"My horse isn't too fat." That's what many horse owners think – and they're wrong. Assessing a horse's weight isn't easy, and horse scales aren't usually available on site. With a little practice, you can use body condition scoring to assess your horse's nutritional status yourself.
A large number of horses, especially leisure and dressage horses, are now overweight due to well-intentioned feeding of concentrated feed, supplementary feed, mineral feed, and treats. However, the ideal weight is not purely a cosmetic issue. Overweight horses live shorter lives than horses of normal weight. A variety of diseases can result from obesity, such as:
You can weigh your horse using a horse or truck scale. This allows you to administer medication more accurately. Regular weighing is also a good way of monitoring weight gain or loss. You can store all your horse's weight data in the petsXL health passport. This gives you a clear overview of your horse's weight history at all times.
If you are unable to weigh your horse regularly, you can calculate its weight by measuring its chest circumference and body length.
The chest circumference is measured at the girth, just behind the withers, and the body length is measured from the front shoulder point (shoulder joint) to the point where the hip bone meets the back. You can calculate your horse's body weight using the following formula:
Body weight (kg) = chest circumference (cm) x chest circumference (cm) x body length (cm) / 11900
However, your horse's nutritional status can only be partially assessed based on its weight. Body Condition Scoring (BCS) is more helpful, and you can learn how to do it yourself. This involves assessing eight typical fat deposits on the horse's body and assigning a score from 1 to 9 for its nutritional status. A score of 5 would be ideal.
The horse is emaciated. There is no body fat. The base of the tail, spinous processes (the upward-pointing bone protrusions of the individual vertebrae), ribs, and all bony protrusions are clearly visible.
A minimal layer of fat is present. The tail base, spinous processes, ribs, and hip bones are clearly visible. The bone contours of the withers, neck, and shoulders are clearly defined.
The tail base and spinous processes are covered with a little fat. The hip bones are prominent but rounded. The contours of the withers, neck, and shoulders are clearly visible.
The withers are slightly defined. The back muscles do not reach the level of the spinous processes. The rib contours are just visible to the eye. There is thin fat deposits on the tail base, neck, and shoulders.
The back muscles and spinous processes are at the same level. The ribs are not visible but can be felt. There is a soft layer of fat at the base of the tail. The contours of the withers, neck, and shoulders merge smoothly into one another.
Fat deposits are present over the ribs and shoulders. The fat is soft at the transition from the croup to the tail. A slight groove is visible over the spinous processes of the back.
There is a groove over the spinous processes. Firm fat covers the withers. There is a distinct layer of fat over the ribs. The fat pad on the tail is soft. Distinct fat pads are visible on the crest of the mane and behind the shoulders.
The mane crest is clearly fatty. There are fat pads behind the shoulders. A clearly visible groove is present over the spinous processes. The spaces between the ribs can only be felt with difficulty. The fat pad on the tail is soft.
There are heavy fat pads on the neck, shoulders, and withers, a deep groove over the spinous processes, and fat pads on the inner thighs and udder. The ribs are no longer palpable.
If you need help assessing your horse's nutritional status or nutritional advice (see relevant article), you can make an appointment with your vet via petsXL.
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