Nutritional myopathy and exertional rhabdomyolysis in horses cause painful muscle damage with welfare implications that require careful nutritional and exercise management.
Equine muscle diseases create acute welfare crises during episodes and chronic welfare compromise between episodes for horses with recurrent conditions. Tying-up produces severe muscle cramping and pain that leaves horses unable to move, sweating, and distressed - the equine equivalent of severe cramping in multiple muscle groups simultaneously. For horses with chronic conditions like PSSM, the association between exercise and pain creates anticipatory anxiety that itself represents welfare compromise. The welfare-positive solution for PSSM is dietary - reducing non-structural carbohydrate intake can dramatically reduce episode frequency and severity. This illustrates how welfare intervention through nutritional management can transform the quality of life for affected horses without requiring medical treatment.