How to Build Muscle in a Horse

Horses need proper nutrition, rest and exercise in order to build muscle. Lunging exercises (exercising a horse by having it circle at the end of a long lead line) are an effective way to build your horse's muscle strength. You'll need to have good communication skills with your horse in order for it to reap the benefits of these exercises. MyHorse.com recommends that your horse understands the vocal cues "trot," "walk" and "canter." Additionally, your horse will need some kind of cue for transitions between those gaits. Saying "and" before a switch is effective, as in "and walk" or "and canter."

Things You'll Need

  • 20 ft. or 30 ft. lunge line
  • Cavesson (A lunging "bridle" with rings attached to the noseband at three different positions.)
  • Side Reins
  • Hay
  • Grain
  • Water
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Instructions

  1. Exercise

    • 1

      Prepare the horse for the workout by attaching the cavesson and lunge line.

    • 2

      Warm up your horse for five minutes with a walk.

    • 3

      Attach the side reins. Work on transitions for five minutes, with walk breaks in between. Start with a trot/walk/trot or canter/trot/canter. Introduce new transitions as your horse's aptitude grows. (Transitions for later include working trot/lengthened trot, working canter/lengthened canter, canter/walk/canter.)

    • 4

      Switch directions, and spend five minutes doing walk/trot/canter.

    • 5

      Spend the final five minutes doing more transitions at the level of your horse's aptitude, as described in step three.

    • 6

      Cool down your horse with a walk/trot/walk.

    Diet and Health

    • 7

      Keep your horse hydrated throughout the day. Decreased appetite, fatigue, dry mouth and dry feces may be indicators of dehydration.

    • 8

      Feed a balanced diet of carbohydrates, fat, protein, vitamins and minerals. Protein is especially important for growing foals and lactating mares, while other horses only need eight to ten percent of their daily ration to include protein. Soybean meal and alfalfa are both high in protein.

    • 9

      Feed at the same times every day, since a lack of routine can lead to stress in a horse.

    • 10

      Feed by weight, not volume. A horse needs about two lbs. of food for every one hundred lbs. of body weight. Of the total amount of feed, the majority of it should be hay (timothy hay, brome or orchard grass) and the remainder grain (oats and corn).

    • 11

      Increase portions of both carbohydrates and proteins if the weather is regularly cold and/or you're exercising your horse more than one hour a day.