Is this horse skinny?

She's lean but nothing to worry about IMO. I would like to see a little more covering across her ribs but some horses, particulary ex-racers do tend to stay on the light side.
 
IMO I'd say yes, I know you're ment to be able to feel the ribs but not be able to see them....so I've been told but I'm no pro!
 
almrc said:
IMO I'd say yes, I know you're ment to be able to feel the ribs but not be able to see them.
Click to expand...

We were taught it was correct to see two ribs and seeing more was not an issue in a fit horse if the horse is carrying muscle, but that was a Long time ago the old horseman who first influenced me would have had a fit if they saw the fat things that are normal now a days.
 
almrc said:
IMO I'd say yes, I know you're ment to be able to feel the ribs but not be able to see them....so I've been told but I'm no pro!
Click to expand...

If a horse is fit then the muscles between the ribs will pull the flesh in even though it is there and make the ribs visible. It does not mean that this horse has no covering over its ribs, it just means it's got taught muscles.

OP I think your horse is in beautiful condition for an ex racer and everyone who thinks it looks too thin should question whether their own horses are too fat.

As a general rule, not taken to excess too thin is much healthier than too fat.
 
Looks great to me, if it was an aged poor doer heading into winter I'd want a bit more on it, but for a fully fit 7yr old looks fab.
 
looks good to me...

and yet, almrc, you can see the ribs on the one they describe as a 3 despite that description ;)
 
almrc said:
Hmm this is interesting as I always look at body scoring etc. No way saying you guys are wrong just trying to understand as I read different things. If you go to the bottom of this page and read no. 4 it says:

4.Fat over the ribs - there should be a little fat between the ribs but not over them. This way you can feel but not see them.

http://www.bluecross.org.uk/80162/How-tobodyscoreyourhorse.html
Click to expand...

Well they are wrong, sorry :p Tell it to my hunter in mid season :D He still has a thin layer of fat over his ribs but the rib muscles are so taught that it pulls in between the ribs and, especially because he is dark like this one, they show. I know this particularly because I saw them one day in March and was a bit upset about how thin I'd let him get, and then felt him and realised he still had fat there. Maybe he's the only one :D

I don't think the Blue Cross can be so general about horses. They differ so much from animal to animal.
 
I think it looks in great condition. The problem most people have is that they are used to seeing fat horses these days and when they see a horse at a good weight they think it is too thin.
 
There's also a difference between a fit & muscular horse with visible ribs, & a bony underfed horse with visible bone everywhere. Just like top athletes can't be compared to anorexics, even though their ribs maybe equally visible. Also worth noting some horses, just like people can be naturally lean & still very healthy & fit.
 
I just look at books and websites (and many say what the blue cross says) to see about body scoring to try(!) and get the perfect as I can weight for mine hence why I was interested in this thread. I agree there are far to many fat horses about, but stick to my original thought about OPs horse.....off to read more books now :)
 
littlelegs said:
There's also a difference between a fit & muscular horse with visible ribs, & a bony underfed horse with visible bone everywhere. Just like top athletes can't be compared to anorexics, even though their ribs maybe equally visible. Also worth noting some horses, just like people can be naturally lean & still very healthy & fit.
Click to expand...

Lean and muscled is good ,ribs showing on a unmuscled horse ie one that has had to use up it's muscle as a energy source to keep going is not good , body scoring is a guide but like BMI in humans it does not allow for the muscle bulk in a very fit lean horse . When we were taught to body score they used a photo of a gold cup winner the day after the race to show the limitations of body scoring.
Littlelegs comparison is an interesting way to think about it it's also worth considering that the type of work a horse does affects the type of muscle it builds and therefore it's appearance think of the difference between a TB in Trianing and a GP dressage horse.
 
almrc said:
I just look at books and websites (and many say what the blue cross says) to see about body scoring to try(!) and get the perfect as I can weight for mine hence why I was interested in this thread. I agree there are far to many fat horses about, but stick to my original thought about OPs horse.....off to read more books now :)
Click to expand...

Look at the rest of the body score you are using, you cannot just take one and then assume that is the right score, you have to take it all together. If the horse had ribs showing plus loss of topline, flanks and rump sunken, etc. etc. then yes maybe, but look at the muscle over her chest and up her neck, the shine on her coat says an awful lot too.
 
i think people see ribs and instantly think skinny rather than looking at the whole horse. those thinking skinny have another look at the muscle tone that horse has:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top