PREVALENCE OF OVERWEIGHT IN HORSES: A COMPARISON OF OWNER AND PROFESSIONAL ASSESSMENTS OF BODY CONDITION AND WEIGHT ESTIMATION

Abstract

This study aimed to compare the owners’ perception of horse body condition and body weight with professional assessment to determine the prevalence of overweight in horses within the Sokoto metropolis. A questionnaire was administered to assess owner perception of body condition and weight (BW) of 79 horses. Body condition scores and morphometric measurements such as Heart Girth (HG), neck circumference (NC), neck length (NL), body length (BL), and height at withers (HW) were carried out by an experienced equine veterinarian. The BW, body mass index (BMI), NC: HW, and HG: HW ratios were calculated. The majority of the horses were male, Nigerian local breed, and engaged in racing. Owners’ perception of the horses’ body condition was often inaccurate when compared with the assessment made by the professional, with 27.6% of the horses either underscored or overscored by the owners. The BCS of the horses varied between 2.8 to 7.5. The prevalence of overweight horses in this study is 25% and 17.1% based on professional and owner assessments, respectively. The BW, BMI, cresty neck scores (CNS), NC, HG: HW, and NC: HW ratio significantly increased with BCS. In conclusion, 25% of the horses in Sokoto metropolis are overweight, and the owners misperceive the body condition and weight of their horses, with underestimation being the common misperception.