How to Assess the Healthy Weight For A Horse

Without compromising the nutrition the horse needs, the too fat horse will need to lose weight. This is best done gradually, because just like people, horses can develop health problems if weight is lost too quickly. Horses still need grass or hay, but in smaller quantities at frequent intervals. Leaving a horse with an empty stomach can also lead to equine ulcers. Breeds like Quarter Horses and most ponies that are ‘easy keepers’ can become too fat very easily.

Too Skinny

A too skinny horse will be bony, and muscle definition will be the only contour. On a very skinny horse, even the muscles will waste away, so the horse looks sunken and gaunt. It’s easy to confuse a too skinny horse with a horse in very fit, muscular condition like race horses and long distance horses. These horses do not carry very much body fat, but their muscles are well defined and strong. The too skinny horse may look ewe necked, the withers may appear very pronounced and the spine may be easily felt beneath the skin. The ribs and hip bones may be sharply visible and easily felt and the haunches appear sunken.

Horses become too thin for a number of reasons including lack of food, stress or illness. It’s important to discover why a horse is skinny, in order to provide the right feeds or treatment. If a stressed horse also has ulcers, the environment needs to be changed and the ulcers treated. Mares that are nursing foals can lose weight rapidly, especially when mothering happens when heat and biting insects are at their height. Some breeds like Thoroughbreds and Arabians can be ‘hard keepers’ and may become ‘too skinny’ easily.