Topic:Body Condition Score
Body Condition Score (BCS) is a numerical system used to assess the amount of fat on a horse's body. It provides an estimate of a horse's overall body fat and is used to evaluate nutritional status and health. The BCS system typically ranges from 1 to 9, with 1 indicating an extremely emaciated horse and 9 representing an extremely obese horse. This scoring method involves a visual and tactile assessment of specific areas on the horse, such as the neck, withers, ribs, and tailhead. Accurate BCS evaluation helps in the management of feeding programs and in identifying potential health issues related to undernutrition or overnutrition. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the methodology, application, and implications of Body Condition Scoring in equine management and health assessment.
Physiological responses of horses competing at a modified 1 star 3-day-event. The impending 1996 summer Olympic 3-day-event in Atlanta has focused attention on the need to determine what modifications to the demanding Endurance Test will be required to ensure safety of the horses competing. Three groups of horses participated in a Field Trial held in August of 1994 in northern Georgia to determine the safety and feasibility of conducting a modified 3-day-event in hot, humid weather. One group (TD) completed a modified 1 Star 3-day-event test, a control group (HT) completed a Horse Trial identical to the modified 1 Star test except for the omission of Phases B and C and ...
Physiological effects of shortening steeplechase in a 3-day-event. Various methods for modifying the Speed and Endurance portion (Day 2) of the 3-day-event have been proposed to aid horses in dealing with the hot and humid conditions expected during the next Olympic 3-day-events in Atlanta, Georgia USA in 1996. This study was designed to characterise the effects of shortening the distance required during the steeplechase (Phase B) in the face of Atlanta-like hot and humid weather conditions. Eight conditioned Thoroughbred horses (mean +/- s.e.m. age 3.75 years, range 3-5 years) underwent 3 randomised permutations of a standardised exercise test on a high spee...
Yield and composition of milk from lactating mares: effect of body condition at foaling. The yield and composition of milk from nursing mares were studied during the first 2 months of lactation in two groups of six and five saddle mares respectively made thin or fat before foaling, then fed ad lib. post partum. Milk yield did not significantly vary with body condition (16.5 and 15.4 kg/d for fat and thin mares respectively). Milk from fat mares had a higher fat content than milk from thin mares; the reverse was found for protein. The composition of milk fat was modified: milk of fat mares was poorer in short- and medium-chain fatty acids (C8-C14). Milk fat output was affected by b...
Effects of dehydration on thermoregulatory responses of horses during low-intensity exercise. Effects of dehydration on thermoregulatory and metabolic responses were studied in six horses during 40 min of exercise eliciting approximately 40% of maximal O2 consumption and for 30 min after exercise. Horses were exercised while euhydrated (C), 4 h after administration of furosemide (FDH; 1.0 mg/kg i.v.) to induce isotonic dehydration, and after 30 h without water (DDH) to induce hypertonic dehydration. Cardiac output was significantly lower in FDH (144.1 +/- 8.0 l/min) and in DDH (156.6 +/- 6.9 l/min) than in C (173.1 +/- 6.2 l/min) after 30 min of exercise. When DDH, FDH, and C values we...
The body condition of feral ponies on Assateague Island. The summer body condition of 47 adult feral ponies on Assateague Island (off the coast of Maryland, USA) was assessed in June 1988 using a visual body condition scoring system. Winter body condition for 36 of the ponies was assessed in February and March, 1989. The ponies were categorised by gender, reproductive status and location on the island, and body condition scores of the ponies in each category were then compared by statistical analyses. No significant seasonal differences were found in the body conditions of the ponies. However, body condition of stallions was better than that of mare...
