The Blue Cross Body Scoring - keep your horse slim

I would draw your attention to today's post contains some strong images, sensitive readers be warned.

To be overweight is an escalating problem for ponies and horses. Being obese increases the risk for a horse and not least pony to get laminitis and a number of other obesity related diseases.

I would highly recommend all to take a good look at the english Blue Cross and their Fat Horse Slim-project



The pony on this picture gets a 4 on a scale from 1-5 where even half steps count. In my eyes this pony looks just like many other ponies I see today, at first I even regarded him to be on the slimmer side. But believe me, after seeing what it looks like inside a horse with only a slight roundness, I aim to keep my horses closer to 3 than 4.

The horse begins to accumulate fat on the inside before it really shows on the outside. And a glimpse of how it may look, you'll see here. Inside the abdominal wall


The mesentery


And finally the neck crest

and that's on a horse that did not seem to have a crest ...

As a part of giving your horse a healthy life, take the time to read through the Blue Cross website. Buy a weigh tape, feel and look at your horse to see what body score point it gets. Help your horse to keep its weight by not over feeding it, and analyze your hay so you know what the horse is actually eating. Strive to be on the green side, even during the green grazing period.