November 23, 2022

How To Body Condition Score Your Horse

As a horse owner, it is important to monitor your horse’s weight, to ensure they don’t become over, or underweight. Appropriate weight monitoring allows you to manage your horse’s care better, especially when it comes to areas such as rugs, stabling and feeding.

By monitoring your horse’s weight, you are also able to know “what is normal for your horse”. This ensures that you are then able to spot when something might be wrong, especially if there is a sudden change of weight. If you are able to spot this quickly, you can then take necessary measures such as getting a vet out, or worming your, for example.

With some studies suggesting that 85% of leisure horses are overweight*, it has become more important than ever to be monitoring your horse's weight to prevent any resulting health conditions. Obesity in horses puts unnecessary strain on their limbs, resulting in an increased risk of joint and soft tissue injuries. It also puts further strain on your horse’s heart and increases the risk of laminitis.

One way to monitor your horse’s weight is by using body condition scoring.

What is body condition scoring?

Body condition, or fat condition, scoring is a way for horse owners and equine professionals to measure the fat distribution on your horse. Whilst it isn’t as accurate as a weight tape or a weighbridge, it is a good start for monitoring your horse’s weight. There are two body condition scores you can use, a scale of 0-5 or 1-9. It doesn’t matter which you use, as long as you consistently use the same scale (to ensure there are no discrepancies between measurements).

How do you use body condition scoring?

For this blog, we will use the 0-5 scale of body condition scoring**, 0 being emaciated and 5 being obese. When using a body condition score, you look at three areas on your horse: their neck, ribcage and rump.

When scoring your horse, there are a few things to consider:

Whether the “fat” on the neck is indeed fat or is it muscle?

Fat tends to be spongy and creases when the neck bends

When looking at the horse’s ribs, if you can only feel them, how hard do you have to press?

Normal for a healthy, fit horse is to have just slightly visible ribs

To consider the shape of the rump/hindquarters

To use the body condition score, look at your horse as a whole, and at the three separate areas. Then use the following scale to decide where your horse lies.

0 = Emaciated

If your horse scores a zero, you will see the following characteristics:

No fatty tissue will be seen or felt

Individual bone shapes will be visible

Your horse’s skin will be tight over their bones

Your horse will have an obvious ewe-neck

There will be a very prominent backbone and pelvis, and “sunken” rump

A deep cavity under the tail and large gap between your horse’s thighs.

1 = Thin

A thin horse will have the following characteristics:

Very little fatty tissue

Skin will be more supple than an emaciated horse

Shape of their bones will still be visible

Ewe-neck will be narrower

Ribs are easily visible

Backbone, croup and tailhead will be prominent

There will be a gap between their thighs

Sunken rump with a cavity under the tail

2 = Lean

A leaner horse will have:

A thicker layer of fat under the skin

Narrow neck

Sharply defined muscles

Withers, shoulder and neck accentuated

Backbone still protruding but with a layer of fat across the top

Rounded hip bones that are still visible

A sloping rump which is flat from the backbone to the point of hips. This may be rounded if your horse is fit

A small thigh gap (if there is one at all).

3 = Moderate

A horse classed as “moderate” under this scale will have the following characteristics:

A thin layer of fat under the skin

A more rounded, developing topline

Withers rounded over the tips of the bones, with the shoulders and neck blending smoothly into the body

A flat back (or one that forms just a slight ridge)

A thin layer of fat around the tail, with the rump/hindquarters starting to appear rounded

Hip bones are only just visible

4 = Fat

If your horse is fat, you will see (or be unable to see) the following:

Muscles hard to see beneath a fat layer

Spongy fat developing on the crest of the neck

Fat deposits forming along the withers, neck and behind the shoulder

Ribs covered by a spongy fat

Spongy fat forming around the tail

A well rounded rump

A gutter along the back

A rump that looks “apple-shaped”

5 = Obese

An obese horse will:

Take on a blocky, bloated look

Have a lack of visible muscles that are covered by fat

Have a pronounced crest that is covered in hard fat

Have pads of fat along the withers and behind the shoulders

Have an extremely obvious gutter along the back and rump

Have lumps of fat around the tail

Have bulging “apple-shaped” hindquarters

Have no gap between the thighs

What to do once you have body condition scored your horse?

It’s important to body condition score your horse regularly, to know that you have their management correct for maintaining the correct weight. If you body condition score your horse and they have put weight on, you know you either need to increase their exercise or reduce the amount of feed (particularly hard feed) that you give them. Equally, if your horse is underweight, you know you may need to increase their feed ration.

It is important to remember to make any changes to your horse’s feed gradually. Smaller changes in diet could be made over a period of around two weeks, whilst larger changes in diet will need to take longer. This will reduce the risk of colic and other gut-related issues your horse could experience.

*https://www.horsehealthprogramme.co.uk/managing-your-horses-weight/

** Dengie Horse Feeds