Obesity

HOW HEAVY IS YOUR HORSE?

What is obesity? A horse or pony that is obese carries more fat tissue than they should. In more natural settings, it is rare to come across horses that are overweight or obese as they have evolved to survive harsh winters, live off rough grazing with little nutritional value, and walk miles each day to find food and water. However, we can all agree that this is a little different to the lives our horses live today in domesticity.

As horse owners, we tend to provide more food and warmth – in the form of forage, concentrates and rugs – than our horse actually needs and then we restrict his movement to paddocks and some extra exercise.

Just like in humans, when a horse consumes more calories than he burns, he stores the excess as fat. This is important if you live in a harsh environment where you might need that fat to ‘see you through' harder times. However, with modern management, these 'harder times' don't really occur.

Obesity is a significant cause of illness and death in horses. Aside from putting extra strain on the horse’s joints, tendons and ligaments, the excess fat tissue causes hormonal disturbances in the body, which upset the balance of the sensitive metabolic system with severe and sometimes fatal consequences.

The most important thing about obesity is, therefore to spot it early, do something about it and ultimately keep your horse’s weight under control and his body condition healthy.

A very cresty neck in an obese pony.

THE APPEARANCE OF AN OBESE HORSE

Identifying when your horse is overweight is difficult for owners. Horse owners have become more and more accustomed to seeing overweight horses as ‘normal’ and, as a result, many don’t realise that their horse is overweight and therefore in danger.

Horses carry their fat in a few different places – just like humans. The obvious fat pads are in the crest and on the shoulders and rump, but fat can also be stored over the ribs and at the top of the tail, among other areas, and in varying proportions depending on the individual. Intraabdominal fat is the most difficult to assess as it sits around the internal organs. This ‘hidden’ fat can be quite significant, and so it should be considered when assessing the horse.

BODY CONDITION SCORING

Body condition scoring, otherwise known as fat scoring, is a way to assess your horse’s fat covering to help determine whether he is a healthy weight.

The three key areas to consider are the neck, body and hindquarters, and you will need to not only look at the horse but also to feel him so you can determine the difference between muscle and fat. Generally, fat feels more spongy, whereas muscle is firmer, although it’s important to remember that crest fat can start to feel firm and this is when it is most dangerous.

ASSESSING THE NECK AND SHOULDERS

This horse appears to have lots of excess fat around the shoulders.

Feel along your horse’s crest and notice if there is thickened, hard fat and if you can wobble it from side to side. Run your hand down the neck and onto the shoulder. Fat can accumulate in front of the shoulder blades, which will cause your hand to move smoothly over the neck/ shoulder junction. Instead, it should be stopped by the shoulder blade. Ideally, this shoulder blade should be clearly defined. You may also feel fat pads behind the shoulder blades.

ASSESSING THE BACK AND RIBS

Run your hand over the ribs. You should be able to feel them fairly easily with light pressure. If you have to press firmly or can’t feel them at all, then your horse is carrying excess fat.

Place your hand over his back and note whether you can see and feel the horse's spine. Ideally, your hand should follow the arch of the spine and be able to feel the backbone. Fat can build up on either side of the spine until it is higher than the spine and creates a gutter. This will often result in your hand lying flat across your horse’s back. If his spine is particularly visible and very easy to feel, this indicates a lack of fat covering this area.

ASSESSING THE HINDQUARTERS

Run your hand over the hip bones – you should be able to see and feel them easily under a thin layer of fat. If you have to press firmly or can’t feel them at all, then your horse is carrying excess fat. If the bones are prominently sticking out and are very easy to feel, your horse is likely to be underweight.

Safely look at your horse from behind. Ideally, his hindquarters should be slightly rounded. An ‘apple’ shape and a gutter along the backbone indicate too much fat is present. You should also feel for fatty areas around the tail head.

Fatty deposits around the tail head.

CONDITION SCORING TABLE

The University of Liverpool in the UK created a table to describe each score.

Score 0 = Very poor Pelvis = Angular, and skin appears tight. Very sunken rump. Back and ribs = Skin tight over ribs. Very prominent and sharp backbone. Neck = Marked ewe neck. Narrow and and slack skin and musculature at the base.

Score 1 = Poor Pelvis = Prominent pelvis and croup. Sunken rump, but skin is supple. Deep cavity under the tail. Back and ribs = Ribs easily visible. Prominent backbone with sunken skin on either side. Neck = Ewe neck. Narrow and slack skin and musculature at the base.

Score 2 = Moderate Pelvis = Rump flat on either side of backbone. Croup well defined, with some fat. Slight cavity under the tail. Back and ribs = Ribs just visible. Backbone covered, but spines can be felt. Neck = Narrow but firm.

Score 3 = Good Pelvis = Covered by fat and rounded. No gutter. Pelvis easily felt. Back and ribs = Ribs just covered and easily felt. No gutter along the back. Backbone well covered, but spines can be felt. Neck = No crest (except for stallions) and a firm neck.

Score 4 = Fat Pelvis = Gutter to the root of tail. Pelvis is covered by fat. Need firm pressure to feel pelvis. Back and ribs = Well covered – need pressure to feel. Neck = Slight crest. Wide and firm.

Score 5 = Very fat Pelvis = Deep gutter to root of tail. Skin distended. Pelvis is buried and cannot be felt. Back and ribs = Ribs buried and cannot be felt. Deep gutter along the back. Back broad and flat. Neck = Marked crest – very wide and firm. Fold of fat.

In this scale, each area assessed is then scored individually from 0-5 and then an average is taken (add the three scores together and divide by three) to work out the final score for the horse.

A healthy score is around 2.5-3 out of 5 unless your vet advises otherwise.

WEIGHBRIDGES

Body condition score can be wonderfully helpful but ideally should be backed up with an accurate weight measurement from a weighbridge to confirm the weight properly. The trouble is, of course, getting to a weighbridge regularly, but this is really the only way to have an accurate picture of the situation.

FINAL THOUGHTS

For more advice on how to assess body condition, get your horse weighed on a weighbridge, or devise a tailored weight management programme, contact your vet and a nutritionist. It’s always beneficial to involve your vet to so that they can consider all of your horse’s health factors when deciding what is the best course of action for him.