We have two nutritionists, Gina and Isabel who travel the length and breadth of the country, each armed with a weighbridge (the posh name for a really big set of scales) that they use to weigh horses. Knowing how much your horse weighs, is really useful for several reasons;

  • Helping to assess your horse’s body condition and consequent calorie requirement
  • As a guide to how much wormer they require
  • To manage your transport payloads

 

At the clinic, our nutritionists will also Body Condition Score (BCS) your horse, which is a method of practically assessing the level of fat covering across several areas of the body where fat is normally laid down. Your horse’s BCS is graded on a 1-9 scale with 1 being emaciated, 9 being obese and 5 being the perfect body condition. The BCS, along with your horse’s actual weight and previous history will be assessed together by the nutritionist so that they can give you tailored nutritional advice for your horse.

Weighbridge clinic

If you’re interested in the weighbridge visiting your yard, he’s a quick run through of the session;

  • Nutritionist arrives and sets up
  • Each horse is given a 15 minute time slot
  • At the start of each slot, our nutritionist will ask about your horse’s age, workload, general health including any clinical conditions they suffer with, and their daily routine and feeding regime.
  • Next, your horse will be weighed on the weighbridge. As the weighbridge has a large surface area and is only raised a few centimeters from the ground, most horses are happy to step on without any hesitation. If they are unsure, they are given plenty of time and reassurance to get used to it and lots of SPILLERS treats as a little further encouragement to get on – which works with 99% of horses!
  • Your horse will then be Body Condition Scored. Our nutritionist will run their hands over your horse’s body to assess their fat covering whilst providing commentary of their assessment before giving your horse or pony an overall score.
  • Our nutritionist will then analyse all of this information before providing you with tailored nutritional advice and a diet plan if requested.
  • Finally, as a thank you for taking part in the clinic you’ll be given a £5 SPILLERS feed voucher that you can redeem at any participating store. You’ll also receive a product guide with a record of your horse’s weight, BCS and diet plan.
  • The next horse will then be seen.

 

Spillers horse feed voucher

 

The weighbridge clinic is free to arrange, though we do ask that there is a minimum of 10 horses at your yard that would like to participate in the clinic and that you haven’t had a visit from us within the last 6 months just to help Gina and Isabel manage their workload and see as many horse’s as possible.

If you would like to arrange a visit, you can either do so by completing the weighbridge clinic enquiry form here or calling our Care-Line on 01908 226626.