Common horse sense. This research article corrects a common misconception about the energy metabolism in horses during short sprinting and long-distance running events, emphasizing that short sprints are primarily powered by anaerobic activity, […]
Accuracy of prediction of the liveweight of horses from body measurements. Fifty-three horses, all but two of them over two years of age and varying in type, sex and liveweight (230 to 707 kg) were weighed and seven different body measurements were recorded in duplicate by a single operator. The best overall prediction of liveweight using an equation with two variables was found to be: liveweight (kg) = (umbilical girth [cm])1.78 X (length of body from tuber ischii to elbow [cm]0.97/3011). This equation had an adjusted R2 value of 94.9 per cent and was derived from the pooled data, because differences of sex, type and weight did not significantly affect the relations...
Growth performance of yearling horses grazing bermudagrass pastures at different grazing pressures. Body weight gains and height at the withers were measured in yearling geldings grazing bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon [L.] Pers.) pastures with neither energy nor protein feed supplementation at stocking rates of 6.7, 8.0, 9.5 and 12.4 yearlings per hectare. Weekly forage samples were taken to estimate the quantity and quality of available forage. These samples were clipped and separated into three equal lengths to characterize upper, middle and lower thirds of the canopy and to determine relationships between available forage and yearling growth rate. Average daily gain was influenced by stoc...
Fat cell size in various body region. A statistical analysis in Equus caballus. In 13 horses from both sexes, between 5 months and 18 years of age, in good nutritional state, statistical evaluations of fat cell sizes were performed in 16 body regions. From direct and indirect measurements referred to the cell diameter and cell number in equivalent areas, carried out on sections from paraffin embedded material and on preparations of dissociated whole cells, it emerged that the adipose cells of the subserous fat of the abdominal floor are consistently the largest, whereas those of the orbital fat body and supraorbital fossa are the smallest. In the other regions the cells h...
Body condition scoring and weight estimation of horses. Three hundred and seventy two horses of varying breeds, height and fatness were weighed and measured for height at the withers. They were assessed for condition score by adaptation of a previously published method. The heart girth and length of 281 of the horses were also measured. Weight of horses was highly correlated (P less than 0.001) with height (r2 = 0.62), condition score (r2 = 0.22) and girth2 x length (r2 = 0.90). Nomograms were constructed to predict weight from height and condition score, and girth and length measurements. Weight can also be accurately estimated from the formula: (...
Digestion in horses after resection or ischemic insult of the large colon. The effect of 60% resection of the large colon vs ischemic insult without resection on the ability of horses to digest grass hay was investigated. Digestion trials were performed on 9 horses before surgery (base line) and 3 weeks, 6 weeks, and 6 months after surgery. The percentage of apparent digestion of crude protein, crude fiber, nitrogen-free extract, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, and zinc was calculated. Horses that had resection (n = 5) had decreased apparent digestion of crude protein, crude fiber, and phosphorus 3 weeks after surgery, compared with those in horses...
Composition of milk from pony mares fed various levels of digestible energy. Twenty-two pony mares were fed one of three diets that provided 93.0, 74.8 or 57.2 kcal of digestible energy (DE) per kg body weight per day. Milk samples were taken at 14 day intervals. A total of five samples were taken from each mare. The samples were analyzed for total solids, crude protein, lactose, total lipids, ash, calcium and phosphorus. Gross energy was calculated from composition data. Increases in energy intake decreased the concentration of total solids, protein, fat and gross energy of mare's milk. Energy intake had a greater influence on the mare's body condition than on milk en...
Influence of level of feeding and nutrient content of the concentrate on growth and development of yearling horses. Three experiments using 63 Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse yearlings were conducted to evaluate the influence of level of feeding, and protein and calculated energy content of pelleted concentrates on growth and bone development. Animals were housed in drylot paddocks and individually fed concentrates twice daily. Coastal bermudagrass (Cynodon dyctylon) hay was group-fed. Yearlings offered a corn-based concentrate (3.56 Mcal digestible energy [DE]/kg) consumed levels of dry matter similar to yearlings fed a mixed-grain concentrate (3.32 Mcal DE/kg but consumed slightly more digestible energy. N...