equine research and information
A worryingly high proportion of horses enrolled in a study in Ireland were found to be overweight or obese.
The study centered on 60 horses recruited online in an appeal to owners in the counties of Dublin, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow. They were signed up on a first-come-first-served basis.
Researchers in the University College Dublin study wanted to learn whether owners in Ireland can accurately judge their horses’ body condition, the effect on this ability of owners receiving instructions on scoring, and the proportions of horses who are underweight, appropriately conditioned, overweight and obese.
The study team, reporting in the Irish Veterinary Journal, found that 45% of the horses were overweight or obese.
Three-quarters of the owners who took part in the study did not use any method of monitoring their horse’s body condition.
The horses used in the research comprised 10 cobs, nine Connemaras, seven Thoroughbreds, seven sport horses, four Irish Draught horses, one sport pony, and one each of Selle Français, Dutch Warmblood, English Warmblood, Holsteiner, New Forest Pony, Shetland and Welsh Cob. Crosses included one Irish Draught cross, one Thoroughbred cross, one Irish Draught x Thoroughbred, one Holsteiner x Irish Sport Horse and one mixed native pony. Ten of the horses were classed as having unknown, uncertain or multiple (more than two) breed heritage.
Ages ranged from three to over 30. There were 20 mares, 39 geldings and one stallion.
All horses were visited and given a basic examination by an experienced equine veterinarian, who also assigned a body condition score on the nine-point Henneke scale.
Owners, meanwhile, were asked a series of questions by another researcher covering their horse’s health history, routine healthcare, management details, and weight and condition monitoring. Owners were asked specifically if their horse had any history of laminitis or colic.
They were shown a numerical rating scale representing the Henneke scale complete with numbers 1–9 and descriptions of each score from “poor” to “extremely fat”. They were asked where they considered their horse to be on the scale.
After the questionnaire, they were given a body condition scoring instruction street, asked to read it, and were then invited to score their own animal while observing it.
The veterinarian had scored two of the horses as under-conditioned (a score of 1–3), 51.67% as appropriately conditioned (4–6) with 10% at optimal condition (a score of 5), and 45% were over-conditioned (scores of 7–9).
Put alongside the vet’s results, it was clear that the owners’ use of the Henneke body condition scoring system does not elicit accurate assessments of their horses’ condition. Owners of overweight horses tended to underestimate their horse’s condition and owners of underweight horses tended to overestimate their condition.
“Only a quarter of owners used some method of regularly monitoring their horse’s condition.” the authors noted.
“Owners’ feedback on the utility and useability of the body condition scoring scale was mixed with an overall trend towards the concept of the system and specific parts of it being useful but that parts were too technical.”
The researchers noted that the number of horses who were overweight or obese in the study was similar to that found in studies in Scotland. “If this percentage is representative of the wider Irish horse population, nearly half are at increased risk of obesity-related disease.”
The study team said the research identified the potential role of yard cultures in weight management. “Previous research has highlighted the fact that yards, in the sense of both the physical environment and influence on the horse owner of the people in it, can create an obesogenic environment for the horses in them.”
Owners in two of the yards with the highest number of participants in the study were more accurate in their judgments of their horses’ condition than those in a third yard, where most of the horses were overweight.
Further research would be required to investigate the effects of the yard on rates of obesity and the ability of owners to accurately judge their horses’ condition, they said. However, for now, it is important to be aware that the yard and the influence of an owner’s peers and how they monitor and in what condition they maintain their horses may play a role in the presence or absence of obesity in an individual horse.
The authors said further research is warranted into alternative methods of equine body condition assessment by owners to help them accurately gauge the body condition of their horses.
“The high proportion of horses and ponies that were identified as overweight or obese, and the health consequences that brings, makes this a matter of some urgency.”
In the meantime, responsibility for identifying overweight horses, making sure owners are aware of the risks and enabling them in making changes to facilitate weight loss remains with equine veterinarians, nurses and other professionals.
The study team comprised Emma Golding, Ahmed Saleh Ali Al Ansari, Nicola Walshe and Vivienne Duggan, all with University College Dublin; and Gila Sutton, with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Golding, E., Al Ansari, A.S.A., Sutton, G.A. et al. Rate of obesity within a mixed-breed group of horses in Ireland and their owners’ perceptions of body condition and useability of an equine body condition scoring scale. Ir Vet J 76, 9 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13620-023-00237-w
The study, published under a Creative Commons License, can be read here.
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