@conference {3672,
	title = {Body condition and morphometric measures of adiposity in a cohort of Pony Club horses and ponies in New Zealand},
	booktitle = {Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production},
	volume = {75},
	year = {2015},
	month = {07/2015},
	pages = {195-199},
	address = {Dunedin},
	abstract = { A cross-sectional study was conducted to describe and compare the body condition and morphometrics of Pony Club (PC) horses
and ponies at two points in the year. Data were collected from a cohort of PC riders in spring (n=158) and autumn (n=155), with
73 repeat measurements across the two seasons. There were more ponies (68\%, 164/240, wither-height <=148 cm) than horses in the
study population. Most (76\%, 183/240) animals were kept on ad libitum pasture throughout the year and were fed small quantities
of supplementary feed. The median body condition score (BCS) of the animals was 6 (interquartile range 5-7). Forty-seven per
cent (112/240) of the animals were scored {\textquoteleft}fat{\textquoteright} (BCS >=7) and 25\% (61/240) presented with a cresty-neck score >=3. There was poor
inter-rater agreement between the study personnel and owners for BCS of horses (Kappa=0.26) and ponies (Kappa=0.11). The
study personnel identified 54\% (88/162) of ponies as {\textquoteleft}fat{\textquoteright}, whereas owners underestimated the BCS of ponies, and identified only
40\% (65/162) as {\textquoteleft}fat{\textquoteright} (P<0.001). The measurements of body weight did not differ between seasons, and only some morphologybased
assessments of adiposity differed between seasons. Overall, 17\% (15/88) of {\textquoteleft}fat{\textquoteright} ponies and 21\% (11/53) of those with
{\textquoteleft}cresty-necks{\textquoteright} were reported to have had a previous history of laminitis. Laminar rings were observed in 98\% (234/240) of the
PC horses and ponies. The study highlighted that horses and ponies kept on pasture maintain body weight and condition from
spring to autumn, but this finding may be biased by the high percentage of {\textquoteleft}fat{\textquoteright} ponies in the study population. The poor inter-rater
agreement for BCS, particularly with ponies, and similar morphological measurements between seasons, highlights the challenges
with using these measurements of adiposity in ponies},
	issn = {1176-5283},
	author = {Fernandes KA and Rogers CW and Gee EK and Bolwell CF and Thomas DG}
}
@conference {3672,
	title = {A cross-sectional survey of rider and horse demographics, and the feeding, health and management of Pony Club horses in New Zealand},
	booktitle = {Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production},
	volume = {74},
	year = {2014},
	month = {06/2014},
	pages = {11-16},
	address = {Napier},
	abstract = {A cross-sectional survey was conducted to describe rider and horse demographics, and the feeding, health, and management of horses and ponies involved with Pony Clubs in New Zealand. An online survey collected information from members of the New Zealand Pony Clubs Association between 1st November 2012 and 31st January 2013. A total of 502 respondents completed the survey. Most riders were female (95\%; 455/481) and were <=16 years of age (74\%; 357/481). Decisions on feeding and management of horses were rarely made by the rider alone (26\%; 124/476). The rider{\textquoteright}s parent or person responsible for the horse were often included in the decision-making, which occurred consistently across all age-groups <=16 years (P<0.001). Over half (53\%; 252/475) of the respondents{\textquoteright} families had more than 20 years of equine experience. On a scale of 1-9, the median body condition score (BCS) of the nominated Pony Club horses was six (interquartile range 5-6), and only 22\% (98/446) of respondents indicated that their horse was overweight (BCS >=7/9). More than 80\% of horses were managed on pasture throughout the year, with 24-hour access to grazing each day. In addition to pasture, 82\% (409/502) of respondents fed their horses a combination of commercially available equine feeds, including premixed feeds, cereals, and conserved forages. Overall, owners of Pony Club horses reported few health issues associated with their horse.},
	issn = {1176-5283},
	author = {Fernandes KA and Rogers CW and Gee EK and Bolwell CF and Thomas DG}
}
