IS MY HORSE OVERWEIGHT?

HOW TO BODY CONDITION SCORE YOUR HORSE

Getting to grips with body condition scoring horses can be key to helping your horse maintain a fit and trim physique. A horse in ideal weight will have fewer problems with physical performance and will be at lower risk of certain weight related issues.

The World Horse Welfare and its CARE about Laminitis project use a 5-point scale to estimate the Body Condition Score (BCS) and another 5-point scale has been developed is used to estimate a Cresty Neck Score (CNS).

A simple measure of body weight does not give us a clear idea of how much fat vs muscle is contained within a body, so we prefer to assess a condition score along with a weight estimation measurement.

Imagine the horse is divided up into 3 regions: from nose to withers (neck and shoulder), from withers to last rib (back and ribs), and from last rib to tail head (pelvis to tailhead). Each region will receive a 1-5 score based on the BCS chart and the three regions are averaged together.

The BCS is very much a handson assessment. Feel for fat pads in the three regions and try and assess how much fat is present.

The ideal BCS is 3 out of 5. If your horse scores higher than 3, they will be more at risk of certain diseases. The most obvious is Equine Metabolic Disease (EMS), when horses become insulin resistant due to excessive body fat. EMS can lead to laminitis which can be a devastating condition. Likewise, a BCS of less than 3 can also indicate a problem and must be investigated.

If your horse is overweight going into the spring grazing season, they must be monitored for weight loss and carefully managed on our often lush pastures. Our equine team at Forth Valley Vets can help you to devise a personalised weight loss plan for your horse. Please feel free to chat with Ian, Lauren or James on 01786 430387.