On Demand: Introduction to Body Condition Scoring
Body condition scoring – It’s more than just a score.
Weight management is as important for the health of your horse as it is for you. You can assess whether your horse is too skinny, too fat, or just right by learning how to body condition score. The body condition scoring system, developed by Dr. Don Henneke, scores the amount of fat on different areas of the horse, and then averages the scores to get the total score for the horse. However, the score is only half of the story. It’s what you do with that score that makes the difference for your horse and their health. This course will give you the tools to:
- Body condition score a horse
- Differentiate between body condition scores
- Determine whether the body condition score is appropriate for the horse and what action to take
- Create weight change goals
- Find ways to create weight change
- Identify barriers that may be in the way of weight change
- Describe ways to overcome those barriers
- Effectively monitor changes in a horse’s body condition
- Create an action plan and take control of your horse’s weight and health
This course may be of interest to:
- Current and future horse owners and caregivers
- Horse nutrition enthusiasts
- Those with involvement with horse welfare causes, whether through horse rescues or welfare assessment
- Anyone involved in horse associations or education programs
- Employers (e.g., trainers, owners) with an interest to invest in their business through furthering the knowledge of employees caring for their horses; to purchase an online course for an employee, please contact Equine Guelph at [email protected]
This course will help students:
- Understand and use the Henneke body condition scoring system
- Determine if a body condition score is appropriate or corrective action is needed
- Understand what corrective actions might be appropriate for thin and overweight horses
- Understand when veterinary and nutritionist intervention is required
- Plan for corrective action, by creating goals, identifying barriers that might be in the way, and developing strategies to overcome those barriers
- Effectively monitor change in a horse’s body condition
- Create an action plan to take control of a horse’s body condition and health
- Introduction
- Horses with a body condition score of 1 and 2
- Horses with a body condition score of 3
- Horses with a body condition score of 4 – 6
- Horses with a body condition score of 7
- Horses with a body condition score of 8 and 9
- Identifying and planning your changes
- Identifying and overcoming your barriers
- Identifying and celebrating your successes
- Creating your action plan
Certificate of Completion
Upon successful completion of the course, you will receive a Certificate of Completion from Equine Guelph – the horse owner’s Centre at the University of Guelph.
