Making the Grade:
{Judging a horse’s condition in person and in photos}
W
e’ve all had that moment when we’ve looked at a horse and thought they were underweight. Some are truely underweight and others are just fit.
Do you know the signs of a fit horse verses an underweight horse? Learning to identify an underweight horse vs a fit horse may be tricky to some. A horse is an athlete, they train, just like humans do. They will develop into well-muscled athletes. A horse that is a healthy body weight has rounded hindquarters and shoulders, a solid back and a nicely muscled neck. You will see smooth muscle tone without dips and valleys in their confirmation. These horses do not carry much body fat, they are lean and strong. They will have a healthy coat that has a shine to it. A horse that is underweight may have very pronounced withers. The spine may easily be felt under the skin. The ribs and hip bones may be visible with their haunches appearing to be sunken. They will have a dull coat that lacks shine. The terms “skinny”, “thin”, and even “fat” can have different meanings to different people. The Henneke Body Condition Scoring System was developed as a standard and is used to determine the condition of the horse, regardless of breed, age, sex. This will eliminate the need to guess “is that horse too thin?” Evaluating a Horse In having a boarding stable and caring for many off the track horses, we must make that determina
By Trina Clouser tion when a horse arrives at the stable if they are race fit, too thin or emaciated. Having knowledge of the Henneke scale makes this job much easier. A general assessment is made of the horse’s over-all health, any injuries and knowing some back ground on the horse helps to determine the care it will receive. This is not only a visual inspection but also a hands-on one. A Standardbred in training will typically rate a four or five on the scale. If a horse rates lower than a four there are many factors to take in to consideration. Did this horse receive proper care during training? While we would like to believe that everyone takes care of their horses to the best of their ability, that ability may vary based on education and experience. Each horse has a different metabolism and nutritonal needs that may not be fully addressed. A talk with the trainer may allow us to determine if that is the case. Is there an underlying medical condition this horse has? A vet can assist in determining if the equine has ulcers - roughly 80% of race horses do - and this can be cause for weight loss. An evaluation of the teeth can also be done to assure he/she is eating properly. Is it abuse or neglect? Generally speaking, neglect deals with actions that passively harm the horse, such as providing them with no grass, hay or grain. Equine abuse, on the other hand, deals with overt actions designed to hurt the animal, such as beating.