By Kentucky Equine Research Staff

A new tool, called the body condition index (BCI), provides more consistent and repeatable measures of percent body fat than traditional body condition scoring (BCS). The BCI seems particularly suited to all horse owners, even inexperienced ones.

Currently, BCS is a widely recommended tool for assessing body fat (adiposity) in horses. The Henneke scale, one of the most widely used BCS systems, ranges from 1 to 9, with horses in moderate body condition designated a score of 5. Other BCS systems use a 0-5 scale.

“Body condition scoring is subjective, which means individuals assessing the same horse may assign different scores. Most evaluators correctly identify underweight horses, but differences are observed more frequently when assessing overweight or obese horses,” explained Catherine Whitehouse, M.S., a nutrition advisor for Kentucky Equine Research.

She added, “Owners may also be reluctant to admit their horse is overweight or in a state of positive energy balance. They then assign a lower BCS to fit into the generally accepted healthy range of 5 to 6.”

Further, studies reported that many horse owners find the BCS system too technical and have only a fair ability to judge BCS even after being given instructions.

“Considering how important it is for horses to maintain optimal body condition, reliable and accurate measures of adiposity are needed,” Whitehouse said.

Using mathematical methods and morphometric measurements, researchers developed a formula that correlates to percent body fat.* They called this the body condition index, which is based on measuring heart girth, belly girth, neck circumference, height, and body length.

In other words, the BCI measures the horse’s body circumference based on simple readings from a tape measure. This is in stark contrast to relying on vision or palpation when measuring BCS, which are highly subjective.

After developing the BCI, it was then applied to large numbers of horses and ponies by both trained and inexperienced evaluators and compared to the BCS.

The main finding was that the variability of these measurements by inexperienced assessors was higher (14%) for the BCS than the BCI (11%). This means that the BCI, as an objective measure of percent body fat, should be more consistent and reproducible when performed by horse owners.

“Having a more accurate assessment of adiposity is doubly important when we consider that many owners already underestimate their horses’ body condition and that subtle changes in condition over time can be challenging to identify,” Whitehouse said.

In sum, the researchers concluded that the BCI was more consistent and reliable than BCS, particularly for the inexperienced evaluators who were final-year veterinary students and therefore considered to have comparable skill to horse owners. “Using a BCI may be more beneficial and sensitive than BCS for tracking weight gain or weight loss,” relayed Whitehouse.

Recognizing that a horse is overweight will allow management strategies to be put in place to avoid obesity-related diseases such as equine metabolic syndrome, insulin dysregulation, and hyperinsulinemia-associated laminitis.

“The key to weight loss involves reducing caloric intake while providing a complete and balanced diet. Unrestricted pasture access is usually the main reason for weight gain, followed by high-calorie forages and feeds oversupplying calories based on the horse’s life stage or workload,” Whitehouse said. “Increasing exercise in sound horses in tandem with dietary changes can also induce weight loss.”

Whitehouse added, “Effective weight-loss programs combine strict dietary management with exercise, often utilizing a highly concentrated vitamin and mineral supplement to deliver key nutrients to support health and wellness in a low-calorie form.”

Check out Body Condition Resources for more information on weight management and body condition scoring.

Read more: Body Condition Index: New Tool for Objectively Assessing Body Fat in Horses

The five amazing gaits of the Icelandic horse, including "tölt" and flying pace.

The horses of Iceland are a so-called gaited horse breed. This means that most Icelandic horses have two extra gaits to offer besides walk, trot and canter/gallop. All horse breeds have these three natural gaits and can perform them without training. The extra gaits that set the Icelandic horse apart from other breeds are called tölt and flying pace. The extra gaits are natural and new-born foals frequently show them right from the start.

TÖLT
Tölt is the unique four-beat lateral gait, that the breed is best known for. The horse’s hind legs should move well under the body and carry more of the weight on the hind end, allowing the front to rise and be free and loose. Tölt is very smooth to ride since there is no suspension between strides, as is the case in trot or canter, and it can be ridden very slowly up to a very fast speed, depending on the horse.

FLYING PACE
The flying pace is the “fifth gear”, offering a two-beat lateral movement with suspension. This gait is ridden very fast, even used for racing and only for short distances, 100-200 metres usually. Not all Icelandic horses can pace, but those that manage all five gaits well are considered the best of the breed.

Read more: 5 Gaits of the Icelandic Horse (2:24)