Condition score M!!

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I won't bite!! This was M when I bought him.....He came from a showing home....need I say more!!?? When I first had him we got to know each other by going out inhand to see the world. He was 5 years old and unbroken. We did really well when he was at this weight. But it was NOT healthy and he went on a diet and got broken in!

Here he was a CS of a BIG, FAT 5. He got sweaty and puffy just walking around the block - 1.3 miles......not good, he weighed in at over 600kg. I was told to keep him in this way as it was "show condition" and welshies should have a back like a dining table???

Well,I lobbed that little gem out of the window and got the weight off, he now does dressage a bit of jumping and is an all round fun horse!! I also got alot of hassle from his old owners saying he was "emaciated" He is now 477kg on the weighbridge. And a condition score of 3.5. He can easily creep up and I have to keep and eye on him, but it is a fine balance and if he loses too much he drops muscle as well and looks awful!! I can easily feel his ribs, hips and he has a nice wither - he will always be a bit creaty but that is just him - he was cut very late and has a "stalliony" neck if you have a good feel, you will not find floppy fat deposits!!

I don't have a stood up condition shot but you can get the gist. Needless to say we don't get a look in in M&M showing classes anymore - but My horses long term health means more to me than any rosette. Excuse the dodgy clipping!!

Up to a 4 here in the height of summer, he had had a couple of weeks off due to hols and our grass is good, but ribs still easily palpable and full of energy! Just a week after this pic was taken I was told by a judge he needs alot more condition as he is "weedy for a welshie" How rude!! I told the judge I didn't want a dead horse or a vet bill for lami and that he would benefit from a read of the WHW website regarding obesity!! Judge NOT impressed!!!

 

[L&M]

Well done you and what a stunner! I have no idea on condition scoring so would say a tentative 3.5?

I have a hogged irish cob, and showed him as a ridden cob last summer, and lost count of judges who said that he would be placed higher if he had more condition on him, (I did try to explain that he also competed in SJ and XC and when wasn't showing was out doing fun rides, and hunting weekly over the winter mnths!). I gave up the cob classes pdq but had considerable sucess in small wh instead.

Nice to see that last week's H&H had another overweight show horse on the cover,again...

 

[Tangled]

That first picture

Well done you for bringing him back done to a healthy weight.

When will people realise that fat is just as bad as thin?

Btw - gorgeous Welsh Got anymore pics of him?

 

[Littlelegs]

I'd say 3.5 too. It's hard with chunky builds tho, cos even when you can see ribs their neck & quarters make them look overweight.
Agree re the showing, only ever done whp at local stuff cos its a course of jumps. But I've let a few teens take her & nearly had a stand up fight with a bloke who called her emaciated (was a 3 at time). Quite often get comments from numpties at this time of year about 'haven't yours lost weight, why not feed haylage instead etc' followed by 'my horse has lami' in mid summer.