going to take a lot of retraining if he has been allowed to work off his front for so long so it will take a lot of patience. Feed is not going to do it, it will add bulk but not muscle.


----------



## onetoomany (Dec 10, 2008)

Hard to say without photos as it could be that he conformationally has a small hip.


----------



## barrelracingchik101 (Aug 15, 2008)

i have no clue how to upload a pic...


----------



## Skippy! (Dec 18, 2006)

If you create an account at Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket you can upload some =) it'll tell you how to do it there (its actually pretty easy)

And there is also a feature on The Horse Forum where you can upload pictures of your horses =) Look at the top of the forum. There is a green bar with the word "Horses" on it. Click that, then click "Your Barn" then select a horse's profile (i see you've already made 2!) and there will be an option to upload photos =)

I hope that helps!


----------



## barrelracingchik101 (Aug 15, 2008)

thanks well i will put one up now


----------



## barrelracingchik101 (Aug 15, 2008)

the reasion y i said something about his food is because last time people told me to try a diffret food.. and as you can tell it did not work


----------



## onetoomany (Dec 10, 2008)

To me it looks like a structural issue. Muscling and toning will help you but only to an extent. He is never going to have a large hip as he is just not built for it. He has a steep, short croup and just doesn't seem to have the bone for it. I'm guessing with a rear view he probably slants down pretty sharply into his hips. My suggestion would be a lot of structured trot work, ground poles, light collection work etc. He will never have a huge hip but you can round out and develop his musculature a little more. Good luck.


----------



## barrelracingchik101 (Aug 15, 2008)

thank you i will deff try it


----------



## Peggysue (Mar 29, 2008)

good quality protien and exercise using his hindend!! 

what is his diet NOW andn what have you tried???

Hill work does wonders as does backing, ground poles and transitions done PROPERLY


----------



## barrelracingchik101 (Aug 15, 2008)

Peggysue said:


> good quality protien and exercise using his hindend!!
> 
> what is his diet NOW andn what have you tried???
> 
> Hill work does wonders as does backing, ground poles and transitions done PROPERLY


 
i give him the stuff that i listed..i have tryed sooo much stuff its hard to rember but its like imposible to do hill work cuz i live in florida lol


----------



## Skippy! (Dec 18, 2006)

barrelracingchik101 said:


> i give him a 2 pound scoop of sweet pellet and a 2 pound scoop of ranch horse mix( all grain) and 3 flakes of t&a and that is just in the morning.. at night he gets the same feed but more hay..


Thats what you told us you were feeding your horse... now i don;t know about you, but out here "sweet pellet" can mean ANYTHING... LOL! And i'm not sure what Ranch Horse Mix is.

Could you pull the nutritional tag off of your bags of feed and list the Protien, Fiber, and Fat percentages? And maybe the first few ingredients? Those percentages along with the quality of the ingredients are really whats important =)

I think that'll help more than just naming the type of feed =)


----------



## Peggysue (Mar 29, 2008)

grains are high in sugar and don't digest in the stomach so the protiens in them are "wasted" ...


----------



## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

You're giving him too much grain. If you want more muscle, you need LESS sugar/starch and more protein. I would cut out the sweet feed entirely and switch to just one pound of a ration balancer type feed. If you post your zip code, I or PeggySue can see what's available locally.

What is in the ranch mix? If there is any corn, I would cut that out too, and switch to either hay pellets (alfalfa or alfalfa/timothy mix) or plain whole oats.

Add to his diet 1/2 cup of milled flax or 1/2 cup of corn oil for added fat, once or twice a day.

All that sugar and starch is reving up his metabolism, which makes him burn more calories, which makes him lose weight and condition. Trust me on this one, it happened to my own horse plus a few others I have cared for. Getting them OFF the sweet feeds and high starch feeds is what made them gain good muscle weight.

For work to build muscle, walk and trot up hill, trot over ground poles, and backing work, all with his head lowered and his rear end really driving from behind. If he lunges, work him in side reins set let at the trot and canter, really driving him forward so you see those hind legs reaching well under his belly.


----------



## barrelracingchik101 (Aug 15, 2008)

ok... 11% sewwt pellets-crude protein min 11%,, crude fat 3.50%.....crude fiber max 25%,,,,,calcium min1% max 1.5%.....phosphorus min.50%...copper min 20 ppm selenum min .30ppm.... zink min 80 ppm vitamin a min 2000 iu/lb

ingredients--- weat middlins , peanut hulls, rice mill feed, soybean meal, grain screenings, cane molasses, vegetable oil.. i realy dont feel like listing the rest.. and there is no tag on the ranch horse mix if got ripped off


----------



## barrelracingchik101 (Aug 15, 2008)

luvs2ride1979 said:


> You're giving him too much grain. If you want more muscle, you need LESS sugar/starch and more protein. I would cut out the sweet feed entirely and switch to just one pound of a ration balancer type feed. If you post your zip code, I or PeggySue can see what's available locally.
> 
> What is in the ranch mix? If there is any corn, I would cut that out too, and switch to either hay pellets (alfalfa or alfalfa/timothy mix) or plain whole oats.
> 
> ...


 

how much would the ration balancer cost????


----------



## MN Tigerstripes (Feb 20, 2009)

barrelracingchik101 said:


> how much would the ration balancer cost????



Ration balancers usually end up being cheaper because you feed much less as they are designed to make up for whatever may not be present in your main feed (which should be forage). You should be feeding based on weight too...  I don't remember if you said, but what kind of forage are you giving him?


----------



## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

As was mentioned - it's his build. It's called a goose rump.

If that is a recent photo, I would like to see more weight on him overall. But as far as his build, you can't change the base structure.


----------



## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

barrelracingchik101 said:


> how much would the ration balancer cost????


You only feed 1-2 lbs a day of an RB, total. And they are more dense than most pelleted feeds, so you'll need to weigh a scoop of it to make sure you're feeding the right amount. Most horses do well on 1-1.5 lbs a day.

A bag of RB usually costs $25-40 a bag, depending on the brand. But, since you're feeding much less, it ends up being about the same cost or less per-day than regular feeds.


----------



## Peggysue (Mar 29, 2008)

1lb is rougly 2 3/4 cups a day 

sounds like it will be cheaper then what you are doing NOW...


----------



## Peggysue (Mar 29, 2008)

your 11% feed looks to be a left over mix... meaning what they couldn't or didn't use in other mixes they threw in together to make a feed...


----------

