1. Body Condition Scoring
Henneke
Body Condition Scoring
Presented by:
Kentucky Horse Council, Inc.
Portions of this presentation provided by:

2. What it is!
The Henneke System is an objective evaluation of a horse's body condition. Developed in 1983 by Don R. Henneke, Ph.D., of Tarleton State Texas University

3. A Common Language
Scientific method of evaluating a horse's body condition regardless of breed, body type, sex or age.
Widely used by law enforcement agencies as an objective method of scoring a horse's body condition in horse cruelty cases. The chart is accepted in a court of law.

4. Who’s to Say? Henneke Chart is a standardized scoring system
Terms: "skinny", "thin", "emaciated", or "fat" are all subjective

5. How? Visually - look Palpate - touch
Each part of the horse with hands to feel for body fat, muscle, and bone structure

6. Hands On, Both sides! Use your hands
A long hair coat will hide the protrusion of bones, all except in the most extreme cases.

7. Numerical Scoring
6 areas are each assigned a numerical score that corresponds with the horse's condition. Scores are totaled and divided by 6. Resulting number is the horse's rating on the Henneke Body Condition Scoring Chart.

8. BCS Chart

9. The six major parts used in “Body Condition Scoring” of the horse are……….
Withers
Neck
Shoulder area
Ribs
Loins
Tail head area

10. Additional Key Areas to Examine

11. BCS “1” - POOR
Emaciated. Prominent spinous processes, ribs, tailhead and hooks and pins. Noticeable bone structure on withers, shoulders and neck. No fatty tissues can be palpated.

12. BCS “1” - POOR

13. BCS “2” – VERY THIN
Emaciated – Slight fat covering over base of spinous processes. Transverse processes feel rounded. Spinous processes are prominent.

14. BCS “2” – VERY THIN

15. BSC “3” - THIN
Fat built up about halfway on spinous processes, transverse processes cannot be felt. Slight fat cover over ribs. Spinous processes and ribs easily discernible. Tailhead prominent, but individual vertebrae cannot be visually identified. Hook bones appear rounded, but easily discernible. Pin bones not distinguishable. Withers, shoulders and neck accentuated.

16. BCS “3” - THIN

17. BCS “4” – MODERATELY THIN
Negative crease along back. Faint outline of ribs discernible. Tail head prominence depends on conformation, fat can be felt around it. Hook bones not discernible. Withers, shoulders and neck not obviously thin.

18. BCS “4” – MODERATELY THIN

19. BCS “5” - MODERATE
Back is level. Ribs cannot be visually distinguished, but can be easily felt. Fat around tail head beginning to feel spongy. Withers appear rounded over spinous processes. Shoulders and neck blend smoothly into body.

20. BCS “5” - MODERATE

21. BCS “6” – MODERATE / FLESHY
May have slight crease down back. Fat over ribs feels spongy. Fat around tailhead feels soft. Fat beginning to be deposited along the sides of the withers, behind the shoulders and along the sides of the neck.

22. BCS “6” – MODERATE / FLESHY

23. BCS “7” - FLESHY
May have crease down back. Individual ribs can be felt, but noticeable filling between ribs with fat. Fat around tailhead is soft. Fat deposits along withers, behind shoulders and along the neck.

24. BCS “7” - FLESHY

25. BCS “8” - FAT
Crease down back. Difficult to palpate ribs. Fat around tail head very soft. Area along withers filled with fat. Area behind shoulder filled in flush. Noticeable thickening of neck. Fat deposited along inner buttocks.

26. BCS “8” - FAT

27. BCS “9” – EXTREMELY FAT
Obvious crease down back. Patchy fat appearing over ribs. Bulging fat around tail head, along withers, behind shoulders and along neck. Fat along inner buttocks may rub together. Flank filled in flush.

28. BCS “9” – EXTREMELY FAT

29. 1-9 1 is considered poor or emaciated with no body fat
9 is extremely fat or obese
Between 4 and 7 is acceptable
5 is considered ideal

30. IMMEDIATE CARE NEEDED
A horse that is rated a 1 on the Henneke Chart is often described as a walking skeleton and is in danger of dying. Courts in the United States have upheld the seizure of such horses by law enforcement citing exigent circumstances, meaning there was a very strong possibility the horse would die unless immediate action was taken.

31. COMPARISON
BCS “1” – POOR /EMACIATED
BCS “9” – EXTREMELY FAT

32. Body Condition Score of a Herd
It is common to have horses in a herd that are severely emaciated alongside horses that are in good body condition – pecking order
The key in evaluating the herd as a whole is the average body score of all the horses combined
The most dominant horses will bully other (weaker, less dominant) horses away from feed
Some horses have slower metabolisms and can survive on less feed
Ponies, miniature horses, and donkeys generally require much less feed than horses and mules

33. Body Condition Score of a Herd
Look at each horse as an individual
A herd of healthy horses with one that is in poor body condition may be:
Older
In poor health
The lowest horse in the pecking order
And the owner may need education on how to separate for feeding, etc.

34. Discrepancies in BCS When done correctly:
Assigned BCS should be within half a point from one professional to another
The 6 areas should rarely range more than 1 point difference
Research indicates that it generally takes weeks to change BCS by a whole point

35. Underfeeding & Overfeeding are Both Abusive
A horse that is emaciated is clearly in danger
A horse that is obese is also in danger
Obese horses have been overfed to the point that their health is or may be at risk
Horses with Body Condition Scores of 9 need intervention