How Use Body Condition to Know if Your Horse Is Eating Enough
How can you tell if your horse is eating enough?
Well… happily, this is one of these easiest things to assess in horse nutrition because you can actually SEE if your horse is eating enough and getting enough feed by using body condition scoring.
If your horse is getting enough feed, he will maintain his weight. If he is not getting enough, he will lose weight. Or if he is getting too much, he will gain weight. Simple, huh?
The trick is assessing this consistently so you can adjust how much you are feeding as weight changes. To assess weight gain or loss we use the Henneke Body Condition Scoring System. We have detailed information on using this simple system here.
It’s a quick and easy way to get a better understanding of your horse’s overall body condition and whether or not they’re the right amount.
Get in the habit of running your hands over your horses and mentally assessing condition. You will find in a very short space of time you will start to pick up small changes in body condition that might alert you to the fact your horse may need an adjustment in his feed program.
Here’s a neat (and very colorful) little cheat sheet that you might like to keep handy as well.
Do you have a question or comment? Do you need help with feeding?
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