weight tapes for Minis

[bevann]

How accurate are weight tapes?Measured 1 mare this AM and got 387 lbs.MY Minis are older and plan to get them cremated when the time comes.Trying to line up a place now since 1 has many bad days(she has rallied just recently so I don't have to make the tough decision just yet) and don't want to wait until the last minute.387 seems a bit high-she is fat but not overly obese

 

[FurstPlaceMiniatures]

Not at all.

My boyfriend is a cattle dealer. A customer was insistent on selling by the pound and weight taping to find the weight. They were weight taped correctly before they went on the trailer. He drove them 40 minutes down the road to the auction where they have a legit scale.

Over 5 cattle the tape was over 800 lbs off. He paid for but he was not paid for those 800lbs that did not exist. Needless to say he does not do business with that twit anymore

My advice is to try to find a real scale or have a vet with a good eye give a guesstimate.

 

[shorthorsemom]

For minis there is a weight conversion chart. It is different from what I have been told than the weight tape for horses.

If you measure the heart girth of your mini using a cloth tape measure and post it here I can give you the weight my chart says if you want.

 

[chandab]

There is an on-line calculator for this somewhere, I'll check and see if I have it bookmarked. [As far as I know it's the same formula with heartgirth and length, but the computer does the math for you.]

Here's one: https://www.smartpakequine.com/content/horse-weight-calculator

It's probably more accurate for full-size horses, but you can try it.

There is a formula and a chart in the LB info pages:

http://www.lilbeginnings.com/info/misc/The formula has more accurate for me than the chart (I have a livestock scale now, so use that, but did comparisons when I first got it to see).

 

[AngC]

Weight tapes for "big" horses don't work. I've tried various formulas. All of them had significant error in the range of plus/minus 25 to 50 pounds. When we first had Nicky, I was trying to use the formulas. The worst formula gave me an underestimate of 48 lbs; considering he's about 250 lbs, I'd consider that significant.

Unfortunately I can't remember which formula was worst, but I think the one from a book on miniature horses (written by a vet ) gave the best results.

You need two measurements (in inches):

1.) Body length, from the point of the shoulder to the point of the buttocks/pelvis

2.) Heart girth, at the withers

Body Weight (lbs) = (9.36 x girth) + (5.01 x length) - 348.53