Nutrition Feature of the Month: Promoting Safe Weight Gain
Refeeding the Rescue Horse, Continued.
Evaluating Body Condition: Body condition can be evaluated on a scale of 1 (emaciated) to 9 (obese) by observing and palpating fat cover in 6 key areas: along the neck, along the withers, over the ribs, behind the shoulder, crease down the back, and the tailhead. Horses should be maintained in a healthy body condition of 5 to 6 (moderate to moderately fleshy).
Assessing body condition is particularly useful for tracking weight gain if a livestock scale is not available. Horses should be evaluated and assigned a body condition score when they arrive and at 1 to 2-week intervals to assess progress. Weight tapes (which are often provided with deworming medications) can also be used, but are prone to error with severely underweight horses. Rather than recording the “weight” given on the tape, it is recommended to record the inch measurement to evaluate weight gain.
Score |
Description |
|
1 |
Extremely emaciated |
No fatty tissue can be felt; All bones extremely noticeable. |
2 |
Emaciated |
Slight fat covering over vertebrae; Hip bones prominent; bones of withers, shoulders and neck are faintly discernible. |
3 |
Thin |
Slight fat cover over vertebrae; tailhead prominent; ribs easily discernible; withers, shoulder and neck accentuated. |
4 |
Moderately thin |
Slight ridge along back; faint outline of ribs discernable; withers, shoulder and neck not obviously thin. |
5 |
Moderate |
Back is flat with no crease or ridge; ribs easily felt but not seen; withers rounded; shoulders and neck blend smoothly into body. |
6 |
Moderately fleshy |
Slight crease down back; fat over ribs and tailhead; fat beginning to be deposited along side of withers, behind shoulders, and sides of neck. |
7 |
Fleshy |
Crease down back; ribs can be felt but noticeable fat between ribs; fat deposited along withers, behind shoulders, and sides of neck. |
8 |
Fat |
Definite crease down back; difficult to feel ribs; thickening of neck; areas along tailhead, withers, behind shoulders, and between thighs filled with fat. |
9 |
Obese |
Obvious deep crease along back; patchy fat over ribs; fat bulging around tailhead, withers, behind shoulders, along neck, between thighs and near flank. |
| Back | 1 2 3 4 5 6 |