Putting the System to Work

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Condition	Neck	Withers	Loin	Tailhead	Ribs	Shoulder
1 Poor	Bone structure easily noticeable, animal extremely emaciated, no fatty tissue can be felt	Bone structure easily noticeable	Spinous processes project prominently	Tailhead (pinbone) and hook bones project prominently	No fat cover over ribs.	Bone structure easily noticeable
2 Very Thin	Faintly discernable, animal emaciated	Faintly discernable	Slight fat covering over base of spinous processes. Transverse processes of lumbar vertebrae feel rounded. Spinous processes are prominent.	Tailhead prominent	Slight fat cover over ribs. Ribs easily discernable.	Shoulder accentuated
3 Thin	Neck accentuated	Withers accentuated	Fat buildup halfway on spinous processes but easily discernable. Transverse processes cannot be felt.	Tailhead prominent but individual vertebrae cannot be visually identified. Hook bones appear rounded but are still easily discernable. Pin bones not distinguishable.	Slight fat cover over ribs. Ribs easily discernable.	Shoulder accentuated
4 Moderately Thin	Neck not obviously thin	Withers not obviously thin	Negative crease along back	Prominence depends on conformation; fat can be felt. Hook bones not discernable.	Faint outline discernable	Shoulder not obviously thin
5 Moderate	Neck blends smoothly into body	Withers rounded over spinous processes	Back level	Fat around tailhead beginning to feel spongy	Ribs cannot be visually distinguished but can be easily felt	Shoulder blends smoothly into body
6 Moderately Fleshy	Fat beginning to be deposited	Fat beginning to be deposited	May have slight positive crease down back	Fat around tailhead feels soft	Fat over ribs feels spongy	Fat beginning to be deposited
7 Fleshy	Fat deposited along neck	Fat deposited along withers	May have positive crease down back	Fat around tailhead is soft	Individual ribs can be felt, but noticeable filling between ribs with fat	Fat deposited behind shoulder
8 Fat	Noticeable thickening of neck	Area along withers filled with fat	Positive crease down back	Tailhead fat very soft. Fat deposited along inner buttocks	Difficult to feel ribs	Area behind shoulder filled in flush with body
9 Extremely Fat	Bulging fat.	Bulging fat	Obvious positive crease down back	Building fat around tailhead. Fat along inner buttocks may rub together. Flank filled in flush	Patchy fat appearing over ribs	Bulging fat
From: Henneke et al. Equine Vet J. (1983) 15 (4), 371-372