Looking after any animal is a responsibility that should not be taken lightly. However, we have to remember that the things we value as human beings are not necessarily what our horses want. A mud-caked horse living with friends on a pasture with shelter from the elements is likely to be quite content. But what of the sport horse?
In welfare circles, five basic freedoms have been described that form a framework for providing what the horse needs:
It is relatively easy to ensure that these basic freedoms are provided in the horse’s home environment but when we deal with sport horses in a competition setting, there are additional challenges that require special consideration. Travelling long distances, staying in unfamiliar environments and having their normal routine interrupted are stressful for many horses. And as we are well aware, stress is a major trigger for the development of gastric ulcers and we’ll come back to this later.
Freedom to express normal behaviour is not possible at competition venues where biosecurity restrictions are necessary to protect against the spread of diseases. Obviously, direct contact with other horses should be avoided but some infectious diseases are able to survive in the environment and remain infective for long periods of time.
Freedom from fear and distress is more challenging in horses travelling to competitions. Habituation to travel and familiarity with staying away from home are useful skills for a young horse to be exposed to. However, some horses will always be more anxious than others in strange environments.
The general management of horses that train and compete at low levels of competition does not require many special considerations beyond those outlined above. However, as horses move up the competition levels, many of their requirements change due to their increased workload and the increasingly challenging technical requirements of the sport. Let’s take a look at how to deal with some of the special management concerns.
Sport horses expend more energy and have higher caloric requirements than sedentary horses. In the early stages of training, the increased caloric needs may be covered simply by increasing the amount of food without altering its composition, but each meal should remain small, with no more than 2¼ kg (5 lb) of concentrates in a single meal.
As training intensifies, the composition of the diet is likely to become more calorie-dense and needs to be tailored to the type of training and competition. Horses that compete in long-distance sports, such as endurance racing and eventing, have different needs than those competing in high-intensity sprinting sports, such as show jumping or barrel racing. Additionally, the individual horse’s temperament must be factored into the equation. An equine nutritionist can be consulted to make sure the horse continues to receive a balanced diet while providing sufficient energy for work without getting the horse too ‘hot’.
Free radicals, which are produced in response to stressful situations including exercise, are the reason sport horses need to consume anti-oxidants. During exercise, oxygen is used to convert food into movement but this also produces free radicals. These are unstable molecules because they have an odd number of electrons in their outer shell. In order to become stable, free radicals need to take or lose an electron so they have an even number. Free radicals produced during exercise have the potential to damage muscles by stealing their electrons and, when this happens, it delays recovery from exercise.
Anti-oxidants are also unstable due to having an odd number of electrons; if they take an electron from a free radical, both molecules have an even number of electrons and are stable. Dietary antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium and glutathione, help to neutralize harmful free radicals, potentially reducing muscle damage, improving recovery after exercise, and enhancing athletic performance.
Horses that travel long distances and compete intensively may become deficient in antioxidants. It is particularly important for these horses to be on a well-balanced diet with plenty of forage in the form of pasture or good-quality hay. If turnout on pasture is limited, an antioxidant supplement should be given.
Muscles convert carbohydrates and fats from the horse’s diet into fuel that is used for muscle contraction during exercise. The process by which the energy conversion takes place is inefficient with only 20-30% of the calories in the food being converted into energy that fuels muscle contraction. The other 70- 80% is converted into heat that accumulates in the muscles and further interferes with the efficiency of energy production. Therefore, cooling the muscles is important.
Some of the heat is removed by the blood circulating through the muscles. Additionally, for muscles that lie close to the surface of the skin, heat is removed by convection currents when the air flows over the muscles. Body clipping the horse facilitates heat loss by convection. The parts of the body covered by the tack cannot be cooled by convection currents and sweating is visible first in these areas.
Evaporation is the only heat loss mechanism that’s effective when the environment is hotter than the horse. Evaporation involves converting liquid sweat on the skin into vapour in the air. This process uses energy in the form of heat in the muscles. In other words, when sweat evaporates, it takes away heat from the muscles and the body gets cooler. An important point here is that heat is lost when water in sweat is transformed into vapour in the air.
