The weight tape.....and then the reality at the vet !

Shysmum

Shysmum

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Shy went to the vets yesterday with his mates ( a group outing ;) ), and while he was there I got him on the scales, carefully avoiding me having to step on the damned things to get him on of course. He weighed in at 485 kilos, which the vet said was a good weight for him. :eek:

I measured him with my trusty weigh tape this morning, and that came in at 420 kilos. So I have a very good idea of the discrepancy now, but am quite shocked really - last summer I was happy that the weigh tape showed him at a constant 445 kilos. So he was actually far too overweight :rolleyes:

Everyone knows these tapes are inaccurate, just pondering really.

I'll put another thread on about teeth in a mo. sm xx
 
I think they are def inaccurate if you are after working out the actual weight of your horse - but as a standard to chart the rise and fall of weight then they can be very useful.
I'm sure I've seen a formula somewhere that includes length of horse in the calculation - I wonder if this is any more accurate?
 
I currently have no idea what the actual weight of my horse is (unable to get to any scales) BUT I use the weigh tape as an indication to see if she's losing/putting on weight.
The other thing to remember is to ensure you check at the same time of day each time :)

The vet has said she is happy with her general appearance/weight etc as has farrier (even though I'd be happier with more off of her).
 
I wondered about them, as I get very different values when I use the horse length and width around the girth calculation and I *think* this is the basis for the tapes anyhow??? Can't beat a proper scale at the vets! It also worries me a bit when calculating load for the wagon, we are considering getting one of those load computers fitted.
 
Should have said - yes I use mine at least weekly to check the ebb and flow, and that's a fab indicator.

It's just a shock that it was sooooo wildly out on his general weight - probably me being too naive :p
 
I use mine but never really thought about its inaccuracies, mostly just use it to see if shes put any weight on or lost any but if you dont get it in exactly the same place every day and as said above, at the same time every day then your not really getting an idea if their weight is fluctuating either lol but all that said i still use it and love it when it says shes lost some lol. Best indicator is if you have to have your saddle adjusted, weigh tape told me shed lost about 100kg so i had saddle fitter down as my saddle is brand new and wanted to make sure that within the six weeks of waiting for it that it still fit and he had to put a narrower gullet in it... so pleased! its a first lol
 
We use a weight tape to monitor fluctuations but had actually let over a month pass since the last 'weigh-in' and in that time had brought our new horse home. We knew she was overweight when we bought her and have put weight losing measures in place. She now has about 1/3 of her forage as barley straw, no H&P nuts/molassed chaff, which she had in her previous home, just a few grassnuts and a small handful of dried grass (Graze-on) to get her supplements, especially Pink Powder in. Although almost completely clipped out she now only wears a waterproof sheet when out during the day. We are pleased that she has lost her fat pads over her eyes.
Imagine our horror when we 'weighed' them all earlier this week. The new mare was off the scale, almost off the tape and we worked out, using the centimetres side that she must weigh about 800kg, given we all know that these tapes tend to underestimate anything heavier than a TB - what on earth does she actually weigh? Mind you the farrier said that when she 'gave' him her foot, he thought 800kg was probably about right!
 
The weigh tape was only 4kgs out for my boy!! Do you do it from the base of the withers and pull it foward to the armpit (how the vet school taught us to do it ;)!!). Also shouldnt be pulled tight, just touching enough not to slip :)
 
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