Here you can see there is no obvious fat in the neck and that it blends smoothly into the shoulder for a score of 5.
T e neck of this pony does not blend smooth- ly into the shoulder and is slightly accentu- ated and would therefore be scored as a 3.5
to determine the weight of your horse. Note that weight estimates other than scales on growing horses tend to be more inaccurate than on mature horses.
BODY CONDITION SCORING T e next step is to determine whether your horse’s weight is a good
weight for him or whether he is too fat or too skinny. Typically this assessment is done using the Hennecke body condition scoring scale (BCS) developed in the 1980s by Dr. Hennecke at Texas A&M (see “Condition Score” table, page 40). T e scale was developed as a way to assess the eff ect of body condition on conception rates in broodmares and since then the system has been extrapolated for use in all classes of horses. Care must be taken when extrapolating a system outside of the
T is neck is showing crestiness and has obvious, visible fat de- posits and would score an 8.
original sample population; however, at this time it remains the most easy to use and available method for determining condition. By palpating and visually assessing the degrees of fatness over cer-
tain areas of a horse’s body, you can assess his level of condition. Six regions are assessed 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 (see Figure 1). A numeric value between 1 and 9 (1 being emaciated 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. While a horse’s use and physiological status may dictate a slightly
fl eshier body or slightly less fl eshy condition (for example, broodmare versus race horse), in general the ideal body condition is typifi ed by the following: a neck that fl ows smoothly into the shoulder and that rounds out the withers, a level back, a layer of fat over the ribs (ribs can be easily felt but not seen) and hip bones that cannot be felt on palpation. On the 9-point scale this is scored a 5. It is possible that a horse may be awarded diff erent scores for diff erent body areas. If this is the case, the scores for each body area are averaged to give an overall score. T ere is also a range between scores and these may be given half
Here the back is obviously level, the ribs are not visibly distinguish- able and the withers are rounded over the spinous processes repre- senting a BCS of 5.
38 | November 2012 •
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