# building muscle in the right places



## pinkapache (May 15, 2010)

I have heard people talk about different feeds and conditioners for building muscle in the topline and buttocks and wondered what does everyone use and what works best??


----------



## MyBarakah (May 15, 2010)

Beet Pulp (shreeded) and whole oats with alfalfa hay are the KEY ingredients to my feed program to my show horses... The Beet Pulp does SO many good things and works in SO MANY ways... I would say it is the "essintial" key to the most important feed process... then the alfalfa then the oats...


----------



## mydaddysjag (May 15, 2010)

MyBarakah,

Do you feed any type of ration balancer or supplement for protein, vitamins, and minerals, or just the the beetpulp, alfalfa, and oats?


----------



## JWC sr. (May 15, 2010)

We are feeding a mix of strategy, soaked beet pulp, Omeline 500 and supplements that we get from DAC. We use the oil, orange and 1 other I can't remember the name of from them. It is pharmaceutical grade stuff and we have had great results for 3 years now.






That along with round penning, golf cart work and ground work has done the job for us. Simple, easy but effective.


----------



## Becky (May 15, 2010)

I think the best way to build muscle is the proper diet for the age of the horse and exercise.

Here, I use beet pulp, alfalfa pellets, Progressive Nutritions Growth formula feed for my young show horses and Omega Horseshine. Mature horses are getting the same with the exception of the Growth Formula. Those horses are on Progressive's ProAdd Ultimate supplement. I'm currently conditioning a 16 yr old gelding who hasn't seen the show ring in 10 years. He is on Progressives' Senior Formula feed, plus beet pulp, grass pellets (he doesn't tolerate alfalfa)and Omega Horseshine. All the horses get grass hay as well.

I've tried different muscle builder products over the years and I've found they work no better than just proper diet and exercise.


----------



## MyBarakah (May 15, 2010)

I measure out thier beet pulp and oats with a one cup measuring cup and I measure it all out dry and then everyone has thier own bucket and I then add water to it until it's very soupy and wait a little while for it all to soak up.... Very good for dehydration. And yes.. I do add vitamins/minerals (once a day) along with a daily pelleted wormer. The alfalfa has ALLOT of protein to it. And they do get a mineral & salt block.

I have found with adding some of the extra stuff, like any kinds of oils or any kind of "bloom" supplement that it ends up adding fat in places they do not need it. So I keep it simple and they look VERY fit & trim...

But they also get excerises, round pened or ponied off the 4 Wheeler.

And what works for one person may not work with another person. You may have to mess around with it and see what works best with you and your horses. But I know I've tried other ways and feeds and just do not get the results and can "keep" a horse where they need to be unless I feed what I have been feeding.

And also too I've found that depending on the size & condition of the horse will also depend on "how much" you feed that horse! That's the fun part to figure out which each horse needs to keep them at that perfect show horse look!



mydaddysjag said:


> MyBarakah,
> 
> Do you feed any type of ration balancer or supplement for protein, vitamins, and minerals, or just the the beetpulp, alfalfa, and oats?


----------



## Carriage (May 15, 2010)

We too believe that it starts with optimum nutrition.

Then comes aerobic conditioning. Once aerobic conditioning is in place, we build muscle and strength on top of that. Never the other way around. An aerobically conditioned animal will be less prone to injury.

I would accomplish this first with distance work, like driving a low drag cart, at the trot, over distance and primarily on level ground. After a period of this to build sufficient aerobic capacity, I would slowly shift to more hill work which will isolate and further build the rear half of the horse.

The layers of the onion, in order, would be.

1) superb nutrition

2) aerobic conditioning

3) strength training

By attending to aerobic conditioning first, you will develop strength with endurance. If you don't and jump directly to the strength exercise, you risk potential injury to the horse, will never build optimum strength and whatever strength you manage to build will have no staying power.

I also believe that you should find the most enjoyable ways for the horse to accomplish this task. Never miss a chance to capture the mind and heart of your horse in whatever endeavor you choose.

We FINALLY have sunny weather and are planting garden!

Bb

Graham Carriage Works

www.grahamcarriageworks.com


----------

