Skinny on Fugly

Sometimes I agree with the FHOTD blogger.

Sometimes I don't.

Today, I'm not so sure I can agree with both her assessment and some of her readers' assessments on this horse:



Comments:

"Are you one of the ignoramuses who thinks it's skinny because it's old and that's normal? ... why DIDN'T the judge and/or show management tell these people they could not show this horse? ... If you don't have the money to feed/vet/figure out WHY the horse is so thin AND FIX IT, you don't have the money to compete!"

"Yeah and look at the lard-ass family! Obviously THEY aren't going through a food shortage. ... Maybe the family has been eating the horse's feed and that's why they're fat and the horse is skinny? ... But the fact that they're overweight is even MORE brutal because some fat kid is going to be bouncing off the back of that emaciated animal."

"to all the 'leave the fat people alone' people- If it were just a picture of some fat people, perhaps I would agree and say leave them fat slobs alone. BUT IT IS NOT just a picture of fat people, it is a picture of several people who eat VERY well standing next to, and having just competed with, a STARVING HORSE.."

Among those respondents whom I agree with:

"Before one judges people solely based on weight, one should first thank god they don't have any medical condition which would affect their skinny ass."

Preferences

Generally speaking ...

• I'd rather see a horse a little overweight than a little underweight.
• I'd rather see a horse a little underweight than a lot overweight.
• I'd rather see a horse a lot overweight than a lot underweight.

But ideally, I like to see horses at a healthy weight.

Sometimes, that means work.
Money, too, perhaps—but mostly research and effort.

A day at the 4-H Fair

Walked through the horse barns at the local fair the other day.

Most horses — and I was actually a little bit surprised by this — were in really good weight.

Many, more than half, had a mild "crease" down the center of the rump that showed they were certainly not malnourished. There was nothing I would call obese. No disgusting fat bubbles.

There were a few that were on the thin side of average. Nothing I'd go calling the police about. Overall health and attitude of the horse reflected alertness, maybe a little nervousness. The stress of a week away from home in a crowded barn with tie stalls and hundreds of kids and adults coming through at all hours is pretty rough on a horse that is pulled out of the pasture once a year for this.

There was one horse, however, I would have talked to the owner about if I'd been able to locate him or her. I had a few questions about this animal's condition:

Now, you don't really see any ribs. I don't consider whether or not you can see ribs a very good indication of whether or not a horse is in good condition, because just like an overweight woman can be apple shaped or pear shaped, an overweight horse might show ribs, and an underweight horse might not ... you have to look at more factors. High withers are also a fairly common conformation issue rather than a clear indicator of condition.

What gives me concern is the pronounced spine at the top of the rump and tailhead area. The rump of a horse in good weight is generally flat or somewhat convex from the spine to the point of hip. When you see a dip as shown, and a sharp slope away from the spine at the top of the rump, there is reason for concern. I don't often see a "high spine" as a common saddle-fitting issue ... narrow shoulder, high wither, narrow back, no withers ... but not pronounced, bony spine. (Except in the case of my fattie, poster child of the Obese HOTD blog. Of course.)


Now, the overall health of this animal appears fine, and the exhibitor was not sent home, so the horse must have been able to perform soundly. I would not be surprised if the judge made a comment to the rider.

Some may comment that a horse in this condition should not be ridden. That is an opinion that you are welcome to share. I'd like to know more before I pass such strict judgment.

I would not support a "midnight rescue operation" or anything of that nature that is often suggested by those who believe that only their own horses have valid reasons for being imperfect.

I would not offer virtual high-fives to those who proclaim that we should STARVE the owners and see how they like it. Personally, I find comments that wish pain, harm and death to other humans offensive.

Well, except when they are made as ignorant YouTube comments to my horseback riding videos — users claim they would like to see ME saddled, whipped and spurred instead of the horse — in which case I find them highly entertaining, considering you won't see a spur or crop anywhere near my TWH because I'd like to live, thankyouverymuch.

Peace.

Skinny article

Check out this indepth (quite long) article on caring for the skinny horse in the herd.

An excerpt:

Some horses are metabolically inclined to be hard keepers while others have medical, psychological or environmental reasons for having difficulty in maintaining weight. Increasing the caloric intake of a horse is not problematic if careful attention is paid to the feedstuffs offered to the horse. Manipulation of the amount and variety of energy sources will often achieve the ideal body condition on the hard keeper.

repost: The skinny on skinny.

This is a post I made on another blog last November.

This is a skinny horse:

He is trim, but healthy and well fed. He filled out nicely on pasture, and stopped dropping grain after his teeth were floated. This is a summer photo, after taking him out of a dry lot where he shared a free-choice round bale of hay with another horse. He had to be gradually introduced to green grass, to prevent colic or founder. He had a nice protective fat layer by winter. His hooves were long, but he was sound.

This is a skinny horse:

This is a Saddlebred mare. I do not know how she came to find herself at Horses Haven rescue, but I am sure glad she did. Much more emaciated than this, and the only kind thing to do is euthanasia. Desperately malnourished horses do not always respond to attempts to "fatten them up" as their organs have already started to lose function. I think this horse wants to live.

This is a skinny horse.

While you can clearly see her ribs, her overall body condition does not look critical. She needs good food and good weather. She looks very typical of an aged horse having wintered outdoors during a harsh Michigan winter. There is a shine on her coat and a gleam in her eye. She probably looks like a different horse in the summer and fall.

This is a skinny horse.

For a young horse to be in this kind of shape in September, it must have not had access to the summer's green grass. The hooves have been neglected, and the bloated belly is a tell-tale sign of intestinal parasites; with the ribs showing, I'd guess an overload of them. The legs should straighten out some with corrective trimming. I would have to assume he had limited turn-out as hooves should wear down differently with exercise. His overall depressed look and dull coat is another sign of poor health. As he is young, he has the potential to fully recover with proper care.

Well, they're ALL skinny... so which one(s) should be taken away from their owners?

Skinny is subjective. What's your definition of skinny?

Some breeds are naturally more skinny than others, same with bloodlines within a breed, or types within a discipline.

Athletic horses tend to be more skinny, as do hot ones.

Acceptably skinny looks different with an older horse than with a younger, growing one.

Emaciated is never okay, for any breed.

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