Horse Nutrition

Bulletin 762-00

Animal Factors

Body Condition Score and Weight

Body condition scoring is used in many species to provide a rough guide of the nutritional adequacy of the diet and the level of food intake of an animal. This scoring should be used in conjunction with the physiological status, diet history, and body weight of the horse. A description of the body condition scoring for horses follows.

1. Poor
   Animal extremely emaciated; spinous processes (the tops of the vertebrae), ribs, tailhead, tuber coxae (point of the hip), and ischii (point of buttock) projecting prominently; bone structure of withers, shoulders, and neck easily noticeable; no fatty tissue can be felt.
   
   
2. Very Thin
   Animal emaciated; slight fat covering over base of spinous processes; transverse processes (part of the bone projecting sideways from the lumbar vertebrae) of lumbar vertebrae feel rounded; spinous processes, ribs, tailhead, tuber coxae, and ischii prominent; withers, shoulders, and neck structure faintly discernible.
   
   Very Thin
   
   
3. Thin
   Fat buildup about halfway on spinous processes; transverse processes cannot be felt; slight fat cover over ribs; spinous processes and ribs easily discernible; tailhead prominent but individual vertebrae cannot be identified visually; tuber coxae appear rounded but easily discernible; ischii not distinguishable; withers, shoulders, and neck accentuated.
   
   
4. Moderately Thin
   Slight ridge along back; faint outline of ribs discernible; tailhead prominence depends on conformation, fat can be felt around it; tuber coxae not discernible; withers, shoulders, and neck not obviously thin.
   
   
5. Moderate
   Back is flat (no crease or ridge); ribs not visually distinguishable but easily felt; fat around tailhead beginning to feel spongy; withers appear rounded over spinous processes; shoulders and neck blend smoothly into body.
   
   Moderate
   
   
6. Moderately Fleshy
   May have slight crease down back; fat over ribs spongy; fat around tailhead soft; fat beginning to be deposited along the side of withers, behind shoulders, and along sides of neck.
   
   
7. Fleshy
   May have crease down back; individual ribs can be felt but noticeable filling between ribs with fat; fat around tailhead soft; fat deposited along withers, behind shoulders, and along neck.
   
   
8. Fat
   Crease down back; difficult to feel ribs; fat around tailhead very soft; area along withers filled with fat; area behind shoulder filled with fat; noticeable thickening of neck; fat deposited along inner thighs.
   
   Fat
   
   
9. Extremely Fat
   Obvious crease down back; patchy fat appearing over ribs; bulging fat around tailhead, along withers, behind shoulders, and along neck; fat along inner thighs may rub together; flank filled with fat.

Obtaining the horse’s body weight is useful for many reasons. Estimating the amount of feed needed, determining if the current ration is adequate, and using changes as an early indication of health status are just a few. Ideally a walk-on scale should be used. Consideration should be given for gastrointestinal fill and hydration status. Weight tapes, which work by using girth measurements, can give fairly accurate estimates of body weight if good technique is used. The heart girth area should be measured just behind the withers and elbows following a respiratory exhalation. Weight tapes will not be accurate for pregnant mares in late gestation. These tapes also will not accurately note small changes in weight that could affect performance. However, weight tapes are much more accurate than estimates based on visual examination.