Body condition scoring provides an objective assessment of nutritional welfare in horses. Regular monitoring prevents both obesity and undernutrition, two of the most common welfare problems.
Body condition scoring is a practical welfare monitoring tool that provides objective nutritional assessment independent of breed, coat length, and seasonal variation. Visual assessment alone is unreliable particularly in horses with thick coats or heavy muscling where fat deposits are not visually obvious. Monthly body condition scoring using physical palpation of key deposition sites allows early detection of gaining or losing condition before it becomes a significant welfare problem. Both obesity and undernutrition cause welfare compromise: obesity increases laminitis, joint disease, and respiratory difficulty while undernutrition causes loss of body reserves, weakness, and compromise of immune function.