Four Star Equine Veterinary Services

05/28/2026

Following up on our post regarding feed and supplements aimed at developing your horse’s topline, we discuss some management ideas to avoid “undeveloping” your horse’s topline.

The horse pictured below illustrates a nice example of a relaxed horse using its core to stabilize the spine while engaging the hind limbs in a manner that provides maximum push from the engine that is the hind quarter. The only way for the horse to access and harness this kind of power for athletic endeavors is by lifting the back and base of the neck to help counteract the force of the hindquarters.

While this is the ideal, not every horse and rider know how to get to this form. A proper coach and trainer can provide the tools for that. However, there are some things in the horse’s daily routine that could be antagonizing the development of the topline.

If your horse spends several hours in a stall or on a dry lot, they’re likely being fed hay, and that hay is likely in a wall mounted feeder or a net or bag hanging from the wall. Take some time to watch your horse eat from this device and consider what muscles they are activating, and in what way, in doing so. It’s pretty much the opposite of what this horse in the picture is doing.

They’re extending the head, neck and back, pulling with the ventral (underside) muscles of the neck, then chewing with their mouth at about shoulder height. They’re doing this exercise for hours a day, while you may only exercise your horse ONE hour a day. They’re getting way more practice extending the spine and dropping the back than they are the opposite action. The same consideration could be given to feed buckets hung on the wall. When horses chew near ground level, the TMJ and jaw alignment allow maximum chewing efficacy, likely reducing uneven pressure distribution over the teeth.

Although horses have been domesticated for a long time, their anatomy is no different and their biomechanical functions are no different; just accentuated in one way or another by breeding. They all have the same bones and muscles that were designed to work in a specific manner to suit an animal that spends most of its life ambling along while grazing from the ground. When the wild horse needs to flee and fight, they’re automatically ready to activate the correct biomechanical pattern to achieve maximum strength and power.

(Photo credit Dressage Today)

05/25/2026

Wishing everyone a safe and happy Memorial Day today. To those that defend our nation against enemies of all kind, we give thanks every day, but especially today.

05/23/2026

05/22/2026

Short-Chain Fatty Acids May Provide Secret to Gut Health, Colic Prevention - Kentucky Equine Research

Short-chain fatty acids produced by the microbial fermentation of fiber in the large intestine play important roles in digestive health.

05/20/2026

The Importance of Prevention in Equine Osteoarthritis

Why early, sustained joint support is increasingly central to performance-horse management—and where 4CYTE™ Epiitalis® Forte fits in.

05/19/2026

Supplements to develop your horse’s topline…..

Have you thought about how they work?

Let’s consider some things. What’s in these products? Amino acids (building blocks of protein), vitamins, minerals, intact protein (alfalfa, soybean, etc), fatty acids, fats, maybe some others.

When a horse consumes such ingredients, how does its body know to send these components to the topline muscles specifically? If you wanted larger biceps and took a Bicep-builder supplement, do you think only your biceps would get bigger?

Nope.

What factors affect muscle development of the topline of a horse?

Nutrition is certainly at the core of requirements. The right balance of nutrition, especially with regards to which amino acids are available, total calories, digestibility, effects on gut health, fiber content. This is not an exhaustive list.

Activation of the muscles of the topline to then gradually increase their size (muscle fiber number and size), thereby increasing the muscles’ metabolic demand, requiring a more robust blood supply to the area, which can deliver more nutritional components (and oxygen), and further support increased size.

Effective neurogenic input to and from the muscles (communication from and to the central and peripheral nervous system). Without neural input, a muscle will begin to atrophy within days.

Without any one of these components, muscles anywhere in the body can fail to develop or even atrophy.

If you’re feeding your horse a balanced digestible diet with adequate calories (from all the recommended categories) for the intended workload, a supplement isn’t really needed.

If your working your horse in a correct biomechanical pattern in which the muscles of the topline are activated and recruited in the correct manner and sequence, AND the nutrition is adequate, you don’t need a topline supplement.

If your horse does not have pain &/or restricted range of motion and can then use their topline correctly, you don’t need a topline supplement.

If you horse does not suffer from arthritis or injuries that would impair the nerve supply and communication to the muscles of the topline, and the above requirements are met, you don’t need a topline supplement.

Supplements have their place in horse health, but don’t forget all the other factors that go into correctly and successfully developing and maintaining a performance horse.

(The supplement pictured is for the sake of discussion only)

05/18/2026

Seasonal Variation in Body Condition of Horses - Kentucky Equine Research

It is important to note that scales and tapes simply indicate body weight (mass) and do not give any information regarding adiposity (fatness).

05/15/2026

When Do Horses Need Colic Surgery?

Two veterinarians explain when a horse might need colic surgery and how your veterinarian might determine this on the farm.