Conditon score my horse

equi said:
The problem i find is that to us, he looks a 4 from those photos. But he is a cob. They will never look like a tb, no matter how skinny they are. Body scoring is based on more fine equines, i don't think it works for cobs or heavy animals.
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this is not true, a cob still has ribs and should not have a crest, condition scoring is nothing to do with type and the reason you score different parts of the horses ody is that conformation can affect the scoring of individual parts, such as an apple bum which my mare has even when she has been scored as a 2 in the past.
 
equi said:
The problem i find is that to us, he looks a 4 from those photos. But he is a cob. They will never look like a tb, no matter how skinny they are. Body scoring is based on more fine equines, i don't think it works for cobs or heavy animals.
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I had a long conversation with my vet about body scoring and cobs.....he reckoned it only really worked for finer equines as well.
 
It's definitely more difficult to condition score a cob but it's not impossible! Pictures can be deceptive so doing it in the flesh always advised.

He reminds me a lot of a cob pony I know who has done Bsdminton grassroots twice in a row. The effort involved in getting that pony slim and fit was unbelievable. It's no mean feat to keep a good doer cob slim.
 
If your worried Frankie then have a vet out to do a conditioning, as an owner of heavier horses who employs a rider of race horses, to ride when I can't, I'm always having this conversation. Her: oh my good Moses is obese, what have you been feeding him!!!! Me: nothing, just hay! Her: cut it down, he is gross( she is nicer then I am making out) vet comes and says he is fine for his age and type and that I have him at a good weight. It's what your use to seeing and what you like in a horse. That pony is never going to be thin. He will always have body about him and so he should. The trick is making it muscle not fat. I say he is built like a brick **** house! He looks fabulous , a little more off, yes but not to much or he will start looking out of proportion and just poor , just like my Kevin, all head and no body to carry it.
 
I really wouldn't worry. He's not started regular canter work yet which is what he needs to get the last weight off. He's bred to walk and trot all day. He really isn't that huge in person and I would just be keeping him how he is feed wise and just waiting for the faster work to start to drop the final pounds.
 
To hijack ever so slightly, what do you do with a cob when he can remove a muzzle within 5 minutes (timed him)? I'd love to muzzle him, but he just stands pathetically then gets it off. I personally can't ride (my personal condition score is off the chart!) but can lunge/longrein once the knee is better. The vet says he's not obese, but he's chunky and not as slim as he should be coming into Spring.
 
Sukistokes2 said:
If your worried Frankie then have a vet out to do a conditioning, as an owner of heavier horses who employs a rider of race horses, to ride when I can't, I'm always having this conversation. Her: oh my good Moses is obese, what have you been feeding him!!!! Me: nothing, just hay! Her: cut it down, he is gross( she is nicer then I am making out) vet comes and says he is fine for his age and type and that I have him at a good weight. It's what your use to seeing and what you like in a horse. That pony is never going to be thin. He will always have body about him and so he should. The trick is making it muscle not fat. I say he is built like a brick **** house! He looks fabulous , a little more off, yes but not to much or he will start looking out of proportion and just poor , just like my Kevin, all head and no body to carry it.
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Actually hes due his jabs next month, I'll bring it forward a month and see what they say.

I went over him inch by inch yesterday. I dont think his bum will change, its actually bigger now if anything, but you can feel its muscle now. The gutter/apple shape he has on him bum doesnt go down him back, so its not a proper gutter if that makes sense?! Same with his neck and shoulders. Huge but muscle not fat. Theres not a fat pad on him anywhere.

I am wondering if his back has muscled up and thats why the tape reads slightly heavier. 10kgs on a weight tape, wouldnt take much muscle development over his back. And last week he has been cantering more and doing pole work and tiny jumps, so different to his usual straight line hacking.

I still want weight off him though, but if hes not gaining anything and is slowly losing it, then I maybe dont need to panic yet! The top picture was last week and the bottom two were about a month ago. I'll take some more today. I'm trying to take them every couple of weeks. If for no other reason than its interesting to see the changes in his shape and posture
 
cinnamontoast said:
To hijack ever so slightly, what do you do with a cob when he can remove a muzzle within 5 minutes (timed him)? I'd love to muzzle him, but he just stands pathetically then gets it off. I personally can't ride (my personal condition score is off the chart!) but can lunge/longrein once the knee is better. The vet says he's not obese, but he's chunky and not as slim as he should be coming into Spring.
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Frankie has the muzzle, then a field safe headcollar over the top and has to go out in electric fenced paddock or it has no chance! Can you strip graze or set up a track?
 
cinnamontoast said:
To hijack ever so slightly, what do you do with a cob when he can remove a muzzle within 5 minutes (timed him)? I'd love to muzzle him, but he just stands pathetically then gets it off. I personally can't ride (my personal condition score is off the chart!) but can lunge/longrein once the knee is better. The vet says he's not obese, but he's chunky and not as slim as he should be coming into Spring.
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I bring them in during the day with a small amount of low calorie forage and strip graze overnight. Very convenient and works a treat!
 
Photos from today. I coudnt get one of him straight on as he was fidgeting about and I didnt have anyone to hold him, so these are probably not that accurate. I was expecting him to be shattered after yesterday but he bounced out full of himself, so we've been cantering up the hill near us. Hes clearly getting fitter!

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I think he looks better there. I still think he's porky, but definitely better, and fitter with it.

Well done today :)
 
JFTD said:
I think he looks better there. I still think he's porky, but definitely better, and fitter with it.

Well done today :)
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Thank you, I'm beyond happy with how hes going. We did 10k yesterday and he bounced out today full of go and was merrily cantering along full of running. A couple of weeks ago when he did his first canter they had to really get after him and keep at him or he'd have ground to a halt and watched everyone else disappear into the distance :lol:

I wasnt sure I'd ever get to the point I enjoyed riding or where a 20 min walk wouldnt floor me for days. Now I'm riding for 2 hours, then going back the next day and casually popping out to go cantering. Yesterday was the first time I didnt feel like a passenger, and today I almost felt effective and like I could focus on how I was riding instead of just focussing on not sliding off the side :lol:
 
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