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Posted: 2nd March 2022
Equi-BCS can be used to monitor a horse's bodyweight and condition.
A PhD student at the University of Glasgow has developed a free app to help tackle obesity in horses.
Katie Williams, an equine nutritionist, designed the app to help horse owners monitor their horse's bodyweight and condition. Named Equi-BCS, the app allows horse owners to record and share their horse's weight data to share with professionals.
Discussing why she developed the app, Ms Williams said: “One of the toughest challenges for any horse owner is keeping weight off their horse, and previous studies have shown that horse owners tend to underestimate their horse’s body condition score.
“To succeed, a collaborative approach is required including vets, nutritionists and farriers working together with horse owners.
“It is incredible how quickly a horse can change and so monitoring regularly, ideally every two weeks, is key.
“Receiving a reminder will provide the prompt that many people need to ensure they take time to assess their horse and either make adjustments to the ration, or seek advice from their vet or nutritionist.”
After surveying veterinary professionals, nutritionists and horse owners, the app has been updated, and the new version of the Equi-BCS app is available to download for free from Apple's app store, or the Google Play store.
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The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has updated its online reporting service for dead wild birds.
