Fit, not fat: experts have their say on what elite sport horses should look like

Concern some top eventers at Badminton were too thin or under-muscled may show how common overweight horses are, it has been proposed, as people are reminded that fitness can have many faces.

In the wake of this year’s CCI5* at Mars Badminton Horse Trials (8–11 May), numerous people posted pictures of horses on social media claiming they were underweight or had atrophied muscles. But, as H&H has previously reported, equine obesity is so common, it can mean people’s view of “normal” weight has been distorted, so horses who are lean and fit may be seen as too thin.

Clare MacLeod, an independent equine nutritionist with more than 20 years’ experience, said: “I’ve been disappointed about some of the awful comments flying around Facebook by people who don’t understand the appropriate body composition of an event horse. Horses lay down fat along their topline, so when they have low body fat, they can, to the amateur eye, look under-muscled, when in fact they are not.

“Some of the owners I work with worry that their horses are too thin but I think that’s because generally we’re used to seeing slightly – or significantly – overweight horses.”

Ms MacLeod told H&H she posted about the issue on her social media as she was concerned the original posts, and misinformation on the topic, could be shared widely.

“I think that’s what happened here,” she said. “Everyone got excited and started sharing these posts as if they were true. I’m passionate about getting real evidence-based information out there, and these posts were just wrong. The danger of social media is if something gets talked about enough, people start believing it’s real, which is concerning.”

Ms MacLeod noted that each horse is an individual, but said it is worth some amateur owners looking at more top-level fit horses to understand what they look like.

“The other thing that concerned me about these posts is that I didn’t see much of other people saying, ‘This is what those horses do look like,’” she said. “We’ve now got research showing that many owners find it hard to assess horses’ body fat and our view of ‘normal’ is changed by what we see.

“There were also some bodyworkers and saddle fitters talking about atrophied muscle, but I think they may not be used to working with very slim, fit horses, and it’s a misunderstanding of the sport. There’s a reason those horses are so slim, and it’s a good reason.”

British Equine Veterinary Association veterinary projects officer Lucy Grieve pointed out that as with human athletes, top horses’ body shapes and composition can vary, and that static photos can “give an impression of shape that is at odds with the reality”.

“Given that an event horse is training for three disciplines there will likely be a broader range of morphologies among them, which may become exaggerated as you observe them through the levels,” she told H&H.

“At the elite end of the sport there will be horses demonstrating relative strengths and weaknesses in all aspects of their physiology, as this is what any sport and competition is about – no two are the same. Just as us humans know, some will gain muscle mass more easily in different places, and some may demonstrate a variable reduction in redistribution of muscle with increasing fitness.

“Where there is noticeably reduced muscle mass we should always ask why… is it pain, neurological, poor training, genetics, previous injury, individual variation – or does that difference in fact constitute a competitive advantage to that individual in some way when performing one of the many tasks involved?

“Given that the morphology of elite event horses is fairly consistent across the board, it would suggest that those nuances we see compared to horses in other disciplines are likely a product of the characteristics favoured by the activities they do.”

Former Badminton winner Andrew Nicholson noted, and welcomed the fact, that many horses at Badminton this year were “fitter and leaner than previously” (opinion, 29 May).

“Fitness was much discussed at the FEI Eventing Forum in January, and it appears that the message has been received and acted on,” he said.

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