A Tip for Every Horse Owner - How to BCS

Feb 11

2/12/20

“What is a body condition score?”

Something EVERY horse owner should know how to do is body condition score their horse.

This is a subjective score based on fat tissue accumulation in several key areas of the horse where fat can be palpated (felt by hand). The score is on a 1-9 scale, with a "1" being an emaciated horse, and "9" being a morbidly obese horse.

What is ideal?

A score of a 5-6.5 is ideal and indicates a healthy level of fat cover. A horse that scores a 5 will not have ribs visible and will have a light layer of "squish" in the areas that are palpated. Squish is my highly technical term for fat. A horse that scores an 8 or above will have so much squish you may notice it jiggle before you palpate it. This is not ideal! Time to call a nutritionist and set up a diet program!

Some professionals use half scores (ex. like I mentioned before, 6.5) whereas others do not. It is up to you to use the method you prefer. As long as you can identify thin, just right, and overweight you are in good shape.

Why is it important?

This subjective score serves as an indicator of how fleshy, thin, overweight, obese, or (insert any descriptor of body condition here) our horse is! While a very thin horse is easy to identify, a slightly thin or overweight horse can be more difficult to detect. Doing a body condition score assessment for your horse involves manually feeling for fat tissue accumulation, or lack thereof, and taking that information to make appropriate dietary and/or exercise changes. Targeting a healthy body condition can significantly improve your horse's health, longevity and quality of life, and it only takes a few minutes. I would suggest anyone who owns a horse be familiar with this scale! I personally perform this assessment often hundreds of times each month and find it incredibly useful.

Where do I find more information?

Nearly every major feed company have informational pages on this, many universities with extension websites have Youtube videos showing you how to do this, and there are a ton of visuals out there! I suggest doing a simple google search on "horse body condition score" for great resources. Find one you can easily understand and give your horse a body condition score next time you see them!