My gelding is base narrow behind, and while I make sure I protect his hind fetlocks during turnout and riding, I’m wondering if anyone has found exercises or stretches that help? My thought is that tight groin muscles are pulling his legs too far under his body. Anyone done a deep dive into that? He is a dutch harness horse with previous 6 years of driving before I started him under saddle for dressage. He came to me with large (1/2 dollar sized) wounds on both fetlocks that have since healed.
What about massage therapy/ chiropractic? Maybe turns on the forehand would help once he’s loosened up.
Start with a good massage therapist who can work his/her way around all the muscles back there, and find out if it’s an adductor issue, or just his conformation. It will do him good regardless, and you can learn where his “hot spots” are, and work on them on a regular basis.
I am going to say he probably does not have “good” muscling in his hindquarters. Especially if Amish trained, driving him with a checkrein. He likely has never used his rear end as a ridden horse usually does, with a lower head and neck, pushing off from the back end. He may not know how to self-balance, dropping head to use the drive of hindquarters in collecting. Long lining might help there, using two lines to control the entire body around the circle. NOT lunging with only one line, because you have no control of the head and hindquarters, are constantly pulling him in while rump swings out on the circles.
So you will need to start riding him properly, like a beginning young horse, building muscles slowly, a little bit at a time.
I am presuming here, just on what I see of the Dutch Harness Horses driven locally. And at only 6yrs, he may not be fully developed yet. Some lines are narrow bodied, which helps with speed. You can’t change that genetic trait.
not to be the debby downer, but my gelding is base narrow. Worked a lot with it…(yes booted ALWAYS and he always tore them up, so a lot of replacing) but fitting up, and lots of hills, and engaging hind (which was hard to work with on him) did help? but confirmation is already set at his age, so its nothing you’re going to ‘reverse’…just keep protecting the strike zone, and keep him utilizing a good thru the back/neck hind end drive. but you’ve surely ‘got what you’ve got’ by now in his age and growth.
