It’s been a very cold start to 2025 so far, after a mild autumn and December. No doubt the animals are being challenged by the cold – for the first time ever we had to get an “outer layer” for our dog! She’s a 13-inch, 21-pound beagle and has been shivering and picking up her hind feet alternately when she’s outside for any length of time.

Many horses, especially “elder horses,” are wearing blankets to protect against the cold. They should be monitored, and brushed daily, to be sure there are no foreign substances such as hay chaff, weeds, burrs and other irritants that may have found their way underneath the blanket and to maintain good circulation.

It’s also important to check your horse’s body condition during winter to ensure they have sufficient fat reserves.

A widely-used body condition scoring system is based on both a visual as well as a palpable “hands-on” appraisal of your horse. The system uses the Henneke Chart, named after creator Don Henneke, Ph.D., of Texas A&M University. The chart provides a standardized scientific scoring system to evaluate horses regardless of age, sex or breed. The chart is also accepted in courts of law and is used by law enforcement agencies in cases involving neglect of horses or if for any other reason a horse needs an objective method to assess body condition.

Using six body parts – the horse’s neck, withers, shoulder, ribs, loin and head of tail – you apply a bit of pressure (by hand) in each area to determine how much fat is present under the skin. For example, when examining the withers, squeeze the whole area where the neck ends and the back begins, almost as if you were squeezing clay, firmly but gently. Talk to your horse to calm her so she won’t be surprised when you are doing any hands-on work.

Horse Tales: Assessing Your Horse’s Condition in Winter

In very cold weather some horses, especially older horses, will require a blanket to stay adequately warm. Photo courtesy of Emily Valerio

The body condition scoring system is rated 1 – 9, with 1 being “Poor” and 9 being “Extremely Fat.” An ideal body condition would be a 5 or 6.

  1. Poor: The bone structure in the neck, withers and shoulder is easily noticeable, the ribs protrude prominently, as do the bones of the spine along the loin, the bones of the tailhead, pinbones and hook bones.
  2. Very Thin: The bone structure in the neck, withers and shoulder are faintly discernible; the ribs are prominent, and there is a slight amount of fat covering the base of the spinal column bones but the spinal bones are prominent, as is the tailhead.
  3. Thin: This horse has an accentuated neck, withers and shoulder. There is a slight amount of fat over the ribs, but the ribs are easily discernible, as is the spinal column along the loin, but the side bones of the spine cannot be felt. The tailhead is prominent, but the individual vertebrae can’t be visually identified. The pin bones are not distinguishable, and the hook bones are rounded but are still easily discernible.
  4. Moderately Thin: The neck, withers and shoulder are not noticeably thin, and only a faint outline of the ribs is discernible. There is a “peaked” appearance along the back, and the tailhead may be prominent depending on the horse’s conformation. Fat can be felt on the tailhead, and the hook bones are not discernible.
  5. Moderate (Ideal Weight): The neck blends smoothly into the body, the withers are rounded over the spinal bones, the shoulders blend smoothly into the body, the ribs cannot be visually distinguished but can be easily felt, the back is level and the fat around the tailhead is beginning to feel soft.
  6. Moderately Fleshy: You should be able to detect fat beginning to be deposited on the neck, withers and shoulder. The fat over the ribs will feel spongy, the back may have a slight groove or crease down the back and the fat around the tailhead will feel soft. (Again, for the purposes of doing well in winter, scores of 5 and 6 are considered ideal, especially in older horses.)
  7. Fleshy: A fleshy horse will have fat deposited along the neck and withers and behind the shoulder. Individual ribs can be felt with pressure, but there is fat noticeably filling in between the ribs. There may be a crease down the back, and the fat around the tailhead is soft.
  8. Fat: This horse will have a noticeable thickening of the neck with the area along the withers filled with fat, the area behind the shoulder filled in flush with the body, ribs that are difficult to feel, a crease down the back and fat around the tailhead being very soft.
  9. Extremely Fat: This designation, along with “Poor,” is the least desirable number, for a horse’s health and well-being. A horse that is extremely fat will have bulging fat on the neck, withers and shoulder, with patchy fat appearing over the ribs, an obvious crease down the back and bulging fat around the tailhead.

Once you’ve gained an understanding of your horse’s body condition, you’ll be better able to determine whether you need to increase (or decrease) the number of calories she’s getting to stay healthy in winter, as just staying warm during winter cold will burn many extra calories and can deplete any extra fat reserves your horse may be carrying.

by Judy Van Put