# Neck muscle building advice



## SPhorsemanship (Apr 5, 2010)

First of all, he is bracing against you when he is riding. You must not pull. All a horse will do is brace. You said that he will do anything not to put his head down. You can't force his head down. Having his head down comes from straightness, balance, impulsion and light contact. You want him moving forward into the contact(light contact). Just get his neck long and low. Forcing a horse's head down is no means to get him round. He will only brace. It takes two to pull.

When riding him, have a much lighter contact. Don't just think about making him put his head down. Ride with the reins longer(but with contact) and push him into the bit. Ask him to relax and extend(not get more forward though, you want him to "swing"). You don't want him short, on his forehand with his head down. If you force his head down that is what will happen.

If you want to lunge him(although I believe that getting a horse round is a riders job so don't just rely on the lunging) then use the simplest gadget or no gadget at all. I suggest vienna reins or side reins. If he goes long and low on the lunge then don't use a gadget. If he uses his bottom neck muscles with his natural headset on the lunge(which he will probably do), then side reins or vienna reins will be beneficial. They will not be beneficial if you use them to tight which pretty much ties their head in. You don't want his head in, you want it down and low. Most of all, you want him moving forward with impulsion.


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## Uma (Aug 26, 2010)

Thank you for your advice.
However I would like to ask where you got the idea that I braced or pulled against him?

And a little more background: I ride with my reins long, almost too long most of the time. My trainer often tells me to pick up my reins. I can feel his mouth but I don't pull on it or try to force his head down.

And he doesn't actually stretch down. If I give him rein he just holds his head in the same position. He doesn't try to stretch or anything. It's longer, but not low.

And we have been working on impulsion and he actually has plenty of energy now. He nice forward impulsion.


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## Kayty (Sep 8, 2009)

Ok if he's locking at the base of the neck, you really need to do some suppling exercises on him. My horse blocks at the poll AND the base of the neck, a horse needs to be able to go forward while also bending/flexing. 
For starters, put him on a 20m circle in a good working trot, ask his jaw to come a little to the inside with your inside rein. When the jaw will give, put your inside leg on, take your inside rein a little more, and ask the inside hind to step slightly across to the outside of the circle, so that you are moving the quarters slightly out while asking for more bend in the poll/neck. Ask the jaw to move to the inside again, then let him straighten. Then ask again, this time asking for more bend to the inside. Then straighten. Continue this sort of work, letting him straighten when he gives to the bend, while also going forward off your leg. Increasing the degree of bend each time you ask. This will start to unlock his neck for you. 
Think of the horse's shoulders as a lock, and the neck is the key. The lock is a bit stiff, so you have to wiggle the key a bit to unlock the lock/shoulders. Basically, you should be able to move the horse's head and neck anywhere that you like without the horse bracing against the hand. If you're travelling on a 20m circle to the left, try asking his jaw to come a little to the right and vice versa.
I warm my horse up by trying to move him every which way. We go shoulder in, travers, renvers, shoulder in, leg yield, shoulder in, travers etc. etc. I think ask him deep for half a circle, then bring him up, then deep again with significant flexion to the inside, then deep with significant flexion to the outside and so on. 
Always moving the horse around, testing your contact, testing your submission all the while keeping the horse forward and up to the bridle. If you lose impulsion, don't release the bend and push the horse through until he gives. He must not learn to brace when he goes forward. A horse that is doing extended trot for example, should not be against the bridle, you should still be able to move the jaw, poll and neck without the horse leaning and bracing. So your horse can certainly travel forward and soft at the same time 

Once he is forward and soft in the bridle, the muscle will start to come. But you'll never build topline if you horse has a block in the base of the neck

Hope this helps you a little, good luck!


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

the above advice is really good. You may not be pulling on him. You may have not enough meaningful contact on him, as your instructor is nagging you about. In order to achieve what Kayty is talking about you woud need to have enough contact to create a change in him. Meaning, to get him to give his jaw, you may actually need to take up more contact than you are used to, but it will be on one rein more than the other, the inside asking for the give of the jaw. And you'll be really ready to release and reward when you get that jaw bend in the very beginning.
From your photos your horse's neck isn't that bad and it woulldn't take much to really make him shine. He has the most elegant head!


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## Uma (Aug 26, 2010)

Thank you everyone for your advice. I'll definitely try the 20m circle exercise.

tinyliny: Thank you for the compliment of his head. It's kind of funny that you say that because he has a really refined head from that angle but he also has a roman nose. I personally don't care for roman noses but his has grown on me.


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## starlinestables (Nov 24, 2008)

I would lunge him with vienna reins or a chambon. Do you have any video of him? Is he a stargazer?


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## candandy49 (Jan 16, 2011)

When I first got my 8 year old QH mare she had an extreme upside-down neck. She had been, I'm certain ridden all her life in a western tie-down. Here is a picture of her shortly after she came home with me:









It can't be seen very well in that picture, but I have another I'm going to put on here in a moment:

The bottom picture is my Candy after I had her about 5 years. She and I did a lot of condtioning and I retrained her off/out of a tie down/standing martingale.


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## Uma (Aug 26, 2010)

starlinestables said:


> I would lunge him with vienna reins or a chambon. Do you have any video of him? Is he a stargazer?


What do you mean by stargazer? If you mean does he not look where he is going, then no. He is usually pretty good about that.

Next time i am out I will have to get a video of us so I can demonstrate what I mean.


