Welcome! The intro ...

I'm noticing more and more lately that some people tend to think that horses that are even slightly on the thin side of average are dangerously underweight and neglected.

I don't get this.

Should horses really be FAT, at any time of year? Any more than we should?

I'm going to pull some information from a PDF I recently downloaded. It does not use the Henneke Scale but a different model that rates a horse between 1 and 5.

"Average" weight for a "typical" 15hh horse:

• Score 1 - 860 lb - poor
• Score 2 - 925 lb - moderate
• Score 3 - 1015 lb - good
• Score 4 - 1180 lb - fat
• Score 5 - 1345 lb - very fat

"Typical" body score by "class" of horse:

• endurance racehorse - 1.5-2.5
• sprint racehorse - 2.0-2.5
• harness racehorse - 2.0-3.0
• distance racehorse - 2.5-4.0
• typical riding horse - 3.0-4.0
• typical show horse - 4.0-5.0
• typical broodmare - 2.5-4.0

Body condition should not fall below 1.5, but poor body condition is not always due to lack of feed. Other reasons:

• parasite infestation
• poor dental health
• chronic injury or illness

The competitive horse: 2.0

• Flat rump either side of backbone
• Ribs just visible
• Narrow but firm neck
• Backbone well covered

The pleasure horse: 3.0

• Rounded rump
• Ribs just covered but easily felt
• No crest, firm neck

The halter/rail horse: 4.0

• Rump well rounded
• Gutter along back
• Ribs and pelvis hard to feel
• Slight crest

I know a lot of you are guilty of having a 5 out there in your field when you should have a 3 ... I know I am, even when I do my best to regulate his intake, my older horse seems to gain weight by sniffing food! But there is much more tolerance for obesity than there is for even slightly underweight. Visible ribs do not equal neglect!

If the rump is sunken, and the backbone protrudes (check the tailhead, some horses have a high backbone in any condition) then there is definitely cause for concern.

Save the lanterns and pitchforks for the people that deserve them, the people who won't even dump their emaciated horses at auction because they're waiting for the market to return, even if they can't afford hay ... :'(

Get ready to see more of it as the summer (and pasture) fades. But rather than attack anyone who posts a 2.0 on craigslist or dreamhorse (thankfully they are trying to sell before the poor thing hits 1.0), put your energy into something constructive.

As many people as claim to dislike the Fugly Horse of the Day blog for her confrontational approach, many of my peers could author Skinny Horse of the Day and be just as brutal if they simply reposted what they've put on the public message boards.

Hmmm... SHOTD has potential...