B for Body Condition Score
When is my horse at its ideal weight?
To explain this, it’s best to start by asking: how much energy does my horse need?
For maintenance metabolism, a horse requires approximately 0.4–0.64 MJ ME/kg of metabolic body mass. Heavy warmbloods, draught horses and ponies generally have significantly lower energy requirements than thoroughbreds and warmbloods; thus, the maintenance requirement for metabolisable energy (= ME) varies according to horse type as follows:
| Breed | ME (MJ/kg KM0.75) |
|---|---|
| Warmblood | 0,52 |
| Thoroughbred | 0,64 |
| Pony | 0,4 |
What does „My horse is a light eater“ mean?
A horse that is easy to feed makes good use of its feed. Its energy requirements are usually already met by its daily ration of roughage or time spent grazing. It puts on weight quickly and is more prone to becoming overweight and to the associated metabolic disorders such as laminitis and EMS. Horse breeds that tend to be light eaters include ponies, heavy warmbloods, coldbloods and specialised breeds such as Icelandic horses, Haflingers, Norwegian horses and Baroque horse breeds.
You can find out more about feeding overweight horses and horses with EMS here.
What does „My horse is a fussy eater“ mean?
A horse that is difficult to feed requires a relatively large amount of feed to maintain its weight. It loses weight quickly and, once it has lost weight, regains it only very slowly. Roughage and grazing alone do not provide it with enough energy to maintain its weight. In addition to roughage, an adequate amount of concentrated feed must be provided to enable the horse to maintain its weight. Horses that are particularly fussy eaters include, above all, Thoroughbreds, Warmbloods and older horses.
You can find out more about feeding underweight horses here.
The Body Condition Score
Regardless of the type of feeding regime (normal, light or heavy feeders), it is important to keep an eye on the horse’s body condition, i.e. its current physical condition as measured by the St. Hippoly Body Condition Score. In principle, the body condition score describes the horse’s weight in relation to its height and frame.
The Body Condition Score (BCS) is a useful tool for assessing a horse’s current body condition.
Areas of the body where the BCS can be measured:
A: Fat deposits on the neck
B: Fat cover at the withers
C: Fat deposits along the spine
D: Fat deposits on the sides
E: Fat deposits on the inner thighs
Q: Fat deposits around the base of the tail
G: Fat deposits behind the shoulder
H: Fat covering the ribs
I: Transition from shoulder to neck
1. MALNOURISHED
The horse is extremely emaciated; the spine, ribs, base of the tail and hip bones are very prominent; the bony structures of the withers, shoulders and neck are very clearly visible; absolutely no fatty tissue can be felt.
2. VERY LEAN
The horse is emaciated; there is a very thin layer of fat at the base of the vertebrae; the ribs, base of the tail, hip bones and ischial tuberosities are prominent; the withers, shoulders and neck structure are very clearly visible.
3. LEAN
Spinous processes and ribs are visible, though covered with a thin layer of fatty tissue; the base of the tail is prominent, but individual vertebral bodies are not visible; the hip bones are rounded but easily recognisable; the ischial tuberosities are not visible; the withers, shoulders and neck are well-defined.
4. SLIM / RATHER THIN
A slight rise along the back; the contours of the ribs are faintly visible; the base of the tail may protrude, depending on the dog’s build; fat can be felt all round; the hip bones are not visible; the withers, shoulders and neck are not noticeably thin.
5. OPTIMAL
The back is level (no ridges); the ribs are not visible but can be felt slightly; the base of the tail is slightly spongy; the spinous processes at the withers appear rounded; the shoulders and neck blend smoothly into the body.
6. MODERATELY THICK
A slight dorsal groove may be visible; the fat over the ribs is fleshy/spongy; soft fat around the base of the tail, with the first signs of fat deposits on either side of the withers, behind the shoulders and along both sides of the neck.
7. DICK
A groove may be visible along the back; individual ribs are palpable but the spaces between them are filled with fat; the fat around the base of the tail is soft; visible fat deposits are present at the withers, behind the shoulders and on the neck.
Determining the body weight of horses
As well as the Body Condition Score – that is, a visual assessment of the horse’s body condition – it is also important to know the horse’s body weight so that feed rations can be adjusted to meet its needs.
As a horse scale is not always available, horse owners can use relatively simple measurement techniques to help themselves estimate their horse’s body weight. The following two measurement techniques are suitable for this purpose.
Measurement Technology 1:
According to Carroll & Huntington (1988), a tape measure is used to measure a horse’s chest circumference and body length (from the shoulder joint to the ischial tuberosity). The horse’s live weight (LW) in kg is calculated using the following formula:
LM (kg) = (chest circumference (cm)² × body length (cm)) / 11,900
Measurement Technology 2:
In the second method, the horse’s height at the withers, neck circumference and body circumference are measured, and its live weight in kilograms is calculated using the following formula (GFE, 2014):
LM (kg) = -1.078 + 1.96 * KU + 2.28 * HU + 3.26 * BM
KU: Body circumference in cm
HU: Neck circumference in cm
BM: Withers height in cm
As measurements taken with a tape measure are subject to a margin of error, it is advisable to take the measurements several times (around 3 to 4 times) and calculate the average from the weights obtained.
References:
Carroll, C.L., Huntington, P.J. (1988): Body condition scoring and weight estimation in horses. Equine Veterinary Journal 20 (1), 41–45.
Coenen, M. & Vervuert, I. (2020): Horse Nutrition. 6th, updated edition. Georg Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart.
GFE (2014): Recommendations on energy and nutrient requirements for horses. DLG Verlag, Frankfurt am Main.
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Feed advice
We would be happy to arrange a personal Feed advice and personalised Product combination available.
Please feel free to contact us about this, with no obligation
by telephone (switchboard): +49 6222 990 100
or email: info@st-hippolyt.de
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