T
he tape may tell you he actually weighs 1,135 lbs but that itself may not
be very accurate, plus it does not give you any information as to whether this is a good weight for him. To determine this, you need to assess body condition. With this added information, not only will you know your horse’s weight but you will know whether he should in fact weigh more or less. As we head into winter, a time of year when many owners struggle to maintain their horse’s weight, knowing how to perform these basic management techniques can be very benefi cial. I am going to share with you your options for estimating weight and how to perform a condition score and what you can do with the results when you get them.
Figure 1. Six regions are as- sessed for fat cover to create the body condition score: along the neck, along the withers, the tail head, over the ribs, behind the shoulders and on the crease down the back. A numeric value between 1 and 9 (1 being emaci- ated and 9 being extremely fat) is awarded to each area, which can allow comparison of the horse’s condition over time, or between multiple horses.
ESTIMATING BODY WEIGHT Using a weight tape is bet er than guessing, because while many people rely on visual
assessment to determine their horse’s weight, this has been shown to be the most inac- curate strategy. Owners and handlers tend to understate their horse’s weight by up to 20%. However, weight tapes themselves are not accurate, either. T ey do not take into account the horse’s length or height, and clearly you could have multiple horses with the same girth circumference but quite diff erent weights. How you use a weight tape can impact the accuracy of the result. Try to stand the
horse squarely on level ground, have the same person use the tape each time and weigh the horse at the same time of day each time to get comparable results. T e tape should be placed tightly behind the horse’s elbows and go around him right below the highest point of the withers. Also make sure you use the same tape each time as diff erent brands rely on diff erent algorithms and will give you diff erent results.
While this horse scored slightly under 5 around the tail head, overall he is a good example of a BCS of 5.
More accurate than a weight tape is measuring girth circumfer-
ence and length in inches and using the following equation: Weight (lbs) = (Heart Girth) x (Heart Girth) x (Length) 330
…where heart girth and length are measured in inches. T e tape
is placed in exactly the same location as when using a weight tape for the girth measurement, and length is measured from point of shoulder to point of but ock. Again, the horse should be standing squarely on level ground and other variables should be kept as con- stant as possible. Your veterinarian may have a scale at their clinic and allow you
T e author demonstrates use of a weight tape to estimate weight and to measure girth circumference for weight calculation. Note that the horse is standing square on level ground and that the tape is placed slightly below the highest point of the withers and tightly behind the elbow.
to weigh your horse, and obviously this is the most accurate way to determine weight. You may also live near a weigh station and be able to take your truck and empty trailer, weigh it and then return with your horse and subtract the empty weight from the loaded weight
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