Horse Body Condition Scoring: All You Need to Know

It’s essential to know your horse’s weight as it can help to inform many things, such as worming or medication dosages, but looking at this in isolation is not a very good indication of physical health. As horses are so different, there is no set in stone weight recommendations for a particular horse and what may look like a healthy weight on one, may appear obese on another. Monitoring your horse’s body condition score is often far more useful to determine whether they’re under or overweight and to give a good indication of their overall physical health.

What is a horse condition score?

Horse body condition scoring is a way to look at your horse’s overall fat covering and determine whether or not they’re a healthy weight. Most condition scores follow the 0 – 5 scale with 0 being emaciated and 5 obese, but some score systems go from 1 – 9. It doesn’t matter which system you follow, but you should use the same one consistently to make sure you’re measuring effectively.

We recommend body condition scoring your horse every month and weigh taping every two weeks. Record each score and weight and use this to monitor and track your horse’s weight and condition throughout the year. This is one of the most effective methods of preventing problems before they arise.

How to body condition score your horse

When body scoring, divide into three areas: the neck and shoulders, middle and quarters. This is the best way to score as most horses carry fat unevenly on their bodies, for example, some may appear slim on the body and then carry a hard cresty neck and/or guttered rump.

Tips for horse body condition scoring:

• Fat will feel spongy beneath your fingertips whereas muscle will be firmer. You should be able to see muscles and feel where the bones are.
• Overweight horses will likely have a hard crest that may rock side to side when they walk, the neck may be thickened too.
• There should be barely any fat covering the withers and backbone, you should be able to feel these beneath the skin. Fat can build up on either side of the spine which is what can give horses a gutter-like appearance.
• There should be a clear definition around the shoulder blade, fat can sometimes fill in the hollow at the front of the shoulder and build up as a pad behind the shoulder.
• Ribs should be felt but not seen, there should be a little bit of fat between the ribs but not over them. If your horse is extremely fit, it’s not uncommon for the ribs to be slightly visible.
• You should be able to see the definition in the bony points of the pelvis, these should be easy to feel too.
• The quarters should slope down, in overweight horses an ‘M’ shape with a gutter along the backbone can be seen which is due to a large layer of fat.
• Lift the tail and look at the inner thighs to see if there’s a layer of fat built up there, the thighs on fat or obese horses may touch.

Horse body condition score

Our horse body condition score below goes from a 0 – emaciated to a 5 – obese. Remember to look at the neck and shoulders, middle and quarters separately as this will give you a more accurate reading. You may need to average your score if your horse carries weight unevenly.

0 – Emaciated

• No fatty tissue can be felt anywhere
• Skin looks tight over the bones
• Individual bone shapes are visible
• Prominent backbone and pelvis
• The rump appears very sunken
• Marked ewe-neck
• Deep cavity under the tail
• A large gap can be seen between the thighs

1 – Very Thin

• Hardly any fatty tissue
• Skin slightly more supple
• The shape of individual bones are visible
• Narrow ewe-neck
• Ribs are easily visible
• Prominent backbone, croup, and tail head
• Rump appears sunken
• Cavity can be seen under tail
• Gap between thighs

2 – Lean

• A thin layer of fat can be felt beneath the skin
• Narrow neck with sharply defined muscles
• Backbone covered with a thin layer of fat but still protruding
• Withers, shoulders, and neck appear accentuated
• Ribs are just visible
• Hip bones are easily visible but appear more rounded
• Rump sloping from backbone to point of hips, may be rounded if very fit

3 – Healthy Weight

• A thin layer of fat can be felt beneath the skin
• Muscles on the neck appear less defined
• Shoulders and neck blend smoothly into the body
• The back is flat or forms a slight ridge
• Ribs aren’t visible but can be easily felt
• The rump appears more rounded
• Hip bones are just visible

4 – Fat

• Muscles are hard to see beneath a layer of fat
• Spongy feeling fat developing on the crest
• Fat deposits along the withers, behind shoulders and along the neck
• Ribs covered by spongy fat
• Well-rounded rump
• Spongy fat around the tailhead
• A gutter can be seen from behind and the rump may look apple-shaped

5 – Obese

• The horse’s overall appearance looks blocky or bloated
• Muscles are not visible at all and are covered by a large layer of fat
• Identifiable crest with hard fat
• Pads of fat along the withers, behind shoulders and over ribs, bones can’t be felt
• Obvious gutter along the back and rump
• Flank filled in flush
• Lumps of fat around tailhead
• Bulging apple-shaped rump
• Inner thighs pressing together

Ideally, all horses should be at around a 3 on the condition score chart. If your horse is over this, immediate action needs to be taken as numerous health issues can arise as a result of being overweight. If your horse is below a 3 and not competition fit, it’s a good idea to speak to your vet to check for underlying conditions and help you develop a plan to get your horse back to a healthy weight and condition.

Horses that are prone to laminitis should never be allowed to be more than a 3-body condition score. Chronic laminitics should stay at around a condition score of 2.5 and you should be able to see their ribs.

That’s our guide on horse body condition scoring! Want to learn more about caring for your horse? Read our article on the common equine digestive issues, next.