The Horse Trust is ramping up its Healthy Body Condition Awards with many showing shows signing up to be ‘Weight-Aware’. The new awards recognise and reward horses and ponies in the best condition as well as providing support and advice.
At Hickstead’s Royal International Horse Show (RIHS), awards were handed out in more than 20 classes and more than 400 horses were body conditioned scored by the team’s qualified experts, Tamzin Furtado PhD, Alison Talbot MRCVS and Dee Pollard from the British Horse Society.
Aredis Russel (pictured top), an 18.2hh gelding owned and exhibited by Holly Gaunt won the Horse Trust’s award for having the healthiest body condition in the Middleweight Hunter Championship. ‘Russel’, a six-year-old iron grey.is based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. He is hacked out a lot and has a dressage lesson once a month.
Holly and her connections had first heard of the awards at the Malton Show because they won it there too. The team said it was good to see they were keeping Russel healthy by continuing his effective exercise regime.
Basingwerk Dream Works by Equinational
Basingwerk Dream Works is based in Bradford and was also awarded a green and gold rosette from The Horse Trust in the Small Riding Horse Championship. ‘Jonty’ is a five-year-old owned by Nicola Worthington-French and ridden by Isabella Worthington.
“He has been competing Burghley young event horse and Novice Intermediate workers”, said Isabella. “He lives out, has a nice varied life, he does whatever is easiest, hacks, jumping, lessons at riding club with mum. He has a very easy life, he loves learning and loves life, he is my best friend he is so sweet. My ambition is for him to become my intermediate working hunter and/or my eventer.
“I have previously won this award on my other horse Dolphins Lawyer as a five-year-old at the Great Yorkshire Show, again in the Riding Horse Class.”
Improving welfare
The RIHS has supported the Horse Trust programme since 2019, and organisers said they were pleased to raise the profile for the awards at this year’s event.
“Showing is keen to become more educational and we are in an era of great improvement in equine welfare, with increasing scrutiny under social license,” said David Ingle, Director of Showing at the Royal International Horse Show, Hickstead and former Chairman of The Showing Council. “This initiative shines a light on this important aspect of showing.”
Jan Rogers, Head of Research and Policy at The Horse Trust, added: “We get very upset by seeing photos of underweight horses in the media, but in reality, far more horses are obese than are underweight.
“This is worrying for vets who are finding that they have to treat these horses with serious health conditions like Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS) and laminitis. Peoples’ perceptions of what is a healthy weight have shifted towards the higher body condition scores. We would like to help to reset this balance.”
Lead image by Equinational
