Horses Are Scored Hooks and Pins Are Prominent
SPECIAL REPORT BCS A USEFUL TOOL Don Henneke’s nine-point scale takes the guesswork out of evaluating equine body fat levels. he body condition score (BCS) Score: 1 (Poor) Score: 2 (Very thin) system offers an objective • Extreme emaciation. • Emaciated. method of estimating a horse’s • Spinous processes, ribs, tailhead, and • Thin layer of fat over base of spinous body fat levels. hooks and pins are prominent. processes. TDeveloped 25 years ago by Don • Bone structure of withers, shoulder and • Transverse processes of lumbar Henneke, PhD, as part of his doctoral neck is easily noticeable. vertebrae feel rounded. research, the BCS scale ranges from 1 • No fatty tissue can be felt. • Spinous processes, ribs, tailhead, and (poor) to 9 (obese). Horses are scored hooks and pins are prominent. based on visual and hands-on appraisal • Withers, shoulders and neck structures of six body areas where fat tends to are faintly discernable. accumulate in a predictable pattern (see diagram below). At right is an illustrated guide to the BCS system. Each score is accompa- nied by the notable physical attributes GETTING FAT: Horses develop body fat in described in Henneke’s original BCS a predictable pattern, starting behind the research. The key terms used include: shoulder, moving back over the ribs, up over • crease---a “gutter” over the spine the rump and finally along the back forward created by fat buildup on either side of to the neck and head. A horse’s BCS is the bone. based on an appraisal of fat accumulation • hooks---the pel- in these areas.
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