What is the average weight of an adult horse?

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-17 18:37

One of the most important zootechnical indicators for animals is the average weight. Horses in many countries of the world are used not only in equestrian sports or as a labor tax. They serve as an additional source of food. Horse meat is used both in its pure form and as an additional component in the production of sausages.

Why know the weight?

There are several reasons for this question to be answered.

1. Tribal horse breeding. The live weight of an animal is directly related to its physical capabilities. This is especially true when breeding heavy breeds, where it is important how much the horse weighs. The average weight calculated for a specific breed of each sex and age group of animals helps to control the development of young animals. Below average values indicate that the foals may be undernourished or sick. Live weight (by breed) can be correlated. In addition, with the help of body weight, the indices of the physique of animals are calculated: density, mass, pastern load.
2. Treatment. Veterinarian,prescribing the use of medicines for the treatment of an animal, it is repelled by its live weight. An overdose is fraught with serious complications, and an insufficient amount of drugs will not give the expected effect.
3. Sport, work. Excessive sports or workloads can lead to weight loss. Excess body weight will cause the body to overexert itself when exercising. Control over the condition of the animal will avoid undesirable consequences for its he alth.
4. Feeding, fattening. Raising horses for fattening or fattening is economically viable if the animals gain weight quickly. Horses are sold for meat when they reach above average fatness.
5. Sale. Horses on a personal farmstead grow old, it happens that the born and bred young animals are also not needed on the farm. The question of selling arises, and the main unit of measurement for the value of a horse is its weight.

Determination of body weight

There are several methods for determining the live weight of an animal.

First, the weigh-in. Reliable and accurate, but expensive due to the high cost of equipment. Not all private households have scales at their disposal. There are special ones for weighing animals. They most accurately determine the weight of the horse. The average deviation is no more than one kilogram. Cars are also suitable, but the error in determining the live weight can be up to 10 kg.

Second, according to the formulas. Assumes the measurement of the animal with the subsequent calculation according to the formulas:

1. Y=X6-620,where Y is the desired weight of the animal, and X is the girth of the chest behind the shoulder blades. Suitable for all types of horses.
2. Y=XK, where Y is the desired weight of the animal, X is the girth of the chest behind the shoulder blades, K is the coefficient for horses of different types:

• light horses - 2, 7;
• medium - 3, 1;
• heavy – 3, 5.

Note that this formula is suitable for animals of average body condition.

You can also measure a horse with a special tape. It is marked with a gradation in kilograms, which allows you to immediately determine the mass of the horse. Moreover, the tapes are designed for different breeds of horses, ponies, young animals, separately for mares and stallions.

Measurement with subsequent calculation does not give an absolutely accurate figure. The actual weight may differ from the calculated one up to 20 kg in one direction or another. Not suitable for measuring body weight in foals, mares, malnourished or overweight animals.

Horse measurement recommendations

The correct calculation of the live weight of an animal is affected by the quality of its measurement. It is advisable to carry it out on a flat area in good light and always with an assistant. The result may be affected by the coat of the animal. A few extra centimeters of thick and dense wool adds a dozen kilograms.

For measurement, a construction tape measure with a length of at least three meters is suitable. But the metallic sound can frighten the animal. The easiest way is to measure the horse with an ordinary baled rope, and then measure the length of the rope with a tape measure. Don't use a sewing meterit stretches and does not give an accurate result.

Standards

Developed live weight standards to control the development of young animals greatly facilitate the work of breeding farms. Foals are born with a weight of about 35 kg. From the first month of life, a good gain in body weight indicates he alth and proper development.

The average weight of horses 2 years, 1, 5, 1 years and 6 months is shown in the table:

Age	Live weight (kg)
	stallions	mares
6 months	375	365
12 months	540	525
18 months	650	615
24 months	710	665

It is at this age that the control weighing of animals is carried out, which makes it possible to determine deviations in the development of young animals in time, to eliminate possible shortcomings in keeping and feeding. Such tables have been developed for all breeds, including local aboriginal ones that have economic value. At the age of three, the animal moves into the "adult" group. The average weight of a horse 5 years of trotting or riding direction can be considered unchanged. Representatives of heavy draft breeds grow up to 7 years, can significantly add both in height and in live weight.

Bed condition

The average weight of an adult horse depending on height is shown in the table:

Height at withers, cm	Body weight, kg	Breed
150-180	300-500	Heavy, trotting, riding
100-110	80-200	Pony
130	250	Przewalski's horse

Abroad, fatness gradation is evaluated on a scale from 1 to 10 points. The following conditions are determined in the post-Soviet space:

• show, well-fed animals with relief muscles and rounded shapes;
• factory, good fatness without excess fat;
• working, satisfactory fatness, fit, muscular;
• training, optimal fatness, in which the horse is able to show maximum effort when tested for traction, agility, endurance, load capacity;
• poor, emaciated animals.

Weight loss

On average, a horse's weight should be appropriate for its age. Its decrease can be caused by a number of reasons.

1. Disease of the oral cavity, including teeth. This is indicated by a complete rejection of food, frequent loss of forage from the oral cavity during feeding, and an unpleasant odor.
2. helminthicdiseases. With good nutrition, the animal does not gain, and sometimes even loses body weight, especially in the spring, when going out to pasture.
3. Insufficient or unbalanced feeding. The amount of forage is not always a positive indicator if its quality does not meet zootechnical requirements. You can fill the horse's stomach with bare straw, it seems not hungry, but there are almost no nutrients. Weight gain with such a diet is physically impossible.
4. Physical load exceeds the capabilities of the animal. Overworking in agricultural work or sports training leads to weight loss. The amount of energy coming from the feed is less than what the horse spends during the day. It is important to consider that energy consumption goes in two directions: to maintain your own body and to perform physical activity. For foals and young horses, the energy of growth replaces work.

Weight gain

The weight of an animal depends on several factors:

• Containment Conditions;
• workload;
• breeds;
• age;
• Destination.

All animals are conditionally divided into the following weight categories:

• light - within 400 kg;
• medium - 400-600kg;
• heavy - over 600 kg.

If for any reason 50% of a horse's average weight is lost, then recovery is almost impossible. There is a chance to fatten an animal with a loss of up to 30% of live weight. The process is long and very costly. ATFirst of all, the animal is released from any work. They check the physical condition for diseases, and, if necessary, carry out appropriate treatment. For a complete picture, it is desirable to do a detailed blood test.

The next step is the selection of feed and the calculation of the diet. The rates are gradually increasing. A sharp increase in volume can lead to overeating and colic. The total weight of feed, together with food additives and mineral supplements, should correspond to 1.8% - 2% of the animal's weight. To improve the digestion and assimilation of forage, it is recommended to introduce oil (vegetable) into the diet, starting from 50 mm per day. Within a week, the rate is increased to 150 mm.

Record values

Indicators of the average weight of a horse can be significantly higher or lower in representatives of different breeds. The heaviest are shires, they hold a record of 1524 kg. This record of the 19th century has not been surpassed to this day. The horse was nicknamed Samson, later it was renamed Mammoth, quite justifiably, its height was 219 cm at the withers. Currently, the championship is held by the Australian stallion Nordrema Lascombe with a live weight of 1300 kg.

The incredibly large horse looks like a monster against the background of a small representative of the Farabella breed. This Argentine breed is the smallest in the world. The record for the Little Pumpkin colt is 9 kg, height at the withers 35.5 cm. In 1975, this figure was entered in the Guinness Book of Records.