Condition Score SCORE 1 - EMACIATED
T ese hindquar- ters are nicely rounded without the formation of a valley and the fat on either side of the tailhead is becoming soſt for a BCS of 5.
DESCRIPTION
Animal very emaciated. Spinous processes (top of the backbone; in the shoulder area this is the with- ers; in the pelvis it is the palpable top of the spine in the middle of the back), ribs, tailhead, and point of hip and point of buttocks project prominently; bone structure of withers, shoulders, and neck eas- ily noticeable; no fatty tissue can be felt.
2 - VERY THIN
Animal emaciated. Slight fat covering spinous pro- cesses; transverse processes (portion of the ver- tebrae that sticks out to the sides in the lumbar region behind the ribs), of the lumbar vertebrae feel rounded; spine, ribs, tailhead, point of hip and point of buttocks prominent; withers, shoulders and neck structures faintly discernible.
3 - THIN
Fat is built up about halfway on spinous processes; tranverse processes cannot be felt; slight fat cov- er over the ribs; spinous processes and ribs eas- ily discernible; tailhead prominent, but individual vertebrae cannot be individually identified; point of buttocks appear rounded but are not easily dis- cernible; withers, shoulders and neck accentuated.
4 - LEAN T e level of fat cover a horse has serves as an indication of his
energy balance—the balance between the energy (calories) the horse consumes and that which is lost due to activity and other physiological demands. If the horse is in a state of relative negative energy balance (less energy consumed than used), fat deposits will be diminished, and body condition will be lowered. T e opposite is true if the horse’s diet provides more energy than the horse utilizes. Energy balance is aff ected by such factors as level of activity, reproductive status (pregnancy and lactation), weather (humidity, wind chill, ambient temperature), age and health status. Generally speaking, most horses should fall between a score of 4
and 6. If you fi nd your horse to be carrying too much condition—for example a score of 8—this indicates his diet contains too many calories and you need to take action to lower his energy intake. Conversely, a score of 3.5 would suggest the diet is not providing enough calories. T is may be due to not feeding enough energy in the ration, or it can be due to some other factor that is impacting the energy available to the horse, such as internal parasites, poor teeth or digestive disturbance. To know how to best restore your horse to his correct condition, you will need to feed more calories but also determine the cause and take necessary action, such as having the teeth fl oated. You will need to know your individual horse to know whether the
calculated BCS is an appropriate score. For example, if you have an easy keeper and will have access to abundant fresh pasture in the spring, it may be benefi cial to come out of the winter with a slightly lower BCS in order to reduce the risk of obesity in the spring. If you have a senior horse who you know has a hard time maintaining weight in cold weather, having a BCS of 7 going in to winter could be appropriate.
40 | November 2012 •
WWW.TRAILBLAZERMAGAZINE.US 5 - MODERATE
Slight ridge discernible along back; faint outline of ribs discernible; tailhead prominence depends on conformation; but fat can be felt around it; point of hip not discernible; withers, shoulders, and neck not obviously thin.
Back is flat (no crease or ridge); ribs not visually dis- tinguishable but easily felt; fat around tailhead feel slightly spongy; withers appear rounded over spi- nous processes; shoulders and neck blend smooth- ly in to body.
6 - MODERATELY FLESHY
7 - FLESHY
May be slight crease down back; fat over ribs is spongy; fat to fleshy. Around tailhead is soft; a little fat deposited along the side of the withers, behind the shoulders and along the sides of the neck.
May have a crease down the back; individual ribs can be felt, but noticeable fat is between ribs; fat around tailhead is soft; fat is deposited along the 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; notice- able thickening of neck; fat deposited along inner thighs.
9 - EXTREMELY FAT
Obvious crease down back; patchy fat appearing over ribs; bulging fat around tailhead, along with- ers, behind shoulder, and along neck; fat along in- ner thighs may cause thighs to rub together; flank filled with fat.
Developed by Hennecke et al., 1984
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