ARCHIVE EQUINE NEWS STORIES

Through the use of physical palpation (use of hands to feel for areas of fat coverage) and visual assessment of anatomical sites, six specific areas of the horse’s body are assessed – neck, withers, loin, tail head, ribs and shoulder. The scores are then totaled up and divided by six to obtain a more accurate score. The resulting number would be the horse’s rating on the Henneke Body Scoring Condition Chart.

The 2013 Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Equines recommends BCS as a tool for determining if an animal is too thin, too fat or in ideal condition and provides information on each individual score from 1 to 9. According to the Code, a BCS of 4 to 6 is recommended for most horses, miniature horses and ponies. However, this rating would be dependent upon the animal’s purpose, breed and life stage. The Code is also now being utilized by the OSPCA in assessing potential equine welfare cases.

The Difference between Weight and Condition

In the past, some horse owners have applied other options to keep tabs on their horse’s weight through the use of portable scales, which are costly, and weight taping. However, these methods just provide a measurement of the horse’s body weight, not its condition. In addition, depending on how the tape is applied in the heart girth area, weight tapes can be very inaccurate.

Ecker notes that weight alone does not give us enough information, as a fat horse and a well-muscled horse can be of the same weight, but as in humans, muscle weighs more than fat. Instead, applying the BCS technique of examining the six areas where fat is deposited on a horse’s body will help determine the body condition score in order to assist with the horse’s overall nutrient requirements.

“Weight determination is important for feeding according to weight and growth, and for specific medications that are administered by the vet relative to the weight of the horse,” Ecker says. “However, weight alone does not even come close to telling the story of nutritional balance. If we had two growing boys that both weighed the same weight, what would that tell us? One could be very tall and slim and the other could be very short and carry more weight than is advisable, but both weigh the same.”

When measuring a horse’s condition in order to maintain an ideal BCS, Henderson notes that this practice should be done on a regular basis. “The general rule is that what you see today is what you fed two to four weeks ago,” says Dr. Brianne Henderson, who specializes in ambulatory horse sport medicine and emergency and critical care at Toronto Equine Hospital. “For that reason, I recommend horses that are healthy and in good work be assessed once per month through the BCS method. If you are trying to make a change, either weight gain or loss, then the horse should be assessed every other week.”

A graduate of the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies in Edinburgh, Scotland, Henderson also furthered her trained as a hospital intern at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. Most recently, she was the Assistant Team Veterinarian for Team Canada at the World Equestrian Games in Lexington. She points out that in addition to careful record keeping, documenting with photographs of your horse is also an immense help when trying to make a change in body weight and condition. “It gives you a concrete visual to compare to when you are three to six months down the road.”

Too Fat or Too Thin?

Once a person becomes properly trained with Henneke’s 1 to 9 scoring system, determining optimal body condition can be simple no matter the horse’s age or breed. “Breed cannot be used to justify a skinny horse or fat horse, as the system is designed to look at fat cover, and this is irrespective of age or breed,” Ecker says. “There is a healthy range of scores from 4 to 7, and where your horse falls within that narrow margin can be different depending on the use of the horse. For example, a broodmare going into the winter can be a 7, as this will help keep up her body weight during the cold of the winter. However, an athletic horse should be a 4 or 5, as it is not desirable for that horse to be carrying excess weight when they are running, jumping, turning, and more, as this extra weight puts more stress on the joints, ligaments and tendons.”

While a horse rated 1- 3 on the Henneke scale is too thin or dangerously thin and easy to spot as a case you would report to the SPCA for a possible neglect scenario, many horse owners have difficulty acknowledging that their horse is also at risk should it rate at the other end of the scale with an 8 or 9.

“Much the same as in people, viewing obesity as a disease in horses is a more recent revelation,” notes Henderson. “With the amount of current research being focused on the impact of fat cells on the hormones and metabolism of animals, specifically insulin resistance and equine metabolic syndrome, we must start to manage our horses in a manner which ensures their longevity and reduces the risk of colic, laminitis and orthopaedic disease worsened by a high body condition.”