Using a weightape

J

JosieSmith

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A previous post has reminded me I meant to ask this ages ago - I've got a weightape to use on Belle to make sure she's the same weight over winter. However, it doesn't seem right. It has on - amount horse is fed in lbs and kgs. I don;t want to know how much she's fed, I want to know how much she weighs. And if you read along it, it had sizes of horses along it too, and when you match up 15.1hh, which Belle is, with fed weight in kgs it's about 275kgs. I'm sure this is probably right regarding feeding amounts, but can't be how much she weighs surely?

I'm confused, am I using it wrong?
 
Hmm... doesn't sound right- my 14.1hh pony weighs about 430kgs according to my weightape! Don't really understand what you mean about the how much to feed marks, as mine has a horse side and a pony side, and you just read off how much they weigh. What make is it/where did you get it from?? As far as I can remember, the tape should pass under the belly, very close to the elbow and slant slightly to reach the bottom of the withers, does that make sense?! Sorry quite hard to explain! x
 
Yeah I remember an old one I had having a pony side and a horse side but this one doesn't. I think it's supposed to be easier and tell you how much to fed straight off the tape, but I don't want to know that, just her weight. I tried buying another one thinking I'd got the wrong kind, but that one's exactly the same!

I figured Belle would weigh something between 400-500kgs as she's very fine and about right weight. 275kgs definitely didn't sound right!
 
The only weigh tape worth using is the Dodson and Horrell one which was produced with alot of research and calibration using a weighbridge. Any others are very innacurate. Sorry if that means you have to buy another one!
 
Can I ask what make you bought, as I am curious, I have never come across one with feed weights on it
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One side may well have a height measure, to find out how tall your horse is, not to match up to feed weights.

You've got me intrigued
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My first one came free with Horse & Rider mag several years ago and that one has horse weights one side, pony the other. I got another one via the Blue Cross Fat Horse Slim pack I sent for this summer which appears slightly different - unfortunately I get different readings depending on which one I use so they can be very general but they do say weigh tapes are more to give you a general idea from week to week of whether or not your horse is losing or gaining weight rather than being very precise.

One thing i'd like to know is how you take account of summer and winter coat thickness with a weightape as my horse has such a thick winter coat that must account for some of the kgs I'm registering in the winter?
 
A little off topic but I bought a weight tape with my wormers I think its a shires BUT I find it invaluable for checking the diference in weight.

I dont think its scientifically accurate but gives a good indication.
 
As teddyt says, most weigh tapes aren't very accurate but are helpful as they can give a direction that the weight is going. Saying that, Sunny was weighed on the vet's scales recently and my weigh tape (freebie Horse & Rider too) was only 3kg out! JS, are you sure you've got it the right way over? It probably has other info on the other side. Also check that it hasn't got twisted when you lobbed it over ned's back.
 
Sorry I haven't been on here for a while. It's definitely only got the measurements on one side.

I'll try measuring her height with it, maybe it does tell you what height they are, not meant to tally up with the weights.

Not sure what make it is, I'll have a look tonight
 
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