Knowing your horse’s weight can be very useful for many purposes including calculating feed rations and knowing how much of a de-wormer to administer.
It is not always easy to find a scale that will accommodate the weight of a horse therefore the next best option is to estimate the horse’s weight using one of the following methods.
The most common method used to calculate the weight of a horse is a height/weight tape. When wrapped around the horse’s girth, this special tape will display an approximate estimate of the horse’s weight. This tool has been around for many years and is considered to be quite reliable.
Another method is to calculate the horse’s weight using your own measurements. Simply measure the horse’s girth and length (in inches) and calculate his or her weight using the following formula:
In order to measure girth (heart girth):
Measure (in inches) from the base of the withers down to a couple of inches behind the horse’s front legs, then under his or her belly and up the opposite side to where you started.
Note: your tape measure should run at an angle.
In order to measure body length:
Measure (in inches) from the point of the horse’s shoulder to the point of his or her rump.
Note: your tape measure should be running at an angle.
A calibrated weight scale will always give the most accurate weight however these suggested methods can be utilized in order to obtain a reasonable estimated value.
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