Henneke Body Scoring - True Blue Animal Rescue

Henneke Scale

The Henneke Equine Body Condition Scoring system was developed by Don Henneke while he was a graduate student. It is the scoring standard used by veterinarians, authorities and rescue groups to determine the condition of equines.

CONDITION	NECK	WITHERS	SHOULDER	RIBS	LOIN	TAILHEAD
1 POOR	Bone structure easily noticeable	Bone structure easily noticeable	Bone structure easily noticeable	Ribs protruding prominently	Spinous processes projecting prominently	Tailhead, pinbones, and hook bones projecting prominently
2 VERY THIN	Bone structure faintly discernible	Bone structure faintly discernible	Bone structure faintly discernible	Ribs prominent	Slight fat covering over base of spinous processes. Transverse processes of lumbar vertebrae feel rounded. Spinous processes are prominent	Tailhead prominent
3 THIN	Neck accentuated	Withers accentuated	Shoulder accentuated	Slight fat cover over ribs. Ribs easily discernible	Fat buildup halfway on spinous processes, but easily discernible. Traverse processes cannot be felt	Tailhead prominent but individual vertebrae cannot be visually identified. Hook bones appear rounded, but are still easily discernible. Pin bones not distinguishable
4 MODERATELY THIN	Neck not obviously thin	Withers not obviously thin	Shoulder not obviously thin	Faint outline of ribs discernible	Negative crease (peaked appearance) along back	Prominence depends on conformation. Fat can be felt. Hook bones not discernible
5 MODERATE	Neck blends smoothly into body	Withers rounded over spinous processes	Shoulder blends smoothly into body	Ribs cannot be visually distinguished, but can be easily felt	Back is level	Fat around tailhead beginning to feel soft
6 MODERATELY FLESHY	Fat beginning to be deposited	Fat beginning to be deposited	Fat beginning to be deposited	Fat over ribs feels spongy	May have a slight positive crease (a groove) down back	Fat around tailhead feels soft
7 FLESHY	Fat deposited along neck	Fat deposited along withers	Fat deposited behind shoulder	Individual ribs can be felt with pressure, but noticeable fat filling between ribs	May have a positive crease down the back	Fat around tailhead is soft
8 FAT	Noticeable thickening of neck	Area along withers filled with fat	Area behind shoulder filled in flush with body	Difficult to feel ribs	Positive crease down the back	Fat around tailhead very soft
9 EXTREMELY FAT	Bulging fat	Bulging fat	Bulging fat	Patchy fat appearing over ribs	Obvious crease down the back	Bulging fat around tailhead

Important Note: Visual inspection of a horse is not sufficient. Palpation -- actually feeling the horse -- is required for an accurate assessment. You have to feel the flesh to judge condition. This is especially important in assessing horses with a heavy winter hair coat -- the fluff can hide how little flesh a horse is carrying.

Exactly where do you look and feel?

Real-life Examples of Horses and their Henneke Scale Rating by a Veterinarian

Henneke Scale 1 - at best

Gracie

Hope

Great example of visual inspection NOT being sufficient.
From this picture, Warrior looks like a 2, but his palpate exam revealed he is a 1.

Horses in this poor of condition take a tremendous amount of rehabilitation; and often cost $2000-3000 in feed and veterinary bills. Rehabilitation takes months.
Even with our best efforts, TLC and a lot of prayers, they don't always make it.

Gracie Today

Hope Today