The goal most owners should be seeking is something in between. The ribs should be able to be felt but have a good layer of tissue and muscle over them. The spinal colum should not be seen below the whithers other than a bit of a crease in the center of the back. The hips should be a bit rounded. Now comes the hard part! All horses are put together different so even these guidelines are not 100% accurate! Some horses tend to have what is called "well sprung ribs" which would mean even if this horse is in good weight the ribs will still be noticeable and appear to be "showing". Some horses have what is called a "roach back" and even when they are at a decent weight, some of the spinal processes toward the hips may be visible..especially on an older horse. What is important when looking at and evaluating your horse's condition is to stand back and take an overall assessment of its general appearance. Are the eyes bright? Is the neck nicely filled and smooth appearing where it joins the shoulders? Do the whithers join the back and barrell in a smooth transition? Are the flanks sunken, or do they follow the path from the barrel to the buttocks in a nicely filled line? This can help you decide if your horse is carrying adequate weight. The "easy keepers" are often more difficult since they seem to subsist on air! I enjoy the humor of Dr. R. Oglesby on the "Horseman's Advisor" and one of his guidelines to giving grain to these horses is as follows: take a very small container, and pour the grain onto the horse's back, it can have what falls off!

Probably one of the most important issues that people tend to forget, is that the horse evolved as a GRAZING animal. This means forage. Horses are also not ruminants like cows, or goats or deer. They have only one small stomach and their digestion is done in a different manner than the ruminants. This digestion calls for a higher quality and more specific type of forage. They need a forage that has a minimal size to it and won't do as well digesting a fiber that grossly exceeds this either. A good quality grass for grazing is the best case scenario. In winter, this translates into dried grass or hay. Grain is the seed from grasses. Horses rarely got a chance to eat much in the way of these seeds except when the grasses were mature enough to produce them. However, centuries ago, horsemen found that grains were a good source of concentrated and easy to store and transport feed. I am not a nutritionist so am not going to go into all the various forms of grains that are available to feed to your horses here. The wonderful book by Dr. Lon Lewis, "Feeding and Care of the Horse" will do that for you. I would just like to give some practical ideas and background for a decent, down to earth feeding approach. This should always start with a basis of good quality grazing material, either grass or hay. Hay that tends to be nice and green will be high in Vit A. A few grasses I am familiar with are "Timothy", "Brome" and "Orchard Grass". These are all very nice grasses for hay and the nutritional value in them is always better when they are cut before complete maturity, or when they have developed seeds. This nutritional value decreases once the seedheads have been produced.

It is important that you discuss with your Veterinarian or Veterinarian College in your area as to what hay is available and considered the best forage for horses. During this discussion, be sure and ask about all the good and bad issues involved with this hay.