Recognizing a Healthy Horse

These measurements of the horse's heart girth and body length are then plugged into the following formula for weight estimation:

While more accurate than a weight tape, research has found that this formula can be modified to account for breed variations and include other measurements to make it even closer to actual weight. To do this, breed must be identified and height and neck circumference should be evaluated (the string and tape measure method work when gathering these measurements). A smartphone application called Healthy Horse was created by the University of Minnesota and the University of Kentucky to make determining body weight with these measurements simple.

 The app allows you to personally select your horse's breed and measurements, giving you both the actual and ideal weight of that horse. A healthy horse will be close to the ideal weight provided.

Evaluating BCS

Healthy horses should have a BCS between four and six. Each number score is given based on the horse's overall fitness, determined by fat deposition on its body. The Henneke system is used to determine BCS, giving the horse a number between one and nine (Table 2). The greater the fat deposition, the higher the score.