Purina Animal Nutrition Announces Desire for Every Horse in America to Achieve Optimal Body Condition – Plaid Horse Magazine

Their new horse weight management challenge, with Thick and Thin, seeks to empower their horse owners to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight and lifestyle.

Formal publication

Arden Hills, Minn. (November 11, 2024) – Purina Animal Nutrition announced today the launch of its new challenge, Through Thick and Thin, which seeks to help every American horse achieve and maintain ideal body condition score (BCS) . In a recent survey of horse owners, one in four said they were concerned about their horse’s weight.^[1] therefore Purina presents the challenge of educating and empowering horse owners around taking an active role in managing this important aspect of overall health.

“A horse’s physical condition affects many aspects of their life, from their performance to their health,” said Mary Beth Gordon, PhD, Senior Director, Equine Technical Innovation. And of all the health issues that horses can face, their weight and BCS is something that horse owners can have a positive impact on with the right tools and information.

BCS is a statistical method used to evaluate a horse’s body condition based on its fat mass and visual appearance. It is measured on a scale of 1-9, with 1 being very low weight and 9 being very overweight.

Although the correct BCS for each horse depends on their specific activity, age and other factors, the average horse should aim for a BCS between 5 or 6. Broodmares can achieve a BCS of 7 throughout their pregnancy, while horses and endurance horses may be healthy. A BCS of 4. Horses with a higher BCS than their ideal score are at greater risk of metabolic problems, while horses with a lower than ideal BCS are at risk of malnutrition.

Veterinarians are an important resource to consult when managing your horse’s weight. They can determine what the ideal BCS for each horse should be and provide valuable clinical support for issues related to obesity, such as insulin resistance. A partnership between horse owners, veterinarians and nutritionists is the best way to help horses achieve their ideal body condition and support any health problems that horses have. too.

Horse owners can measure their horse’s BCS by examining their horse’s fat in specific areas of the body. For detailed instructions on measuring and interpreting a horse’s BCS, check out these tips from Purina’s scientific team.

“By providing horse owners with educational tools on weight management and feeding and nutrition solutions that help improve body condition, we are taking steps to achieve our goal of having more horses in the United States to achieve and maintain their ideal BCS,” said Dr. Gordon.

Horse owners can participate in the Through Thick and Thin Challenge by:

About Purina
Purina Animal Nutrition LLC (www.purinamills.com) is a national organization serving pet owners and their families through more than 4,700 local cooperatives, independent retailers, and other retailers across the United States. Driven by unlocking the greatest potential in every animal, the company is an industry-leading innovator offering a portfolio of quality complete foods, supplements, premixes, ingredients and unique technologies for of all animal markets. Purina Animal Nutrition LLC is headquartered in Arden Hills, Minn. and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Land O’Lakes, Inc.