Proteomics tools in the field of equine meat research have been very recently applied to explore the changes in the post‑mortem muscle proteome and to discover biomarkers to monitor the variations in its different meat quality traits. The current advances achieved by proteomics in equine meat research are reviewed. Different proteomics techniques (sodium dodecyl sulphate‑polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis; two‑dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis; fluorescent two‑dimensional difference gel electrophoresis; targeted proteomics; tandem‑mass tag labeled proteomics; data‑independent analysis proteomics) have been applied in the study of the equine muscle/meat. The studies revealed the biochemical pathways involved in the development of several donkey and horse (foal) meat quality variation. The current knowledge would be useful to develop high‑quality products.