Researchers found that 27.5% of the study horses were significantly overweight or obese, having a score of at least five on the six-point scale. | Photo: iStock

You love your horse just the way he is, despite his imperfections. When it comes to his body condition, though, try to see him through clear, objective eyes. And if possible, check his weight through measurable ways, Swiss researchers say.

“Owners in our study tended to not see the obesity in their horses, although it was obvious to us as objective scientific observers,” said Marie Pfammatter, BSc in agronomics with a specialty in equine sciences, from the Bern University of Applied Sciences School of Agricultural, Forest, and Food Sciences, in Switzerland.

Pfammatter and colleagues visited 51 leisure horses and their owners at their home facilities and asked the owners about their horses’ body condition. They asked them to rate their horses on a scale of one to six, with six being obese. They chose not to use established body condition score indexes so as not to influence the owners’ responses