Fat and jolly or a welfare concern?
Body condition chart courtesy of Kentucky Equine Research - https://ker.com/library/body-condition-score-chart/
The winter grass has sprung and I know my horses are all getting a little tubbier. It’s important to adjust our horses feed based on their body condition score and inline with their workload. So, lets look at the optimal condition for horses.
The chart above gives a grade out of five for horses body condition. Depending on the demands for each discipline, the ideal weight for each horse will be different.
Racing - for horses in race prep, a score between 2-3/5 is ideal. Stayers will be on the leaner side, while sprinters may be heavier with more muscle.
Show jumping, barrel racing, camp drafting - The ideal condition score for these horses is around a 3/5. They require good muscle strength and power, but as their competition rounds last between 20-90 seconds, they can afford to carry a little more fat than race horses.
Eventing - Most eventers will be a 3 or slightly under. Due to the demands of cross country, having excess body fat puts additional strain on the cardiovascular system in prolonged high intensity efforts.
Dressage and Showing - Ideally these horses will be a 3-4/5. As these disciplines are long duration, lower intensity (with regards to cardiac output) the horses can carry more fat than the disciplines above. Dressage and showing are also judged on the way the horse looks, with a vast majority of judges preferring a horse that’s rounder and more muscled over a horse that’s leaner with bones visible.
Trail ride, pleasure mounts or companion horses - Aim for around a 3/5. This is a healthy weight to maintain safe levels of fat within the body. As the horses are doing low level or no exercise, avoid excess fat deposits as it will be harder for these horses to lose weight than those in more exercise (as their calorie requirements are lower).
Overweight and obese horses carry a higher risk of developing insulin resistance, equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) and insulin resistance, all of which can have a detrimental effect to your horses long term health. Strategies for reducing body weight include:
Increasing exercise (longer duration, low intensity exercise is best for obese horses to reduce strain on joints and the cardiac system)
Feeding low sugar, low starch and no grain diet.
Soaking hay to reduce sugar content
Restricting grazing on pasture and grass (but continuing to provide regular access to hay to reduce the risk of developing ulcers)
Setting up paddock ‘track’ systems to encourage horses to move more throughout the day
Not rugging during winter to let the horse utilise energy and fat deposits to maintain body heat
Reducing body weight will decrease the stress/strain on horses joints, reduce inflammatory markers within the body and improve your horses heart health. So be cruel to be kind - get the weight of your fat horse or pony!