What tool is commonly used to assess a horse's weight accurately?

The weight tape is a specific tool designed for the equine industry that allows for a simple, non-invasive method to estimate a horse's weight. It works by measuring the girth of the horse, which is typically taken just behind the withers and around the barrel. The tape has a scale that correlates girth measurements to approximate weight. This is particularly useful because a horse’s weight is important for proper management, such as determining dosing for medications or nutritional needs.

Other methods, such as a height stick, are used to measure the horse's height rather than its weight, which makes them unsuitable for this purpose. Measuring jugs are meant for liquid measurements and do not provide any solution for weighing animals. Scales can be used to weigh horses directly, but they are less common in practice due to cost, size, and the need for the horse to stand still on the scale. Thus, weight tapes are preferred in many situations for their ease of use and effectiveness in gauging a horse’s weight.