Is your horse a bit pleasantly plump?

Two Bits wants all his horse friends to be healthy. A good diet (no extra servings of carrot pie!), exercise and proper vaccinations all play a role in a good equine health program. But when it gets cold, we tend to stay inside where it’s warm and let our four-legged pals get a little too “pleasantly plump.”

Two Bits

How do you know if your horse needs to work on her “mare-ish” figure?  Well, there’s a great way to assess a horse’s body condition (too skinny, too fat or just right).  It’s called body condition scoring. Body condition scoring compares the energy your horse eats and the energy she expends working, playing or strutting around the pasture.

Get the “skinny” from Two Bits:

Body condition scoring can be affected by these factors:

• Food availability
• Reproductive activity
• Weather changes
• Performance and working activity
• Parasite control
• Dental problems
• Feeding practices

Crazy about horses? Test your knowledge with AQHA’s Junior Master Horseman program. You can even earn certificates!

To assess body condition, examine your horse’s body fat in relation to body muscle:
Score-Description

1. Poor- Extremely thin; ribs and tail head project prominently; bone structure of withers is visible; shoulders and neck easily noticeable; no fatty tissue can be felt.
2. Very Thin- Slight fat covering over base of spine; ribs and tail head prominent; withers, shoulders and neck structure faintly visible
3. Thin- Fat buildup about halfway on spine; slight fat cover over ribs; spine and ribs easily visible; withers, shoulders and neck accentuated.
4. Moderately Thin- Slight ridge along back; faint outline of ribs visible; tail head prominence depends on conformation, fat can be felt around it; withers, shoulders and neck not easily visible.
5. Moderate- Back is flat (no crease or ridge); ribs not visually distinguishable but easily felt; fat around tail head beginning to feel spongy; withers appear rounded over spine; shoulder and neck blend smoothly into body.
6. Moderately Fleshy- May have crease down back; fat over ribs spongy; fat over tail head soft; fat beginning to deposit along the side of the withers, behind the shoulders and along sides of neck..
7. Fleshy- May have crease down back; individual ribs can be felt, but noticeable filling between the ribs with fat; fat around tail head soft; fat deposited around withers, behind shoulders and along neck.
8. Fat- Crease down back; difficult to feel ribs; fat around tail head very soft; area along withers filled with fat; area behind shoulder filled with fat; noticeable thickening of neck; fat deposited along inner thighs.
9. Extremely Fat- Obvious crease down back; patchy fat appearing over ribs; bulging fat around tail head, along withers, behind shoulders and along neck; fat along inner thighs may rub together; flank filled with fat.