Topline Q&A

Q: I have an 11-year-old TB/WB that is a very hard keeper. He had been a successful eventer that became neglected. I got him 300-400 lbs underweight (one year ago). He is at an okay weight now, but does tend to look skinny some days. His topline and withers are terrible. He has hind end weakness issues that I am working on with my vet. Recently, we have increased his work to 6 days a week for about an hour a day. I will only do flat work until he muscles up and, eventually, I would like to start him jumping again. He is turned out at least 12 hours a day.

Here is what he eats (barn feeds): 2 quarts grain feed twice daily, grass, alfalfa hay and grass pasture during turnout. This is what the barn feeds and I cannot really change it. In addition, I feed him a feeding of rice bran and a cup of fresh ground flax seed mixed with a handful of feed when I go out. Usually 5-6 days a week. I have thought about adding some whole oats.

Is there anything I can add to the barn feeds either as a third feed or on top of his grain feedings? I can either continue my additional feedings or replace them. Also, he is a very quiet horse that becomes anxious under saddle. I am working with the vet on the physical aspect of the anxiety. Do you think Kool Blue™ may be an option?

A: It sounds like the biggest issue is the poor topline and back? To build the topline area, which is muscle, you need to add the nutrients that build muscle – amino acids. Go to www.prognutrition.com/tes and see where your horse fits on the Topline Evaluation System. To correct the topline, you need to improve the amino acid profile of the diet so there are nutrients available to build muscle. Products like Top-Line Enhance™ are great ways to do that. Oats, rice bran and flax are all good ingredients – but provide mostly calories that have helped add fat over the ribs (if you still need to fill in over the ribs they are great options).

On your second question, yes, Kool Blue™ can help a horse with an anxious attitude by helping them deal with stress and gastric upset.

 

Q: I have a colt that will be 2 in Feb. He is currently on ProAdd™ Ultimate and alfalfa hay. He is out all day. He will be going to a show in the middle of March. He isn't “ribby”, but I have just started exercising him a little more. What would be the best thing to add to the ProAdd™ to help him build muscle and overall body condition? Since the show isn't for 3 months, would it be fine to start him on the Top-Line Enhance™? How much would help him build his muscles? He is about 15.3 and maybe 900 pounds.

A: Yes, you can add the Top-Line Enhance™ to the ProAdd™ Ultimate. If we need to develop and improve the muscle appearance and tone of your horse, it will take more amino acids. Amino acids as the building blocks of muscles are critical for proper development, especially seen in the topline area. Feed _ lb/day of Top-Line Enhance™.

 

Q: I received for free a 21-year-old TB mare. She never raced, but had a successful career in the dressage and show jumping ring. When I received her, she was in poor condition, about 200 lbs underweight and unhealthy. My farrier confirmed that she had foundered in the past. The vet confirmed that she has very little teeth left to work with and she is also 5 months pregnant right now. She has had 6 healthy foals in the past.

I've owned her about 4 1/2 months. She has successfully put on about 125 lbs thanks to senior feed, Omegatin, and mare plus, along with corn oil. I have to soak her feed so she is able to eat her meal. She is on free-choice, high-quality coastal, along with alfalfa being fed at meal times. She has been de-wormed and vaccinations are up-to-date. She has been seeing the vet once a month for pregnancy checkups.

Everyone tells me that she looks great, much better than other horses they've seen her age. But I can't stand to see her sagging topline. It saddens me. Even though her coat, hooves and overall health are great, her topline will not gain. I understand this happens with old age. But I am looking for longevity in this mare and want to prevent general discomfort and joint pain from having a saggy belly/back.

Has Top-Line Xtreme™ or Top-Line Enhance™ been proven effective in horses her age? Is either Top-Line Xtreme™ or Top-Line Enhance™ safe to be fed to broodmares? Which is a better product to use? According to the TES video, I would classify her as a D type.

A: Yes, Top-Line Xtreme™ and Top-Line Enhance™ will improve the topline and muscle tone in horses of any age. Horses of an older age do tend to need more amino acids. Since they are not as efficient as they were when they were younger, we have to compensate by adding more amino acids to the diet. It’s the same for broodmares. Broodmares need more amino acids as well, especially during lactation. Either Top-Line Extreme™ or Top-Line Enhance™ is a great way to get those into the mare.

Top-Line Enhance™ is a human grade, soy-based product that is cost effective and produces great results. Top-Line Xtreme™ is a human grade, milk protein grade product that costs more, but produces faster results. Both are great. If you have a little time, I would go with Top-Line Enhance™. If you want a quick turnaround, then start with Top-Line Xtreme™.

 

Q: I have an 18-year old Arabian mare with the conditions and symptoms of an insulin-resistant horse. She has been laminitic a couple of times in the four years I've had her, but we've brought her out of it each time and x-rays show no rotation. She's been sound for quite some time.
We have her on all grass hay with 3 lb. of soaked and drained (2X) beet pulp and 3 lb. of lakin lite pellets per day, along with a daily hoof supplement.

This seems to have reduced the fat pockets by her tail and the bump on top of her hindquarters. The problem is she needs to add weight on her topline. Her tailbones are showing very slightly (first time for this since her fat pockets are decreasing) and she is showing a little bit of “ribbiness”.

She is being worked in the arena 3 - 5 times per week by my daughters (hunt seat), 1 – 1.5 hours per workout.

Every time I've tried to put her on any type of grain-type feed she has problems – even when I tried one that was supposed to be good for laminitic horses. Her fat pockets got much bigger and she had a laminitic episode.

Any recommendations?

A: What you need are amino acids – the building blocks of muscle. What you are seeing is a result of her breaking down her own muscle mass to meet her amino acid needs. You see this mostly over the topline.

The easiest fix is to add Top-Line Enhance™, a new supplement that that is extremely low in carbs. It won't affect the IR issues, but supplies concentrated source of the amino acids to start rebuilding the muscle fibers.

 

Q: I have a 6-year-old horse in training that is weak over his topline and withers and I keep feeding more grain and it doesn’t fill in. I have noticed that I have to keep letting the girth out on the saddle, but the topline is not filling in. I know exercise builds muscle and I am working him 1 - 2 hours a day in way to work the topline area. Is there something missing in the diet?

A: Thanks for your question. First of all, the grain you are feeding is probably high in calories, which increases fat cover, but does not build more muscle. This is why you have to keep letting the girth out. This requires amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks of muscle all over the body, including the topline and withers.

Exercise only conditions and trains muscles. They are actually built from the amino acids in the diet. If you work a horse hard enough to reduce muscle mass and there are not enough amino acids in the diet to build the muscles that you are training, they will just break down and not get rebuilt. Just like human athletes, our equine athletic partners need more amino acids than the sedentary horse to allow our training to be fully utilized and the horses to look their best.

Supplements like Top-Line Enhance™ and Top-Line Xtreme™ are great ways to supply these essential amino acids needed by horses in training.