How to estimate your horse’s weight
I thought I was “spot on” when I said, for years, that my horse weighed 1200 lbs. Turns out he weighs 900 lbs. My eyes are clearly not good at this game! It’s important to estimate your horse’s weight for a few reasons:
- Diet analysis
- Dosages of supplements, wormers, etc.
- Health monitoring
- Overall trends in your horse’s weight
With access to a livestock scale, you can quickly get your horse’s weight – but who has a livestock scale handy! Estimate your horse’s weight with a weight tape – it’s easier.
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How to estimate your horse’s weight with a weight tape:
Measure along these lines
- Collect your measurements in centimeters or inches – front to back and around the middle. Have a friend help you so that you can be accurate in your starting and finishing points unless you have a ridiculously large wingspan because you are a giant.
- Your front-to-back measurement goes from the point of shoulder to the point of the buttocks. Different than measuring for a blanket! This line may not be horizontal, so don’t worry about that!
- For the around the middle measurement, formally known as the heart girth measurement, wrap the tape around your horse’s barrel. Go snugly behind both elbows and end at the highest point of the wither. Then slide your tape one inch or so towards the tail.
This handy tape also measures your horse’s height.
Now bust out the math.
-
- (Girth in inches x Girth x Length) / 330 = Approximate weight in lbs.
- (Girth in centimeters x Girth x Length) / 11,900 = Approximate weight in kg.
- Now you have a baseline weight! It’s a good idea to check your horse’s weight often. You may need to adjust your horse’s diet, exercise routine, or some other aspect of your horse’s lifestyle to keep him at an optimal weight. Verifying with your veterinarian or equine nutritionist is also a good idea, as this is just an estimate.
For the dangers of an overweight horse, read this prize-worthy piece.
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