Horses’ health and muscle conditions are very important.  If put through too much work without a break,  there may be some major health issues. Let’s talk about some things that could happen.

The first thing that is a major health disease or issue is Exhausted Horse Syndrome. Exhausted Horse Syndrome is caused by working your horse too hard, back to back with no break or often in hot and humid weather, which overwhelms a horse’s ability to recover its fluid and electrolyte balance. Although this might sound silly,  this is a real disease and could be very harmful to your animal. Symptoms of this are: listlessness and depression, stumbling or unsteady gait, reluctance or inability to move, colic or abdominal pain, excessive sweating or no sweating at all, trembling or muscle stiffness. 

The next major health disease or issue is Exertional Rhabdomyolysis. Exertional Rhabdomyolysis is caused by excessively tying up the horse. Some call it “Monday Morning Disease.”  Exertional Rhabdomyolysis also involves muscle pain and cramping that occurs during or after exercise. Some symptoms of this disease are stiffness and shortened painful gait, reluctance to move, stand, or lie down, hard, tense, and painful muscles over the hindquarters and back, sweating, increased heart and respiratory rates, dark coffee colored urine due to the presence of myoglobin. 

There are obviously more syndromes, diseases, or health issues than just those two. If your horse or horses have any of these symptoms, you should have them seen by a professional equine vet to get help or medications to help save your horse’s health condition.