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## candandy49 (Jan 16, 2011)

A "star gazer" is in reference to a horse who holds it's head way above vertical as if "to be star gazing" even in the daytime hours. Thus to say, a horse who goes way above vertical under saddle.


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## sarahver (Apr 9, 2010)

First off can I say that there is a dramatic improvement from the first picture to the second picture, his musculature has evened out significantly so you headed in the right direction.

In addition to some of the excellent advice already given, I would just like to add that I would be hesitant to work him in side reins or the equivalent just yet. Side reins can be a wonderful tool but they can also do more harm than good if used incorrectly. I see from your original description that he is a little lazy - first you need to get quality, willing forward movement from him. Side reins plus incorrect movement equals bad training and will do nothing to develop the kind of conditioning you are after. 

Not only do you want to encourage him to reach for the bit, you also want to make sure that his hind end is supporting his front so that he is balanced in his gaits. Adding side reins to a horse that is lacking impulsion, or not tracking up correctly is not a good move as it results in very downhill movement and will not engage the muscles in the topline whatsoever. Worst case scenario is that the horse travels on the forehand and to counter the imbalance caused by the downhill way of travelling in side reins, the horse will strain the muscles in the neck upwards, in effect bracing against the side reins and developing the muscles UNDER the neck rather than on top. Prolonged use of side reins in this manner will result in a ewe necked appearance, certainly not what you are after! In addition, his neck ties in a little low to his shoulder complex so this is a horse that will be a little predisposed to travelling in this manner in side reins naturally unless you are very careful about how you use them.

First work on lots of leg yielding excercises, get him to reach under himself with his hind legs to the left, to the right and straight. Lots and lots of long and low work. Note that this is not collected per se but more of a stretching excercise to develop his topline. Transitions are your friend! Excercises such as simple figure of eights transitioning between walk and trot on both reins are a great excercise - trot a 20m circle to the right, long and low and flexing to the inside, transisiton to a walk for four strides, trot a 20m circle to the right, walk for four strides and so on, changing direction each time. Maintain suppleness through your seat and legs and ask for flexion with your hands.

Ensure that he is striding well and maintains a good forward gait between both walk and trot and you can perhaps add in side reins at a later time.


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## Uma (Aug 26, 2010)

sarahver said:


> First off can I say that there is a dramatic improvement from the first picture to the second picture, his musculature has evened out significantly so you headed in the right direction.
> 
> In addition to some of the excellent advice already given, I would just like to add that I would be hesitant to work him in side reins or the equivalent just yet. Side reins can be a wonderful tool but they can also do more harm than good if used incorrectly. I see from your original description that he is a little lazy - first you need to get quality, willing forward movement from him. Side reins plus incorrect movement equals bad training and will do nothing to develop the kind of conditioning you are after.
> 
> ...


I am embarrassed to say but the first picture is actually the more recent picture. It has been a couple months though since I have gotten the most recent picture so once he is done shedding out and you can see his musculature better I will repost with a current picture.

I really like the idea of long and low and my trainer and some friends have recommended this to me but when I've tried he won't stretch. It's not that he can't or he is too tight, it just seems like he doesn't feel the need, or it's not necessary to him so he won't travel long and low. How can I encourage him to?


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## Sarahandlola (Dec 16, 2010)

Thank you for posting this! 

I am in the same boat with my TB...She is actually developing muscles under her neck because she has her head in the air the whole time! Grrr


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## sarahver (Apr 9, 2010)

Uma said:


> I am embarrassed to say but the first picture is actually the more recent picture. It has been a couple months though since I have gotten the most recent picture so once he is done shedding out and you can see his musculature better I will repost with a current picture.
> 
> I really like the idea of long and low and my trainer and some friends have recommended this to me but when I've tried he won't stretch. It's not that he can't or he is too tight, it just seems like he doesn't feel the need, or it's not necessary to him so he won't travel long and low. How can I encourage him to?


Well that didn't end up being the compliment I intended it to be :lol:

I understand that he has a winter coat, but I can see the effects of him bracing against the rider (I am not suggesting that he is bracing against the bit, it may be a position he adopts while being ridden) in the way his neck has developed with almost a crest formation at the lower end but muscle wastage at the poll. I don't mean that to be offensive at all! You see similar effects on horses that are ridden in tie downs inappropriately, causing them to strain upwards, in your case he is straining up against you. Maybe you feel it in your hands, maybe you don't. I would guess that he is counteracting a rather downhill gait by balancing with his neck - raising it and jutting his head out. All are compensatory measures to counteract the lack of drive from the hind.

Lots of softening work, get it right at the walk before you move on to a trot, then work on perfecting the trot. As for long and low, Jane Savoie explains it better than I could, so here is a link:

What Does The Dressage Term “Long and Low” Mean? | janesavoie.com


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## starlinestables (Nov 24, 2008)

I actually don't like side reins that much and prefer the neck stretcher or chambon. The neck stretcher helps teach them to give to the pressure on their poll and doesn't effect the mouth like side reins do. It's really important that they are pushed forward so that they continue to stretch and lift their back otherwise it defeats the purpose as a muscle builder. Start out just using it on the lunge and work on your suppling exercises under saddle. You can ride with a neck stretcher but its important to not over use!!! It should be a helpful tool to obtain your goal.. to obtain the muscle memory for a more balanced and pleasurable ride for you both.


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