How to work out the weight of your horse?

[BeBopTalulah]

Is there a particular way of working out what a horse weighs by calculation? How do vets work it out for drug dosage etc? Really I'd like to work out roughly how much weight a 15.1 welsh cob can carry comfortably.

Also, can someone explain how to meaure bone? I understand it's a measure of how heavy/well built a horse is?

Thank you.

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

1. Weight Tape....not very accurate but can give a rough idea.

2. Formula.....girth circumference squared (in centimeters) x body length (in centimeters) & divide by 11,877 gives weight in Kilos. (If you want weight in lbs then multiply the kilo answer by 2.2)

3, Use a calculator on the internet :
http://www.thehorse.com/Tool/Weight-Calculator.aspx

 

[Dry Rot]

When you've tried the weigh tapes, contact Trading Standards and find out the location of your nearest public weigh bridge. Weigh horse and trailer, then just the trailer, subtract one from t'other and compare result to your weight tape calculations! (Prepare to be surprised).

 

[tinap]

Or find out if Spillers are at any shows nearby - they do free weighing & fat scoring. xx

 

[Miss L Toe]

The exact weight is not of mega importance, what you need to know is whether horse is gaining or losing weight., so if you have a pony of 375 to 425 kilos, does he need to lose or gain weight [ie is he fat or skinny?], or is he growing so he need to be fed for growth [ie is young or aged].
A horse in full work [and not many of them around] needs loads of work and plenty of feed, but generally our horse don't get much work, so we have to be careful not to overload them.
I measure the girth [which for accuracy should be at the widest part of the barrel] and I measure from point of shoulder to point of buttock, I can work out an "exact" weight, and can check this against several comparison charts, this is a good start to find out how much he should be fed, but really, I use the eye to find out if he is progressing or regressing.

 

[BeBopTalulah]

The exact weight is not of mega importance, what you need to know is whether horse is gaining or losing weight., so if you have a pony of 375 to 425 kilos, does he need to lose or gain weight [ie is he fat or skinny?], or is he growing so he need to be fed for growth [ie is young or aged].
A horse in full work [and not many of them around] needs loads of work and plenty of feed, but generally our horse don't get much work, so we have to be careful not to overload them.
I measure the girth [which for accuracy should be at the widest part of the barrel] and I measure from point of shoulder to point of buttock, I can work out the "exact" height, and can check this against several comparison charts, this is a good start to find out how much he should be fed, but really, I use the eye to find out if he is progressing or regressing.

I'd love to have the experience to just 'look' at her and tell how she's doing. Unfortunately, I find myself thinking she's doing great one minute, then watching her trot away in the field I think 'no, no, she's carrying too much'. I'll measure her to be accurate. Thanks

 

[Queenbee]

why not post another thread asking: how much weight can a 15.1 Welsh D carry comfortably, perhaps with a picture, there will be people on here that will probably be able to give you advice and guidance for that type of breed and height from personal experience.

 

[Queenbee]

sorry perhaps ignore my last post, I read it as how much weight (as in rider) can my horse carry comfortably! LOL

 

[Miss L Toe]

Really I'd like to work out roughly how much weight a 15.1 welsh cob can carry comfortably.

Also, can someone explain how to meaure bone? I understand it's a measure of how heavy/well built a horse is?

Thank you.

The weight a horse can carry, that is different, generally we need to know the weight to work out the basic feed requirement.
The age, conformation, breed type and the BONE are important for weight carrying, also the skill of the rider, so a good rider "weighs" a lot less than a "sack of potatoes" rider.
To measure the bone, take a tape measure as used by the knitting fraternity, and use the "inches side"
Below the "knee" of the front legs, measure the circumference, in a Welsh cob of 15.1, I would expect it to be eight inches, certainly not less than 7 and not more than nine.
"Quality" of bone is also to be considered, by that I mean, a good strong TB [I don't mean spindly weedy types] has "quality", and in a good specimen, the lower leg should be "fine" that is difficult to describe, but the legs/ligaments, bone are better defined, the legs of a "common " horse are more rounded, and less defined.
A Welsh cob generally has "good" bone, that is to say, they were bred to work, but not slowly like a plough horse, so they would be capable of a good fast pace of work for several hours per day.
And it all depends what you expect your horse to do, I weigh a bit more than ideal, but I don't expect my horse to do very much, and his training is geared around building his strength up, also he is full grown, so can cope with more weight than when he was a baby.
I would not worry unless you are over 13 stones, and want to event him, then you need to look at these issues in more depth
The bone is not a measure of the "build " of the horse, it is a measure of his weight carrying capacity.
The build of the horse, is whether he is light {TB}, heavyweight [as in heavyweight hunter, designed to cry a 15-16 stone man out hunting} or medium build, your cob carries more "weight than a 15.1 TB because he is "stronger, more stocky", but he had spindly stick like legs [not likely]] he will still be unable to carry a heavy rider,