Equine Athlete

By Gwen Rizzo

When you own a horse, you are responsible for keeping the horse adequately fed, watered, exercised, vaccinated and in good mental and physical health. Anything short of that is neglect.

Owning horses is an expensive luxury not everyone can afford. Before you take on the responsibility of owning a horse or horses, determine if it is something you can afford. The cost to maintain horses continues, whether or not your finances remain stable. If at some point you determine you are unable to—or can no longer afford to—properly care for your horse, waste no time in finding someone who can.

Don’t assume you can turn horses out or leave them to take care of themselves. Horses may begin to lose weight, their feet will continue to grow and before you know it, they are in poor condition. The worse they get, the harder it is to get them back into good health so it is important to ask for help immediately when you are finding it hard to make ends meet. People who neglect animals are often animal lovers who meant well but were unable to face giving up their animals to someone for proper care. If you are unable to find someone willing and able to take on the responsibility, contact a reliable, proven horse rescue or even local authorities.

It is important to remember some horses lose weight quicker than others. If you are starting to notice some of your horses are beginning to lose weight, increase calories they are taking in. Giving more grain may make some horses too hot, so try throwing them another flake or two of hay.

If you notice just one horse looking thin, there may be a reason. Some horses are just not easy keepers and require more food then others of the same size. Other issues may also be at play, such as disease, dental problems or parasites. If you feed several horses together, one horse may be lower in the pecking order and may not get as much food as the rest of the horses. If the horses are separated during feed times, have your veterinarian examine the horse to see what may be causing the weight loss. Horses that are stressed or are in cold climates may lose weight faster and may need more food to maintain a good body condition.

An anonymous tip line has been established for tips regarding equine abuse or neglect. The USPA Equine Welfare Committee encourages anyone making a report to first reach out to police or local animal control to report the issue. If you would like to also report to the USPA, please leave as much detail as possible in your message, including the city and state the animals are located in as well as the horse owners name, if known. Reports will be kept confidential, however you may leave your name and phone number if you are willing to be contacted for additional information.

Though neglect most often involves underweight horses, obesity is also a danger. If all of your horses are overweight, try gradually cutting back on their feed. If only one horse is overweight, the horse may not require as much food as the rest of your horses. If the horses are being fed together it may be the top of the pecking order and is getting more than its fair share. It may also indicate a medical problem requiring examination by your veterinarian.

Thirty-eight years ago at Texas A&M University, Dr. Don Henneke developed a standardized system to objectively evaluate a horse’s body condition based on the amount of body fat stored in particular areas. Instead of using subjective terms like thin and fat, which mean different things to different people, the Henneke Body Condition Score chart focuses on the amount of stored fat in six areas of a horse’s body: along the neck, withers, ribs, behind the shoulder, the crease down the loin and the tail head.

Each area is not only viewed, but palpated, and the areas are scored between 1 (little or no fat) and 9 (very fat). Because conformation defects or injuries may effect one of the six areas, an area can be excluded from consideration when scoring. The scores for the areas are usually similar so you would not have one area score a 7 and another score a 2 on the same horse. The scores are added up and divided by the number of areas considered to determine a body condition score. An acceptable range is from 4 to 7, with 5 being ideal.

Six areas of body fat storage to consider

1. Poor. The horse is emaciated. The spinous processes (backbone), ribs, tail head and hooks and pins all project prominently. The bone structures of the withers, shoulders and neck are easily noticeable, and no fat can be felt anywhere. 2. Very Thin. The spinous processes are prominent. The ribs, tail head and pelvic bones stand out, and bone structures of the withers, neck and shoulders are faintly discernible. 3. Thin. The spinous processes stand out, but fat covers them to midpoint. Very slight fat cover can be felt over the ribs, but the spinous processes and ribs are easily discernible. The tail head is prominent, but individual vertebrae cannot be seen. Hook bones are visible but appear rounded. Pin bones cannot be seen and the withers, neck and shoulders do not look obviously thin. 4. Moderately Thin. The horse has a negative crease along its back and the outline of the ribs can just be seen but can be easily felt. Fat around the tail head feels slightly spongy. The withers look rounded and the shoulder and neck blend smoothly into the body. 5. Moderate-the threshold level of body condition. The back is level. Ribs cannot be seen but can be easily felt. Fat around the tail head feels slightly spongy. The withers look rounded and the shoulder and neck blend smoothly into the body. The polo pony shown above is about a five, an ideal condition. 6. Moderate to Fleshy. There may be a slight crease down the back. Fat around the tail head feels soft and fat over the ribs feels spongy. There are small deposits along the sides of the withers, behind the shoulders and along the sides of the neck. 7. Fleshy. There may be a crease down the back. Individual ribs can be felt, but there is noticeable fat between the ribs. Fat around the tail head is soft. Fat is noticeable in the withers, the neck and behind the shoulders.

8. Fat. The horse has a crease down the back. Spaces between the ribs are so filled with fat that the ribs are difficult to feel. The area along the withers is filled with fat, and fat around the tail head feels very soft. The space behind the shoulders is filled in flush and some fat is deposited along the inner buttocks. 9. Extremely Fat. The crease down the back is very obvious. Fat appears in patches over the ribs and there is bulging fat around the tail head, withers, shoulders and neck. Fat along the inner buttocks may cause buttocks to rub together, and the flank is filled in flush. Adapted from Henneke Body Condition Score (1983).

The Henneke chart is relevant despite the breed, age or sex of an animal. This method is still widely accepted and used among veterinarians, law enforcement and horse organizations and rescues.

Acceptable body conditions differ depending on the equestrian discipline. And there is a marked difference between fit and lean and underfed. By and large, high-goal horses are some of the fittest horses in the sport, but when you see photos of them their ribs are barely visible, their flanks are nice and round with no bones protruding, their withers look round and the shoulders and necks blend smoothly into their bodies. They easily score a 4, if not a 5.

If your horses do not fall between a range of 4 to 7, it is time to find out why. Contact your veterinarian at once. •