How do I determine the BCS of my horse?

The Body Condition Score (BCS) indicates the nutritional status or body condition of your horse. We at marstall show you which body regions are included in the assessment and what to look out for during evaluation. We also give you tips in this article for the correct feed quantity.

Jump straight to the topic:

What does the BCS mean for horses?
Big belly = fat horse?
Calculating the right feed quantity with the BCS
How is the BCS determined?
Horse’s body: where the BCS is assessed
Which horses does the BCS system apply to?

What does the BCS mean for horses?

The function of the Body Condition Score (BCS) is simple: the method indicates the nutritional status or body condition of your horse. Six defined body regions are assessed: neck, shoulder area, ribs of the chest wall, back and croup, hip bones, and the line between the tail base and the ischial tuberosity. To determine the BCS, fat reserves and bone structures are palpated and assessed. This allows you to reliably find out whether your horse is too fat, too thin or completely normal. If you know the BCS and measure additional body dimensions, you can also determine your horse’s weight relatively accurately without a scale. This information helps you – and us in consultations – to tailor the feeding and feed quantity precisely to your horse.

Big belly = fat horse?

It’s not quite that simple: assessing your horse’s body condition at a single glance is almost impossible. Only extremely thin or fat horses are immediately recognisable. We also advise you not to let your horse’s belly size mislead you – because in horses, the belly says nothing about fat reserves. Belly size varies greatly depending on how full the colon is. This is known as a grass belly or hay belly. A large belly can also be the result of incorrect training or slack abdominal muscles

Calculating the right feed quantity using the BCS

The BCS, together with a few measurements of your horse, can be used to calculate its body weight quite accurately – useful when you don’t have scales to hand.

Formula for calculating body weight:

Body weight (kg) = -1160 + 1.538 x girth (cm) + 1.487 x neck circumference (cm) + 2.594 x wither height (tape measure, cm) + 1.336 x chest circumference (cm) + 6.226 x cannon bone circumference (cm) + 13.631 x BCS (level).

Body weight and BCS can then be used to determine the correct feed quantity for your horse. Especially with very thin and very overweight horses, body weight alone is not a sufficient value for the calculation – particularly not when weight gain or loss is the goal.

How do you determine the BCS?

There are several ways to determine your horse’s BCS. At marstall, we use a very precise system according to Kienzle&Schramme for warmbloods. Six body regions are individually assessed on a scale of 1 to 9. The average of the individual values then gives the BCS. An ideal value is 5 to 6. Most horses have a BCS between 4 and 7. To make the initial assessment of your horse easier, we have simplified the scale from 1 to 9.

Simplified BCS classification

BCS 1 to 3	too thin
BCS 4 to 6	normal
BCS 7 to 9	too fat

In the PDF “Is your horse too fat or too thin?”, you will find the exact classification and allocation of BCS 1 to 9 – also available to print out.

Download BCS Chart

Horse body: This is where the BCS is determined

Neck

First, look at the side surface of the neck. If it curves inward (concave), this corresponds to a BCS of 1 to 3, depending on the degree of curvature. A slightly outward-curving (convex) neck surface is normal.

The more strongly the neck surface curves outward, the higher the BCS – it then lies between 7 and 9. Additionally, you can measure the height of the crest fat. To do this, the horse’s head is lowered, and you measure the distance from the upper line of the neck muscles to the crest of the mane.

Shoulder

Your horse’s shoulder blade runs diagonally from the withers towards the chest. In a thin or normal horse, you can see or sense the shoulder bone and easily feel it by touch. Next, try to grip a fold of skin with two fingers, which is not possible in a lean horse and only possible under tension in a normal horse.

In an overweight horse, this is very easy and possible without tension. At the girth area, the front ribs (7th and 8th ribs) are clearly visible in a thin horse, but only faintly visible in a normal horse. In an overweight horse, these ribs are covered by a layer of fat and can no longer be felt. In both normal and overweight horses, a fold of skin can also be formed here.

Shoulder

Your horse’s shoulder blade runs diagonally from the withers towards the chest. In a thin or normal horse, you can see or sense the shoulder bone and easily feel it by touch. Next, try to grip a fold of skin with two fingers, which is not possible in a lean horse and only possible under tension in a normal horse.

In an overweight horse, this is very easy and possible without tension. At the girth area, the front ribs (7th and 8th ribs) are clearly visible in a thin horse, but only faintly visible in a normal horse. In an overweight horse, these ribs are covered by a layer of fat and can no longer be felt. In both normal and overweight horses, a fold of skin can also be formed here.

Back and croup

Spinous processes are only visible in a horse that is too thin. In a horse of normal weight, the skin can be moved slightly; in a horse that is too fat, it can be moved easily. In a thin horse, it cannot be moved.

In a horse that is too fat, the croup feels soft and is convex (curved outwards). However, the croup can also appear hump-like in thin horses, which can then be an early indication of EMS.

Hip

Directly in front of the hip, the horse’s flank curves inwards. This curve is known as the “hunger hollow”. If the hunger hollow is visible, the horse is not overweight. If it is filled with fatty tissue and not visible, the horse is overweight. In a thin horse, the hip bone protrudes clearly, and the front edge, which points towards the head, is sharply defined.

In a horse with a normal body condition, the hip bone is clearly recognisable, but the edges are rounded. The fatter the horse, the less visible the hip bone becomes – it can then only be sensed and felt.

Hip

Directly in front of the hip, the horse’s flank curves inwards. This curve is known as the “hunger hollow”. If the hunger hollow is visible, the horse is not overweight. If it is filled with fatty tissue and not visible, the horse is overweight. In a thin horse, the hip bone protrudes clearly, and the front edge, which points towards the head, is sharply defined.

In a horse with a normal body condition, the hip bone is clearly recognisable, but the edges are rounded. The fatter the horse, the less visible the hip bone becomes – it can then only be sensed and felt.

Tail base and ischial tuberosity

The ischial tuberosity is located just below the tail base and points backwards. In a horse of normal condition, it is not visible, only palpable. In a horse of normal condition (BCS 5), the line from the tail base to the ischial tuberosity is straight; in a horse that is too thin, it is concave (curved inwards), and in a horse that is too fat, it is convex (curved outwards).

Around the tail base of a thin horse, the firm muscle tissue (possibly even the vertebral bones) can only be felt with pressure. In a horse of normal condition, there is a slight layer of fat here and it feels slightly spongy. In fat horses, the tissue around the tail base is very soft and can easily be pressed in.

Which horses does the BCS system apply to?

Generally, the system described here was developed for warmbloods. However, there are limitations for warmblood horses with breed-typical body shapes.

The following images show you a few typical examples:

The "hatchet mark" seen in Arabians and thoroughbreds, which, according to the BCS scoring system, occurs in warmbloods only in horses that are too thin (BCS 1 to 4).

Stallions naturally have more crest fat (“stallion neck”) than mares or geldings.

The “split croup” or “groove” is, for example in the Irish Cob (Tinker), not a sign of fat deposits but an indication of good muscles.

“Rounder hips” are desired, for example, in “Baroque horses”. In American breeds such as the Quarter Horse, too, the hips are rounder due to the strong muscles of the hindquarters.

In senior horses, fatty tissue decreases disproportionately in certain areas, e.g. at the withers.

Literature

Kienzle E, Schramme SC, 2004. Beurteilung des Ernährungszustandes mittels Body Condition Scores und Gewichtsschätzung beim adulten Warmblutpferd. Pferdeheilkunde 20 (2004) 6 (Nov/Dez) 517-524
Kathrin Irgang. Videos on BCS determination https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct3AHEfKjA0