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The Horse |
Body Scoring |
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Body
scoring is a method of describing the horse's physical condition through
assigning a 'score', usually from 0 to 5. There are a number of
variations of body scoring methods, with some going from 1-10 or using
some other numbering system but each generally looks at a number of
points on the horse's body, such as the backbone, tail head, hips and ribs and makes an
assessment based on the amount of fat at each place and then looking at
the overall condition. Body Scoring can give you a better idea of the general fitness, health and nutritional requirements of your horse than simple weight tapes. The following body scores are from the Australian Method of Body Scoring. 0 Very Poor 2 Moderate flat rump either side of backbone ribs just visible narrow but firm neck backbone well covered
3 Good rounded rump ribs just covered - able to be felt but not seen firm neck but no crest (excludes stallions)4 Fat rump well rounded gutter along back ribs and pelvis hard to feel slight crest
5 Very Fat Very bulging rump deep gutter along back ribs buried marked crest folds of fat
To view more examples and a
slight variation on this bodyscore system (with more classifications)
view this excellent page (with photos)
How to Condition Score Horses by Susan
Evans Garlinghouse
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Virtually Horses 2004