Obesity is a major welfare issue for horses and ponies. Not only because of the direct weight-associated effects. But also due to the increased risk it poses for certain clinical conditions, in particular laminitis. But can you spot an overweight horse?

There are several ways to monitor your horse or pony’s condition such as Body Condition Scoring or using the Body Condition Index tool. You can find out more about these methods here.

Body Condition Scoring is a popular method of practically assessing the horse or pony’s level of fat. It covers several areas of the body where fat is normally laid down. The assessment is made by eye and by touch using a numerical grading system. Here at SPILLERS, we use the 1-9 scale based on the method developed by Henneke et al (1993) but other scales are available.

Whilst touch is a key part of Body Condition Scoring, it is useful to learn how to make an assessment just by eye. These days when we are exposed to so many images of horses and ponies on social media, it’s good if you can tell if a horse is overweight from a photo alone. Being able to spot an overweight horse is important as a first step in tackling the welfare issues that obesity presents our equines.


Take our test today to see if you can spot an overweight horse or pony.

Below you will see photos for 20 horses and ponies. All you need to do is select what you think the body condition score for each horse or pony is. Your answers will then be marked against what our team of nutritionists gave each horse and pony to see how many of them you matched correctly. We expect by the end of this test you will be an expert in spotting if a horse is overweight. At the end of the quiz, you'll be able to scroll down to view the results. Correct answers will be highlighted green. If you selected a different BCS to what our nutritionist gave, your answer will be highlighted red. Good luck!