When humidity is low, sweat evaporates easily but in humid weather, the air is already saturated with moisture and cannot absorb any more moisture from sweat. Instead of evaporating, liquid sweat runs off the horse without extracting heat from the muscles. Under these conditions, the horse loses water and electrolytes in sweat without getting cooler.
Sweat consists of water and electrolytes, primarily sodium, potassium and chloride. These electrolytes are more concentrated in equine sweat than in human sweat and it is important for the horse to replace both the water and the electrolytes lost in sweat. Electrolytes can be provided by adding them to the feed or water and/or offering them free choice as in a salt lick. Always provide unlimited plain water in addition to salted water.
Trailering can be physically and mentally stressful for horses. Factors affecting stress include the horse’s familiarity with being trailered, the type of trailer (straight, slant, air ride, etc), the duration of the journey, heat and humidity inside the trailer, and making stops to allow the horse to drink, eat and urinate. For horses that are fussy about drinking unfamiliar water, take containers of water from home and get the horse used to drinking water flavoured with something palatable like apple juice before leaving home.
Transportation induces dehydration and weight loss which increase with time on the trailer and needs to be corrected after arrival. Journeys longer than 24 hours pose a greater risk of developing severe health problems due to a decrease in the horse’s immunological response. It is beneficial if the horse can lower the head and neck to encourage drainage from the lungs during travelling.
Start taking your horse’s temperature twice daily a couple of days before a long journey and continue until at least three days after arriving at the destination. If the temperature rises above 37.8oC (100oF), watch the horse carefully, and if it rises to 39.5oC (103oF) or above, seek veterinary help. Note whether the horse has a normal appetite and cleans up all feed, the consistency of the manure, and general attitude.
It has been estimated that 60-90% of sport horses will develop ulcers at some point during their careers. The horse’s stomach secretes acid continuously, which is not a problem if the horse lives as nature intended and spends 16+ hours each day grazing. Food ingestion and chewing stimulate the production of saliva that is swallowed with the food and helps to neutralize stomach acid.
When turnout is limited, intermittent feeding of high-grain diets is associated with the production of volatile fatty acids that can damage the gastric lining. Other risk factor for the development of ulcers are stress and the administration of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Things that horses may find stressful include stall confinement; changes in their environment, routine or companions; and transportation. They do best when their life is low-key and predictable from day to day.
Ulcers have been associated with a wide variety of signs, most of which are not specific to ulcers. Abdominal discomfort can cause a horse to become reluctant to eat with subsequent loss of weight, loss of muscularity over the top line, and a coarse coat. Some horses become aggressive at feeding time, show recurrent colic or chronic diarrhoea. Any change in the horse’s behaviour should be regarded as suspicious; they may become girthy, grumpy, resistant to the aids, baulk at going forward, or become ultra-sensitive to the rider’s leg.
Diagnosis is made by passing a gastroscope into the stomach after the horse has been fasted overnight to look for the presence of ulcers. Treatment usually involves the administration of omeprazole often combined with other medications. An improvement is usually seen within a few days. Ulcer prevention and treatment is an on-going issue that is managed by reducing stressors and giving medications during stressful events such as transportation.
This article has touched on some of the common management issues in sport horses. The higher the level of competition, the more important it becomes to pay attention to every small change in the horse’s attitude, behaviour and performance. For example, a change in the way the horse wears his feet or shoes between farrier visits may indicate pain or discomfort in the limb. Early identification of a problem can prevent a minor issue from becoming more serious.
Be observant and be mindful.
Veterinarian, researcher, and horsewoman Dr. Hilary Clayton, BVMS, PhD, Dipl. ACVSMR, FRCVS is a legend. For over 40 years, she’s carried out research in the areas of locomotor biomechanics, lameness, rehabilitation, conditioning programs for equine athletes, and the interaction between rider, tack, and horse. A lifelong rider, she’s also competed in many equestrian sports.
Horses with lameness issues often adapt their movement to ease discomfort, which can produce compensatory movement asymmetries. This means a primary lameness in a forelimb can cause asymmetries in the hindlimb and vice versa.
Horse owner Justine Lagache and veterinarian Jonna Martinsson share how they care for 23-year-old Quebec, a retired school horse now enjoying his golden years.
At the 2025 Saudi Cup, the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia used Sleip to support regulatory vets with longitudinal gait data — adding clarity and consistency to welfare decisions.