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How To Feed and Exercise Your Horse For A Strong Topline
Is your horse too thin? Too fat? Weak topline? Too hot? Too lazy? Here is how to make your horse strong, calm, and healthy.
How do you make a horse healthy and fit, with a strong topline? Here's the easy answer:
Building muscle requires a
combination of high-quality protein
PLUS a good exercise program.
combination of high-quality protein
PLUS a good exercise program.
Neither one is sufficient on its own. Your horse needs both to stimulate protein synthesis at the cellular level.
When a horse exercises, his muscle protein breaks down. His body responds to that break down by making more (bigger) muscles. It does that by synthesizing new protein from amino acids. To do that, the horse needs to receive a proper combination of amino acids in the diet.
When a horse exercises, his muscle protein breaks down. His body responds to that break down by making more (bigger) muscles. It does that by synthesizing new protein from amino acids. To do that, the horse needs to receive a proper combination of amino acids in the diet.
The Best Diet for Horses
Forage is absolutely necessary!
Horses evolved to live on forage—grasses and dried grasses (hay). Quality forage is the most important aspect of a horse's diet—the cornerstone. Period.
In fact, most adult horses that do minimal or no exercise get all the protein they need from forage (grass and hay) alone. But young horses and adult horses that are being ridden (especially performance horses) usually benefit from having a horse feed concentrate added to their daily rations.
Horses evolved to live on forage—grasses and dried grasses (hay). Quality forage is the most important aspect of a horse's diet—the cornerstone. Period.
In fact, most adult horses that do minimal or no exercise get all the protein they need from forage (grass and hay) alone. But young horses and adult horses that are being ridden (especially performance horses) usually benefit from having a horse feed concentrate added to their daily rations.
Feed Concentrates Are Usually Necessary
Here's why: To get at the amino acids in the forage, the plants' thick cell walls must be broken down in the large intestine (the hindgut), but the enzymes in charge of breaking proteins down into amino acids are in the foregut (the stomach and small intestine). So by the time the protein is accessible, it may be too late for the body to actually use it.
Feed concentrates, on the other hand, are more easily digested in the foregut. A horse that receives steady exercise is breaking down a lot of muscle and needs a lot of amino acids to repair that break down and to build new muscle. All quality feed concentrates contain a proper balance of amino acids to supplement the protein a horse receives from forage.
A horse's body can synthesize some amino acids on its own, but others MUST be gotten from food. These are call essential amino acids. There are ten of them: arginine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine. Lysine is considered the first limiting amino acid, because horses require large quantities of it. Protein synthesis is limited if sufficient lysine is not available in the diet. Threonine is the second limiting amino acid, closely followed by methionine and tryptophan.
Here's why: To get at the amino acids in the forage, the plants' thick cell walls must be broken down in the large intestine (the hindgut), but the enzymes in charge of breaking proteins down into amino acids are in the foregut (the stomach and small intestine). So by the time the protein is accessible, it may be too late for the body to actually use it.
Feed concentrates, on the other hand, are more easily digested in the foregut. A horse that receives steady exercise is breaking down a lot of muscle and needs a lot of amino acids to repair that break down and to build new muscle. All quality feed concentrates contain a proper balance of amino acids to supplement the protein a horse receives from forage.
A horse's body can synthesize some amino acids on its own, but others MUST be gotten from food. These are call essential amino acids. There are ten of them: arginine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine. Lysine is considered the first limiting amino acid, because horses require large quantities of it. Protein synthesis is limited if sufficient lysine is not available in the diet. Threonine is the second limiting amino acid, closely followed by methionine and tryptophan.
Most quality horse feed concentrates contain the proper amounts of essential amino acids needed to build muscle. Their feed instructions indicate how much to feed a horse depending on the horse's age, body condition, and exercise level. Our favorite line of feed is Nutrena. Young adult horses in our care have thrived on SafeChoice Original, and our senior horses have kept excellent body condition scores on SafeChoice Senior. We have also seen great improvement in horses' body condition scores after adding a quality fat to their diets, such as MaxGlo rice bran supplement or Omega HorseShine. For additional help, supplements made from milk-based amino acids can be used, such as Progressive TopLine Advance Support.
Don’t Overdo It
But here's something to keep in mind: Don't overdo it. Horses can’t store protein to use later the way they can store carbohydrates and fat. That means excess protein must be eliminated from the body by forcing the liver and kidneys to work harder to break down, process, and eliminate the protein. In other words, more protein is not necessarily better.
And that brings us to exercise.
But here's something to keep in mind: Don't overdo it. Horses can’t store protein to use later the way they can store carbohydrates and fat. That means excess protein must be eliminated from the body by forcing the liver and kidneys to work harder to break down, process, and eliminate the protein. In other words, more protein is not necessarily better.
And that brings us to exercise.
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The Best Exercises to Build Topline and Improve Body Condition Score
Some exercises are better than others for building a horse's topline and body condition. The best exercises use resistance (an elastic contact through the reins) and flexibility training. The right amount of longe ("lunging") work (done properly and for not too long) works wonders.
You can read more about how to longe your horse to build strength, balance, and topline here and here.
We also recommend using a longeing system like this one to help build a strong topline. The sliding side reins and butt strap provide an optimal amount of resistance for building muscle without making the horse feel overly constrained or "bottled up".
Some exercises are better than others for building a horse's topline and body condition. The best exercises use resistance (an elastic contact through the reins) and flexibility training. The right amount of longe ("lunging") work (done properly and for not too long) works wonders.
You can read more about how to longe your horse to build strength, balance, and topline here and here.
We also recommend using a longeing system like this one to help build a strong topline. The sliding side reins and butt strap provide an optimal amount of resistance for building muscle without making the horse feel overly constrained or "bottled up".
The techniques used to train horses in the lower levels of dressage (Training through 3rd Level) are excellent means of using elastic rein resistant to build topline and flexibility. You can learn how to do these here.
Happy riding!
Copyright March 21, 2018 Denise Cummins, PhD; updated May 30, 2024
The Thinking Equestrian
As long as you’re here, check these out!
Equestrian Products That Make Your Riding and Horse Care Easier and Better!
What to Feed A Horse
Six Vital Horse Facts That Every Horse Owner Absolutely Must Know
Common Horse Ailments and How to Treat Them
Copyright March 21, 2018 Denise Cummins, PhD; updated May 30, 2024
The Thinking Equestrian
As long as you’re here, check these out!
Equestrian Products That Make Your Riding and Horse Care Easier and Better!
What to Feed A Horse
Six Vital Horse Facts That Every Horse Owner Absolutely Must Know
Common Horse Ailments and How to Treat Them
