The Henneke Body Condition Scoring System rates horses on a scale of ... May have crease down back; individual ribs can
Body Condition Scoring Your Horse Body condition scoring is a means of estimating the amount of fat cover on a horse’s body. When the amount of energy a horse consumes exceeds his nutritional requirement, the excess energy is stored as fat. Adipose (fat) tissue remains in place until the horse’s energy requirement exceeds energy intake. At that point, the fat will be broken down and utilized. As a result, body condition scoring can be a useful tool for evaluating feed programs and management practices. It provides horse owners and equine professionals a more descriptive method of communicating about a horse’s condition. The Henneke Body Condition Scoring System rates horses on a scale of 1 (poor) to 9 (extremely fat) based on visual appraisal and palpation of fat deposition in six key areas (Figure 1). A description of each score is detailed in Table 1.
Figure 1: Areas of interest when assessing body condition in horses. It is important to palpate each area, as a long hair coat can often be misleading. The scoring system can be used for all breeds and classes of horses.
A
B
C
D
Figure 2: Horses of various body condition scores. BCS of A=1, B=3, C=5, and D=8.
Ideal body condition ranges from 4 to 7 and depends on the horse’s job. For instance, the ideal condition of most performance horses is 4 to 5; maintenance and growing horses should be between 5 and 6. Broodmares entering the breeding season need to be around 6, and increase to 7 as they near foaling, given the increase in nutrient requirements associated with fetal development and milk production.
Thin horses tend to have diminished immune function and poor reproductive efficiency. While many people agree that maintaining horses at a BCS of 1, 2, or 3 is unhealthy, maintaining horses with a BCS of 8 or 9 can also be harmful. Due to their excessive weight, these horses are often predisposed to many metabolic issues, including colic, laminitis, insulin resistance, and equine metabolic syndrome. Body condition can be changed by increasing or decreasing the energy content of a horse’s diet, relative to the horse’s energy expenditure. Feeding horses that are at a BCS at either extreme (1, 2, 3, 8, or 9) can be challenging; it’s often best to visit with an equine nutritionist to develop an appropriate feeding program for these horses.
Table 1: Description of individual body condition scores (Henneke et al., 1983).
Score
Description
Poor
Animal extremely emaciated; spine, ribs, tailhead, hooks and pins projecting prominently; bone structure of withers, shoulders, and neck easily noticeable, no fatty tissue can be felt
②
Very Thin
Animal emaciated; slight fat covering over base of spine; transverse processes of lumbar vertebrae feel rounded; spine, ribs, tailhead, hooks and pins prominent; withers, shoulders, and neck structure faintly discernible
③
Thin
Fat buildup about halfway on spine; tranverse processes cannot be felt; slight fat covered over ribs; spine and ribs easily discernible; pins not distinguishable; withers, shoulders and neck accentuated
④
Moderately Thin
Slight ridge along back; faint outline of ribs discernible; tailhead prominence depends on conformation, fat can be felt around it; hooks not discernible; withers, shoulders and neck not obviously thin
⑤
Moderate
Back is flat (no crease or ridge); ribs not visually distinguishable but easily felt; fat around tailhead beginning to feel spongy; withers appear rounded over spine; shoulders and neck blend smoothly into body
⑥
Moderately Fleshy
May have slight crease down back; fat over ribs spongy; fat around tailhead soft; fat beginning to be deposited along the side of the withers, behind shoulders, and along sides of neck
⑦
Fleshy
May have crease down back; individual ribs can be felt, but noticeable filling between ribs with fat; fat around tailhead soft; fat deposited along withers behind shoulders, and along neck
⑧
Fat
Crease down back; difficult to feel ribs; fat around tailhead very soft; area along withers filled with fat; area behind shoulder filled with fat; noticeable thickening of neck; fat deposited along inner thighs
⑨
Extremely Fat
Obvious crease down back; patchy fat appearing over ribs, bulging fat around tailhead, along withers, behind shoulders, and along neck; fat along inner thighs may rub together; flank filled with fat
①
References: Henneke, D., G. Potter, J. Kreider, and B. Yates. 1983. Relationship between condition score, physical measurements and body fat percentage in mares. Equine Veterinary Journal, 15:371-372. NRC. 2007. Nutrient requirements of horses. 6th rev. ed. National Academy Press, Washington, DC. Prepared by J. E. Earing, PhD., Nutritionist at Tennessee Farmers Cooperative
