REGULAR FEA
EW
TURE Equine Wellness
The staff of The
Improving BCS, Part 1 of 2
Northwest Horse Source by Larry Lawrence, DVM
offers condolences to
the family and
Understanding body condition scoring
friends of Dr. Larry
Lawrence. His keen
insight and dedication
to improving the
lives of others will N
umerical scoring is the most widely coxae not discernible; withers, shoulders and
accepted standardized method of neck not obviously thin.
assessing body condition in horses. 5 - Moderate
be missed.
Though different systems exist, the most preva- Back is fl at (no crease or ridge); ribs not visually
lent system created uses a scale of 1 to 9, with 1 distinguishable but easily felt; fat around tail-
denoting emaciation and 9 designating obesity. head beginning to feel spongy; withers appear
When this method is practiced and consistently rounded over spinous processes; shoulders and
applied, body condition scoring provides a reli- neck blend smoothly into body.
able means of monitoring body weight.
6 - Moderately Fleshy
A Matter of Numbers
May have slight crease down back; fat over ribs is
The body condition score system was devel-
spongy; fat around tailhead is soft; fat beginning
oped by researchers to encourage horsemen to
to be deposited along the side of withers, behind
discuss body weight in a recognizable, universal
shoulders and along the sides of the neck.
way. Terms such as “thin” or “pudgy” were 7 - Fleshy
ambiguous, so the system was devised to help May have crease down back; individual ribs can
horsemen visualize a degree of thinness or be felt but noticeable fi lling between ribs with
fatness based on certain criteria. Introduced to fat; fat around tailhead is soft; fat deposited
the industry more than 25 years ago, the system along withers, behind shoulders and along neck.
has achieved its goal of providing a foundation
8 - Fat
for the way horsemen speak of body condition.
Crease down back; diffi cult to feel ribs; fat around
Dr. Larry A. Lawrence
1 - Poor
tailhead very soft; area along withers fi lled with
Senior Nutritionist, Animal extremely emaciated; spinous processes,
fat; area behind shoulder fi lled with fat; notice-
Kentucky Equine
rubs, tailhead, tuber coxae and ischii projecting
able thickening of the neck; fat deposited along
Research
prominently; bone struc-
inner thighs.
ture of withers, shoulders 9 - Extremely Fat
and neck easily noticeable;
Horses gain and lose weight
A native of Georgia, Lawrence
Obvious crease down
received an M.S. in animal
no fatty tissue can be felt. through variations in energy back; patchy fat appearing
sciences from the University of
2 - Very Thin intake and energy expenditure
over ribs; bulging fat
Georgia and his Ph.D. from the
Animal emaciated; slight
around tailhead, along
University of Florida in equine
nutrition. Dr. Lawrence spent
fat covering over base of
withers, behind shoul-
fi ve years on the faculty of
spinous processes; transverse processes of lumbar
ders and along neck; fat along inner thighs may
Washington State University,
vertebrae feel rounded; spinous processes, ribs,
rub together; fl ank fi lled with fat.
where he was the director of
tailhead, tuber coxae and ischii prominent;
Horses gain and lose weight through varia-
the teaching and extension withers, shoulders and neck structure faintly
tions in energy intake and energy expenditure.
horse programs. He joined the
discernible.
faculty of Virginia Polytechnic
Increases in energy intake without a simulta-
Institute in 1991, where he was
3 - Thin neous increase in energy expenditure will likely
an associate professor of animal
Fat buildup about halfway on spinous processes; result in weight gain. Conversely, a prolonged
sciences and the extension transverse processes cannot be felt; slight fat increase in energy expenditure—which might
horse specialist. Dr. Lawrence cover over ribs; spinous processes and ribs easily occur with a more demanding workload or harsh
leads the Kentucky Equine
discernible; tailhead prominent but individual environmental conditions—without a corre-
Research technical staff and
vertebrae cannot be identifi ed visually; tuber sponding boost in energy intake will usually end
provides support for KER Team
Members and their customers
coxae appear rounded but easily discernible; in weight loss.
through research, formulation,
tuber ischii not distinguishable; withers, shoul-
and technical fi eld service.
ders and neck accentuated.
Please join us next month for a discussion of
how much energy is needed to induce weight
He has presented seminars
4 - Moderately Thin
throughout the US and Canada
gain and a look at timelines for increasing weight
Slight ridge along back; faint outline of ribs
and has been an invited speaker
gain safely.
in Australia and Europe.
discernible; tailhead prominence depends on
NWHS
conformation but fat can be felt around it; tuber
32 March 2010 The Northwest Horse Source
www.nwhorsesource.com
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