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Assessing the weight of a horse is important for every horse owner, as for any horse who is overweight has a significant chance of health risks such as EMS, laminitis, and other diseases.
Weight alone is not enough for an assessment. Muscle is heavier than fat, so an untrained, overweight horse can still weigh less than a well-trained, well-muscled horse.
However, muscle appearance can be deceptive. Horses do not initially store fat as a pad on the hip, but instead between the muscle strands. This means that an overweight horse looks well-muscled in the early stages, even though the training does not match the musculature.
Additionally, horses with metabolic problems can also store a large amount of lymph. This adds a lot of weight on the scales but will not disappear through reduction diets – which contrasts to fat, because the causes of the two are different.
The type of horse also plays a role in the assessment. A cold-blooded horse, for example, will always look ‘fatter’ than a normal sized thoroughbred, even when thin. It is no wonder that most people – even horse professionals – are completely wrong when it comes to judging a horse’s weight correctly.
The Sanoanimal BCI app supports you in the assessment of your horse. Schematic diagrams guide you step-by-step through the process of assessing the neck, the body, and the croup.

At the end of the process, you will get a result as to where your horse has ‘too much’ or ‘too little’. The results are divided in three categories: muscle, fat, and lymph. This helps you and your nutritionist, therapist, or trainer to adjust the feeding, training and, if necessary, therapy appropriately so your horse can return to normal.
You can save the results and track the development of your horse during, for example, a diet, therapy, or after a change in training.