Press Release
30thMay 2022
Awards won at Herts County Show for
Healthiest Body Condition in horses
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Last weekend the Royal Veterinary College, on behalf of The Horse Trust, made Awards for The Healthiest Body Condition in some of the Showing Classes at the Herts County Show.
Winning a gorgeous green and gold rosette for having the Healthiest Body Condition in their Classes were Sham Singh with "Colidearmad Larch" (lightweight hunter), Val Sheehan with "Red Rumour" (heavyweight hunter) and Zoe Nicholls with "Logan" (BSPA Open Ridden Qualifier).
This year The Horse Trust is ramping up their Show attendance to reward the Horses and Ponies with the Healthiest Body Condition and is being represented up and down the country, at affiliated and unaffiliated shows. Vets work in conjunction with the judges to score the equines, in the chosen classes, and award a gorgeous green and gold rosette to the animal with the Healthiest Body Condition.
What is The Weigh To Win Initiative?
The British Equine Veterinary Association states that equine obesity is one of the highest ranking equine health risks today. So the Horse Trust's Programme is an important initiative to reward healthy equine body condition and raise awareness of healthy body condition in show horses. Showing in particular is often seen to promote horses who are overweight and our aim is to challenge and educate on what is an ideal body condition.
Beginning in May, the programme will run at events throughout the Showing season providing friendly, supportive advice and guidance to owners, riders and producers.
Jan Rogers, Head of Research and Policy at The Horse Trust, says, "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 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."
Behaviouralchange scientist Dr Tamzin Furtado, from Liverpool University, has joined forces with
The Horse Trust to spread the word on how best to go about maintaining the healthiest weight."Horses who are overweight or cresty are often celebrated for their condition - and we want to slightly challenge that, by celebrating horses in ideal body condition",said Tamzin.Fellow Liverpool University graduate and vet, Ben Curnow, MRCVS, who judged body condition as part of the 2019 pilot programme, added,"It's not about being critical of, or challenging the judges, just showcasing what ideal body condition looks like."
David Ingle, former Chairman of The Showing Council and Director of Showing at the Royal International Horse Show, Hickstead, said, "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. This initiative will help to shine a light on this important aspect of showing."The Royal International Horse Show participated in the 2019 and 2021 pilotprogrammesand are pleased to include the initiative in their schedule again at this year's show.
The Horse Trust delights in sharing the success stories in their quest to see more healthy-weight horses. We will be featuring the stories of the Awards made across the media.
For further information and details of how to get involved in the 2022programme, contact via emailjennifer@holdsworthpr.co.ukor telephone on 01903 892060.
ENDS
For more media information, contact Jennifer Cranford atjennifer@holdsworthpr.co.uk01903 892060.
High-Res images can be found at:https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1GtMYXg74HNzb5ekS5mh3JznaY9W7otFD?usp=sharing