Poor Condition
Poor condition in a horse can be caused by a number of interrelated factors. A balanced feeding, worming and exercise program will ensure your horse’s good health. Chewed trees and rub marks on fences may be an indication of poor condition.Many diseases can cause a horse to lose condition, so seek veterinary advice.
Common causes
• Poor diet.
• Lack of exercise.
• Inadequate dental care • Plant toxicity
• A build up of intestinal parasites
Symptoms
• Lack of energy.
• Dull coat and eyes.
• Diarrhoea in some cases.
• Weakness.
• Poverty marks in hind quarters.
• Visibility of more than two ribs, dull coat and loss of weight
Some event horses and racehorses (or similar) need to be lean but should be energetic, have shiny coats and be in good condition.
What to do
• Graze horses on good pasture and avoid paddocks dominated by bare patches, large grass clumps and
heavy infestations of weeds. These are often referred to as ‘horse-sick’ pastures.
• Ensure adequate clean fresh water.
• Have manure samples tested at a veterinary laboratory for worm egg counts.
• Assess the nutritional needs of individual horses and ponies. Supplementary feeding may be necessary.
• Feed good quality hay which is green in colour and not yellow. Avoid hay with too many weeds and do not
feed mouldy hay.
• Develop a regular de-worming strategy suitable for your propert i.e. grazing other livestock after horses, manure management, pasture management and improved hygiene in feeding areas.
Seek veterinary advice if condition does not improve.
Body Condition Scoring (BCS) is an objective system of evaluating a horse's
level of body condition (amount of stored fat) and assessing a numeric score to
facilitate comparisons between horses. Many owners fail to recognize significant
variations in the weight of horses or variations due to age and breed types.
This often results in overfeeding or underfeeding.
A long hair coat can be misleading. Some conformational differences make it
difficult to apply certain criteria to a specific animal. For example, animals
with prominent withers, or flat across the back and mares heavy in foal (weight
of the foal pulls skin taut over the ribs) may cause body condition scores to be
lower than they actually are. However, when properly applied, the scoring system
is independent of size or conformation of the horse.
Condition
|
Neck
|
Withers
|
Back & Loin
|
Ribs
|
Hind Quarters
|
| 0 Very thin |
bone structure easily felt- no muscle shelf where neck meets
shoulder |
bone structure easily felt |
3 points of vertebrae easily felt |
each rib can be easily felt |
tailhead and hip bones projecting |
| 1 Thin |
can feel bone structure- slight shelf where neck meets
shoulder |
can feel bone structure |
spinous process can be easily felt
- transverse processes
have slight fat covering |
slight fat covering, but can still be felt |
can feel hip bones |
| 2 Fair |
fat covering over bone structure |
fat deposits over withers |
dependent on conformation |
fat over spinous processes can't see ribs, but ribs can still be
felt |
hip bones covered with fat |
| 3 Good |
neck flows smoothly into shoulder |
neck rounds out withers |
back is level |
layer of fat over ribs |
can't feel hip bones |
| 4 Fat |
fat deposited along neck |
fat padded around withers |
positive crease along back |
fat spongy over and between ribs |
can't feel hip bones |
| 5 Very fat |
bulging fat |
bulging fat |
deep positive crease |
pockets of fat |
pockets of fat |
| Score 0 |
Emaciated |
- with sunken rump and deep cavity under tail, skin tight over
ribs; e.g., severely debilitated older horses with abnormal teeth occlusion,
starvation. |
| Score 1.0 |
Poor |
- very thin with prominent pelvis and croup, ribs
visible |
| Score 2.0 |
Moderate |
- thin with flat rump, croup well defined, some fat; e.g., mare
that has been severely dragged down by milking while on poor pasture. |
| Score 2.5 |
|
- e.g., racing condition or endurance horse. |
| Score 3.0 |
Good |
- ribs and pelvis covered with fat and rounded; e.g., a halter
horse in prime show condition. |
| Score 3.5 |
|
- e.g., mature mare in mid-gestation. |
| Score 4.0 |
Fat |
- fat covering ribs and pelvis requiring firm pressure to feel;
e.g., an easy-keeping, mature horse on pasture with little or no work. |
| Score 5.0 |
Very Fat |
- severe over condition with ribs and pelvis that cannot be
felt, deep gutter in back; e.g., a fat pony prone to laminitis. |
|
