Signs of an Overworked Horse

Maintaining a balance between exercise, training and rest can be complex. A horse may adjust to a demanding training regime over time without significant stress-related health issues. However, many horses never completely adjust and are negatively affected by frequent training, traveling and competing. Foot problems are the leading cause of lameness, and overworking a horse can contribute to weakness or injury to the joints or hooves, resulting in arthritis, laminitis and navicular disease.

  1. Stress and Fatigue

    • An overworked horse will sustain strain psychologically and physically. Stress and fatigue may be exhibited in many ways, including blowing forcefully through the nostrils, breathing heavily, a higher than normal heart rate, a lack of appetite or becoming "picky," a loss of energy and enthusiasm, unwillingness to perform, weight loss, slow muscle development, poor performance, an increase in infections and slower recovery times following training or illness. A horse undergoing a particularly challenging training or exercise program may develop sore, stiff muscles, resulting in an increase for injury. Any combination of these signs is an indication of the horse's fitness level. The horse needs time to recover before continuing its training. Allow your horse one to two weeks of rest and reduce the training level until it regains normal physical and mental strength.

    Dehydration

    • A horse's substantial muscle mass makes it highly susceptible to dehydration. When working hard during high temperatures, a horse generates considerable muscle heat, which causes it to sweat and lose essential electrolytes, resulting in muscle fatigue and cramps. Dehydration can also occur during the winter, when a horse may refuse to drink icy water. Overworking a horse in cold weather can trigger arthritic inflammation. Performing moderate hacking exercises, gentle stretches or in-hand work will sufficiently warm up the horse's muscles and mitigate the effects of arthritis. A dehydrated horse will have a dull, dry coat. A horse should drink 10 to 15 gallons of fresh, clean water every day. Keep a supply of equine electrolytes in case of emergency.

    Heat Exhaustion

    • Intense exercise in exceptionally hot, humid conditions can cause heat exhaustion (hypothermia) in poorly conditioned and well-conditioned horses. Symptoms of heat exhaustion include rapid heart rate, shallow breathing, profuse sweating, a loss of coordination and dull or restless behavior. Severe hypothermia leads to heat stroke and causes spasms of the flanks and diaphragm, collapse and convulsions. A horse that sustains a body temperature above 107 to 109 degrees F for a short period of time is likely to endure brain damage and die. Heat stroke is an emergency requiring an immediate call to a veterinarian.

    Laminitis

    • Overworking a horse on hard surfaces can result in laminitis. The degenerative hoof disease causes acute inflammation, swelling and a lack of blood flow to the tissues that hold the hoof wall onto the underlying tissues of the foot. The condition is extremely painful and triggers the horse to land on its heels rather than the toe when walking. The horse will be reluctant to move, unwilling to move in tight circles, and prefer to stand with its forefeet stretching outward and hind feet folded underneath its body. If a horse is overworked with laminitis, it can become severe, resulting in irreparable damage to the laminae and destabilization of the pedal bone, which causes it to sink into the horse's sole.

    Navicular Disease

    • Navicular disease is most often related with a horse that regularly performs difficult work on hard surfaces. This incurable condition typically affects both front feet and indicated by a gradual increase in intermittent lameness until the navicular bones near the horse's heel begin to deteriorate. A horse with navicular disease will be hesitant to turn and will shorten its stride.