Book Excerpt: How to Assess Body Condition
In 1983, Dr. Don Henneke, a graduate student at Texas A&M University, was working on a study of conception rates in mares, depending on body weight. He needed a precise method to gauge the overall physical condition of the mares so they could be divided into classifications, such as "average," "thin" and "overweight." Within the thin and overweight classifications, he further required a system to determine which mares were "slightly" thin or overweight, "moderately" thin or overweight, and to those who were emaciated or obese. What he came up with is the Henneke Body Condition (HBC) Scoring Chart, which rates the condition of a horse regardless of breed, age or sex.
The HBC Scoring Chart is now used throughout the country to objectively describe the condition of horses. Law-enforcement agencies often use HBC scores when obtaining a warrant to seize horses and in court cases to demonstrate neglect. Rescues and humane societies routinely record HBC scores upon an animal's arrival and use them as a baseline to track his progress throughout rehabilitation. Breeding farms, veterinary clinics and university horse programs also use HBC scores to quantitatively identify the condition of horses upon arrival at their facilities.
At Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society in Rosharon, Texas, we frequently use HBC scores. When a new horse comes into the rescue, we record their body-condition score (BCS). The foster homes of horses that are undergoing rehabilitation submit monthly reports to our horse coordinator that include photographs and updated HBC scores. This allows us to track how much each horse improves from month to month, and to identify those that aren't progressing as quickly as expected.
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When one of our volunteers performs a post-adoption or foster followup home visit, she assigns a BCS to each horse. For our foster homes, this helps to ensure that they're submitting adequate body-condition scores during their monthly reports. If a horse's condition fails to improve as expected, or his score decreases, our coordinator can discuss the horse's care with the foster home or adopter, or make an appointment to have a veterinarian examine the horse. In the worst cases, a decreasing BCS may indicate that we need to move the horse to a new home.
Our volunteers also use HBC scores when working with law enforcement. During a neglect or abuse investigation, our investigators assign body-condition scores to every horse on the reported property. When HBC scores are low enough to show neglect, we then present that information along with photographs of the animals to law-enforcement officers, and request that the authorities obtain a warrant to seize the horses and any other equines. During an actual seizure, each horse is caught, assigned a case number, photographed, and then given an HBC score before being loaded into a trailer and transported to a holding facility.
In court, HBC scores are presented along with a description of the scoring system to quantifiably demonstrate neglect. Even when judges or jury members lack knowledge about proper horse care, once the scoring system has been explained to them, they can understand that a horse with a low score is underweight and suffering from neglect.
How This System Works
The HBC scoring chart divides a horse's body into six major parts: neck, withers, shoulder, ribs, loins and tailhead. Each area is rated from a 1 (extremely poor) to 9 (extremely fat or obese). A scoring chart provides a description for each score (1-9), for each area of the horse's body. For example, when the bone structure of a horse's neck is easily visible it earns a BCS of 1; when bulging with fat it scores a 9. Scores are assigned after visual assessment, as well as palpation of the area when possible. (Sometimes it's not possible to palpate wild horses or those that have been severely abused and are unwilling to be touched.) When horses have long hair coats, those assigning body-condition scores must palpate the horses because long hair can obscure a horse's condition. If you can't touch them, you have to visually assess them but know that your scores are likely higher than normal since you cannot touch the horse to see what's underneath the long hair.
Scores for all six areas are totaled and divided by six to give an overall BCS. Horses with a BCS near 1.0 are often referred to as "walking skeletons" because most of their bone structure is easily visible even from a distance. Horses who receive a score of 8 to 9 are obese, with visible bulges and rolls of fat. A BCS of 5.0 is ideal, although scores between 4 and 6 are acceptable. Horses that score over a 7.0 are in danger of health problems, such as laminitis, joint problems and colic. Racehorses, endurance horses and others that are involved in demanding disciplines may score around 4.0--they appear very lean but well-muscled. Horses with a BCS under 4.0 are considered neglected, and those with a BCS of 1 to 2 are in critical need of intervention. Courts throughout the United States accept HBC scores as a means of demonstrating neglect and will often remove horses that score below 3.0 from their owners.
While some horse owners claim that mares that are in foal, nursing a foal or recently weaned a foal, have reason to be in less-than-ideal body condition, the Henneke Body Condition Scoring Chart doesn't make allowances for this. Additionally, many people argue that it's normal for aged horses to be in lower body condition, but HBC scoring doesn't allow for differences by age either. The fact is that horse owners may simply need to supply aged horses, pregnant mares and nursing mares with additional food or supplements to help them maintain their weight.
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