Initial steps: a good score
The first thing to do — which is often overlooked — is to establish whether or not your horse is indeed overweight. Unfortunately, with the increased prevalence of the condition, our perceptions have changed, and it’s now widely accepted for horses to be on the heavier side. The result is that owners are not always aware that their horse is carrying unnecessary weight.
The easiest way to establish whether a horse is carrying extra kilos — otherwise known as ‘over-conditioned’ — is to body condition score regularly. Body condition scoring is more valuable than a weight measurement alone as it gives an indication of excess adipose (fat) tissue, whereas a weight measurement can be misleading when viewed independently of other factors, such as your horse’s build.
Body condition scoring is also a great way of getting your hands on your horse and can be done easily and quickly. Best of all, it doesn’t cost anything, unlike having a weighbridge installed at the yard!
Scoring should be done once a fortnight, especially when a weight loss programme is in place. By keeping a regular eye on your horse’s body condition, it’s much less likely that you’ll find yourself having to completely overhaul his routine and diet; a proactive and preventative tweak is a lot easier. It is also the case that weight is very easy and quick to put on, but quite difficult to get off.
However, although body condition scoring is a very useful tool, it is easy to get it wrong, and it is often subjective. Having seen many people incorrectly score their horses, sometimes up to three points off where they should (on a nine-point scale), it’s vital to make sure the scoring is carried out correctly.
There is lots of guidance online on how to score, but the most important thing is to be realistic when doing it and really feel for the difference between muscle and fat, as opposed to just looking, as it can be misleading from a distance. If you are in any doubt, many feed companies have dedicated nutritional helplines you can get in touch with for support.