Progress made in tackling equine obesity – but welfare must be key in judging
The weigh to win awards update for 2026 showed significant change but the need for more still to be done
Huhe progress continues to be made in tackling equine obesity in the show ring – and key to future success must be “embedding” this thinking in judging.
Those behind the Weigh to Win awards – by which the horse or pony in the healthiest body condition in a participating class is given a special rosette – held a discussion at the Royal International Horse Show on 22 July.
The scheme is funded by The Horse Trust and supported by the University of Liverpool, has been running since 2019 and is expanding every year. In 2026, there was a 19% increase, to 60, in the number of events hosting the awards. Representatives have been invited to societies’ judge-training conferences and run training days, covering areas including body condition scoring and the risks associated with excess equine weight.
Scheme spokesperson Rachael Holdsworth reported on the first Weigh to Win awards championships last year; finalists who had won multiple awards were invited to the London International Horse Show and the winners presented with rosettes and sashes. The second championship will take place at this year’s show.
Ms Holdsworth added that the scheme’s social media posts are now being seen by thousands of people, including 70,000 views in three months on Facebook this year.
“It blows my mind to see all these people engaging with this; I think it’s a huge step forward,” she said. “Looking to the future, we’re going to talk about how we move the program forward. We’d like to work more with judges, to encourage winners to give us more feedback. We’ve had our judges’ WhatsApp group in operation for a couple of years, which works really well, and more involvement with that will help us cover more shows.
“Thank you all for being such supporters of this programme. We’re all in this together and making a difference.”
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
Body condition score data collected since 2021 show a “significant improvement”.
Weight to win awards’ “fantastic” progress
British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) president Imogen Burrows said it was “fantastic” to see the initiative’s progress, but asked if availability of people to judge body condition in participating classes may be a barrier.
“BEVA has tried to advertise for people who want to get involved,” she said. “It is quite daunting to stand alongside a judge but you do tend to get asked back, and I think at local shows, that’s good advertising for the practice.
“We get members saying, ‘We see all these fat ponies in showing’, what are you doing, and staying engaged with this gives the opportunity to see the change, and to go back to them and say ‘You can be part of the solution’.”
Ms Burrows suggested that vets champion clients who have won the healthy weight awards to help inspire others and spread the word of the scheme.
It was agreed that no award should be given out if no horses in a class are in a healthy condition.
“If there’s nothing [healthy], should we give a rosette?” said Jan Rogers of the Horse Trust.
“They may be the healthiest, but [the excess weight] is doing damage just by being there. If we’re giving it to horses who are not healthy, even if they are the healthiest looking, what message are we conveying to people watching?”
The wrong message?
One organiser said that in such a case, the show moved the body condition judge to another class rather than give the rosette to an overweight horse. A judge said she had walked out of classes as giving an award would give the wrong message.
It was suggested that in classes with several healthy horses, some could be given highly commended cards to show owners they are on the right track.
Ms Rogers said all the data from participating classes is collated by researcher Tamzin Furtado, who has been running the scheme with Ms Rogers from the start.
“There are some really positive changes,” she said. “Pony crests, for example – we’ve seen a nice downward line on the graph, and that’s fantastic. There are some classes that are quite resistant to change. Those would be the maxi cobs, but they have improved. They were off the scale, now they’re on it but there’s still far to go.
“Also Welsh section Cs and Ds and Highlands are the ones where we’re really trying to get changes. We need to think about what it is in those classes and communities that means people aren’t quite getting the message.”
Welfare at the forefront
It was agreed that welfare must be at the forefront in judging, and that societies must empower judges to work in this way.
“The whole thing about body condition should be more mainstream, embedded in the judging culture and in the judge,” Ms Rogers said. “Judges are saying they’re instructed to do it, and some do, to a greater or lesser extent.”
Producer Edward Young said that although things are improving, “there are still fat horses being rewarded” in class placings.
“I’d love one of these rosettes,” he said. “There are still classes where the horse who wins the weigh to win isn’t placed. Until judges start putting those horses higher; that’s going to be the biggest challenge.
“The biggest acid test will be when horses that condition-score correctly are making up the majority of the line, and that will be through the societies. It has to be embedded in the judging criteria, that’s the only way forward.”
What do you think about the progress made in tackling obesity? Let us know your thoughts at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and county, for the chance to have your thoughts published in a future issue of Horse & Hound magazine
Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.