How to Maintain Healthy Weight for a Horse
Weigh your horse., Estimate your horse’s weight., Determine your horse’s condition., Work with your veterinarian., Consider your horse’s lifestyle., Feed your horse by weight.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Weigh your horse.
The most accurate way to determine your horse’s weight is to use a scale.
Obviously, though, most people don’t own a set of scales designed for large livestock.
You may be able to weigh your horse at your veterinarian’s office, or you may be able to have a local feed store lend you their scales.If you own a lot of horses, it may be worth investing in a set of horse scales.
These usually cost around 3,000 USD. -
Step 2: Estimate your horse’s weight.
If you don’t have access to a set of scales, or if you want to calculate your horse’s weight in-between weighing, you can also use an equation that calculates the horse’s weight based on their body measurements.
If you are using the metric system, your measurements should be done in centimeters.
If you are using the imperial system you should take the measurements in inches.To do this, take your horse’s heart girth measurement just behind the horse’s elbow.
Lay the tape so it is about an inch behind the top of the withers and pass it underneath the horse so that it lines up just behind the elbow.
You will also need to measure your horse’s length by starting at the tip of the shoulder (just below the neck) and ending at the tip of the buttock.
If you feel the horse’s buttock carefully, you will feel a bony point.
This is where the tape measure should stop.
Use this equation to get your horse’s weight in kilograms:
Weight (kg)=(heart girth in cm * heart girth in cm * body length)/11,990.
For example, if your horse’s heart girth is 195 cm and it’s length is 183 cm, the equation would look like this: (195*195*183)/11,990 =
580.
Thus, your horse’s estimated weight is 580 kilograms.
If you want your horse’s weight in pounds, use this equation:
Weight (lbs)=(heart girth in inches * heart girth in inches* body length)/330.
For example, if your horse’s heart girth is 77 inches and it’s length is 71 inches, the equation would look like this: (77*77*71)/330 = 1,276.
Thus, the estimated weight of your horse is 1,276 pounds.
You can also use a weight tape that measures the weight of your horse based on their heart girth.
When you wrap this tape around the horse’s body at the heart girth, you will find the weight printed directly on the tape. , Though it is good to know your horse’s weight, it won’t necessarily give you an indication of whether your horse is too fat or too thin.
To determine this, you need to look at your horse’s “condition.” There are several ways that this can be done, but the most common system is known as the “Henneke Body Conditioning Score” or “BCS.”This scoring system uses a 1 to 9 system where a 1 refers to a horse that is extremely emaciated and 9 refers to a horse that is extremely obese.
A horse that is a 5 would be considered to be in good condition.
To use this system examine the amount of fat present on the loins and tailhead, ribs, elbow, shoulder, withers, and neck area.
In each area, a horse that is in good condition will not have visible bones, but these bones can be easily felt when you touch them.
For example on a well-conditioned horse, you shouldn’t be able to see the ribs, but you should be able to feel them easily if you run your hand along the ribcage. , Though you can determine your horse’s weight and condition on your own, it is a good idea to involve your veterinarian in the process.
A veterinarian is trained to keep your animal as healthy as possible, and they may have advice on what will be a healthy weight and condition for your horse.
For example, some breeds may not be able to be scored as accurately using the BCS, so your veterinarian might make other suggestions about how to measure condition.
You might ask your vet, “Does my horse’s breed tend to gain or lose weight easily?”, “Are there any tips you can give me about how to keep my horse in its optimal condition?”, “How often should I be weighing and checking my horse’s condition?” Your vet can also show you Henneke scoring and teach you how to score your horses properly. , When figuring out how much to feed your horse, it is important to consider the kind of lifestyle your horse needs.
A racehorse will obviously need more feed than a horse simply kept for pleasure.For example, a horse that you keep purely for pleasure probably doesn’t need any grain.
Instead, this horse just needs enough access to roughage. , For convenience reasons, many horse owners feed their horse by volume rather than by weight.
Unfortunately, though, this means that your horse could be getting a lot more (or a lot less) feed than they need.
The most accurate way to feed your horse is to weigh their feed.Generally speaking, a horse should eat 2 to
2.5 lbs (0.9 to
1.15 kilos) of feed each day per 100 pounds (45 kilos) of body weight.
However, this is just a rule of thumb, an older horse may need to eat more to keep weight on.
Very active horses might eat significantly more than this.
This is why it is important to discuss feed with your veterinarian.
If you feed your horse grain, you can start out by weighing it and then dumping it into whatever you want to use to measure out their feed on a daily basis.
Mark this feed container based on how much weighed grain is inside, and then you can simply fill the container up to the right place each day.
Remember to re-do this process if you switch to a different type of feed that likely has a different weight. -
Step 3: Determine your horse’s condition.
