Horse Weights..?

Question

Anyone know of ideal weights for horses?

Ive got:

15.3hh TB 16yo gelding, who I use for general hacking and the odd showjumping

15.1hh TB 7yo gelding, who I have just started eventing on

You see on the feed bags, that they're suppose to weigh between 450 and 550kg

But i find this quite vaige

Does anyone know an average weight for these 2?

Or could you tell me what your horses weigh?

Thanks

Answer 1

Ask your vet - it depends on the individual horse. However, I think #1 might weigh about 1,500 and #2 1,300...I'm not really sure though.

Answer 2

My 15.3 hh Arab gelding is fit and weighs 1000 lbs.

My 15 hand stocky paint mare is 1100 lbs, but I'm getting her back down to 1000 lbs which is where Iike her to be. I kind of let up on making her wear a grazing muzzle and it took her about 5 minutes to gain 100 lbs !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 3

Since horse body types vary so much, I don't go by weights, I go by body condition scale.  This is really the way to do it.  Horses should be at about a 5 on this scale although some people (like me) prefer to have them at more of a 4.  Here's a website that might help:

http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/ht...

Answer 4

Its hard to say, but the 15.3hh horse should be about 1080 lbs and the 15.1hh should be about 1060 lbs.  Good luck!

Answer 5

Both horses should be between 1000 and 1200 pounds. But unless you plan on putting them on a scale their weight doesn't matter too much. For thoroughbreds that are in shape, you should be able to see a couple of ribs. If you can see the hipbone they are too thin. If you can't see or even feel the ribs they are too fat.

Also, beware that for horses out of shape, many times they can get too fat and you can still see their ribs because they are carrying all the weight in their gut.

Answer 6

It's quite difficult to guess without seeing them. Even TBs have quite a range of conformations.

If they were middleweight, then I would aim for around 500 kg for the larger and 475 kg for the smaller. You should condition score them on the UK system and use a weigh tape to keep track. The Dodson & Horrell website shows you how to condition score.

My horses are 16.2 TB who in his fighting fit days was 600 kg. Now he is retired I try to keep him at 575, but no lower than 550. My other horse 15.3 ISH is ideally between 450 and 500, but I have the opposite problem with her in that she tends to put on weight.