By LIZ FOSTER
A recent USEF veterinary summit affirmed one of the most necessary components of successfully developing performance show horses: sufficient rest and recovery. A press release and best practices guide by Drs. Kent Allen, Stephen Schumacher, and Tracy Turner highlighted the importance of muscle recovery. The document emphasizes the role of a horse being “fit to complete,” and frequently mentioning “rest” as an integral part of a horse’s readiness.
Fitness to compete is “defined by the horse’s overall readiness, health status, and freedom from doping, with veterinarians advocating for greater authority in determining fitness,” wrote the veterinarians. The document outlines that competing too frequently can cause a horse to develop health detriments and ultimately weaken the animal. Excess training, too, can damage a horse’s body.
During exercise, a horse develops minor muscle tears that later strengthen as they heal. Muscles are primarily composed of proteins, which are themselves made of amino acids. When a horse works, its body breaks down and resynthesizes these proteins. The stored glucose in muscles–muscle glycogen–fuels the horse’s body during exercise. Providing a horse with glucose helps to restore this supply. Unlike humans, horses restore their muscle glycogen at a fairly slow rate, meaning that they require more rest to recover from intense exercise.
The 2025 USEF Veterinary Summit notes that riders and trainers turn to “muscle recovery” products as a means of trying to speed up their horse’s muscle-healing process. However, the veterinary collective concluded that it is rest that best benefits the horse. While muscle repair and recovery supplements may improve post-exercise performance, such as helping to restore glucose levels, actual rest is still the best way to help a horse’s body recuperate.
Per the Fédération Équestre Internationale, recovery occurs in two periods: the “Golden Hour” after completing exercise and the following roughly 72 hours. Horses’ glycogen stores recover slowly, so this time allows the glycogen to replenish. Glycogen, a collection of glucose, powers the cells that fuel the body during exercise.
During the “Golden Hour,” the FEI and equine experts encourage riders to allow their horse to properly cool down through gentle walking and a rinse of cold water.
“If you’re working in heat, that’s very important, getting the horse cool,” said Dr. Jennifer Johnson, a veterinarian based in California.
“If the horse is competing in very hot temperatures, you want to get water on the horse. You want to get cool water on the big muscles to cool them down,” she continued.
Correct care is essential during this time as a horse’s muscles are at their most vulnerable.
“A proper cool down is really important for muscles. You don’t want to ever put an animal away still hot,” explained Holly Helbig, a trainer and technical service veterinarian for Zoetis.
Dr. Helbig continued, emphasizing the importance of care following a training session or competition.
“I think the things that are going to serve the muscle specifically would be proper nutrition, including a good electrolyte balance, as well as proper hydration,” she said. Dr. Johnson echoed these thoughts, remarking that nutrition, electrolytes, and hydration are the key factors for strong muscle recovery. Both Dr. Helbig and Dr. Johnson suggested massage therapy as an additional beneficial treatment.
The parameters for rest are not uniform for all horses, as some may require a longer recovery period than others. What may be too many weeks in a row of competitions for one animal may be suitable for another. However, horses shouldn’t remain stagnant in their stalls after a weekend of competing.
“Obviously, maintaining that mobility is good. If you have a very strenuous competition, or weeks of competition, then you might give the horse several days to a week of just walking, but doing something,” said Dr. Johnson.
Competing too frequently puts a horse’s body at risk for injury. While individual horses differ, a common suggestion is to allow for breaks when competing in a lengthy show series such as Florida’s 12-week Winter Equestrian Festival or California’s 14-week Desert Circuit.
“A lot of it depends on their mental well-being. It depends on their level of energy; it depends on the physical challenges that they might be dealing with. But should they be showing 12 weeks in a row? Absolutely not,” said Dr. Helbig.
Regardless of the length of a horse’s recovery period, it is necessary to provide sufficient water, feed, electrolytes, and cool-down time following exercise to best protect and strengthen the muscles. While the industry has not set proper standards for “fitness to compete,” using best practices of rest and recovery to safeguard a horse’s health and well-being leads to a stronger overall performance in the show ring.