-
Step 4: Work with your veterinarian.
-
Step 5: Consider your horse’s lifestyle.
-
Step 6: Feed your horse by weight.
Detailed Guide
The most accurate way to determine your horse’s weight is to use a scale.
Obviously, though, most people don’t own a set of scales designed for large livestock.
You may be able to weigh your horse at your veterinarian’s office, or you may be able to have a local feed store lend you their scales.If you own a lot of horses, it may be worth investing in a set of horse scales.
These usually cost around 3,000 USD.
If you don’t have access to a set of scales, or if you want to calculate your horse’s weight in-between weighing, you can also use an equation that calculates the horse’s weight based on their body measurements.
If you are using the metric system, your measurements should be done in centimeters.
If you are using the imperial system you should take the measurements in inches.To do this, take your horse’s heart girth measurement just behind the horse’s elbow.
Lay the tape so it is about an inch behind the top of the withers and pass it underneath the horse so that it lines up just behind the elbow.
You will also need to measure your horse’s length by starting at the tip of the shoulder (just below the neck) and ending at the tip of the buttock.
If you feel the horse’s buttock carefully, you will feel a bony point.
This is where the tape measure should stop.
Use this equation to get your horse’s weight in kilograms:
Weight (kg)=(heart girth in cm * heart girth in cm * body length)/11,990.
For example, if your horse’s heart girth is 195 cm and it’s length is 183 cm, the equation would look like this: (195*195*183)/11,990 =
580.
Thus, your horse’s estimated weight is 580 kilograms.
If you want your horse’s weight in pounds, use this equation:
Weight (lbs)=(heart girth in inches * heart girth in inches* body length)/330.
For example, if your horse’s heart girth is 77 inches and it’s length is 71 inches, the equation would look like this: (77*77*71)/330 = 1,276.
Thus, the estimated weight of your horse is 1,276 pounds.
You can also use a weight tape that measures the weight of your horse based on their heart girth.
When you wrap this tape around the horse’s body at the heart girth, you will find the weight printed directly on the tape. , Though it is good to know your horse’s weight, it won’t necessarily give you an indication of whether your horse is too fat or too thin.
To determine this, you need to look at your horse’s “condition.” There are several ways that this can be done, but the most common system is known as the “Henneke Body Conditioning Score” or “BCS.”This scoring system uses a 1 to 9 system where a 1 refers to a horse that is extremely emaciated and 9 refers to a horse that is extremely obese.
A horse that is a 5 would be considered to be in good condition.
To use this system examine the amount of fat present on the loins and tailhead, ribs, elbow, shoulder, withers, and neck area.
In each area, a horse that is in good condition will not have visible bones, but these bones can be easily felt when you touch them.
For example on a well-conditioned horse, you shouldn’t be able to see the ribs, but you should be able to feel them easily if you run your hand along the ribcage. , Though you can determine your horse’s weight and condition on your own, it is a good idea to involve your veterinarian in the process.
A veterinarian is trained to keep your animal as healthy as possible, and they may have advice on what will be a healthy weight and condition for your horse.
For example, some breeds may not be able to be scored as accurately using the BCS, so your veterinarian might make other suggestions about how to measure condition.
You might ask your vet, “Does my horse’s breed tend to gain or lose weight easily?”, “Are there any tips you can give me about how to keep my horse in its optimal condition?”, “How often should I be weighing and checking my horse’s condition?” Your vet can also show you Henneke scoring and teach you how to score your horses properly. , When figuring out how much to feed your horse, it is important to consider the kind of lifestyle your horse needs.
A racehorse will obviously need more feed than a horse simply kept for pleasure.For example, a horse that you keep purely for pleasure probably doesn’t need any grain.
Instead, this horse just needs enough access to roughage. , For convenience reasons, many horse owners feed their horse by volume rather than by weight.
Unfortunately, though, this means that your horse could be getting a lot more (or a lot less) feed than they need.
The most accurate way to feed your horse is to weigh their feed.Generally speaking, a horse should eat 2 to
2.5 lbs (0.9 to
1.15 kilos) of feed each day per 100 pounds (45 kilos) of body weight.
However, this is just a rule of thumb, an older horse may need to eat more to keep weight on.
Very active horses might eat significantly more than this.
This is why it is important to discuss feed with your veterinarian.
If you feed your horse grain, you can start out by weighing it and then dumping it into whatever you want to use to measure out their feed on a daily basis.
Mark this feed container based on how much weighed grain is inside, and then you can simply fill the container up to the right place each day.
Remember to re-do this process if you switch to a different type of feed that likely has a different weight.
About the Author
Donna Reynolds
Creates helpful guides on creative arts to inspire and educate readers.
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