what age does a horse stop growing?

Answer 1

at about 5 yrs old.. which im glad cause my big baby is pushing 17 hands and he doesnt need any bigger

Answer 2

That depends largely on the breed of horse. Many draft horses will continue to grow for 3-5 years. The growth rate slows considerably after the age of 2. Just because they look mature doesn't mean that they are. Foals are generally weaned between the ages of 4-7 months. But they continue to grow and mature for another 2-4 years.

You might be wondering because of thoroughbred race horses being raced at early ages - 2-year olds and such. Although this is true, that doesn't mean they are full grown. The amount of weight applied to them is all centered around the withers - the strongest point on young horses. People who use this as a guideline will often end up with a sway backed horse - applying too much weight behind the withers as is the case with western saddles. The spine is not fully set until much later.

Answer 3

Most horses never stop growing- they may not grow taller...but a lot of them will just widen. But on average most horses are considered "mature" at age 3. And to the girl who said that the horses shown at ages 2 and 3 are old and broken down by 10. I have a 25 year old mare that won several titles in NRCHA when she was between the ages of 3-7 and then I graduated her to a barrel mare and she's still going strong. The only horses that are old and broken down by age 10 are the ones that aren't taken good care of or have hereditary problems. But they are still useful to the horse community in breeding.

Answer 4

Usually around 5-7 years old. Some are ready before outhers depending on the breed. Just because you can ride at 2 dosent mean there done growing. The bones will not be fused untill the later years. Horses can live till around 30+ years.

Answer 5

Ocassionally a horse will strengthen yet another inch or so after 5 yet it is exceedingly uncommon. At 6 months of age a horse has gained 80 3% of mature properly and 40 six% of mature weight, at 12 months ninety% and sixty seven%, and at 18 months ninety 5% and 80%. archives confirmed that colts of a similar age were heavier and taller than fillies and this massive difference continued to adulthood. Quarter horses confirmed no massive difference in properly between colts and fillies after 40 8-60 months of age so note that there will be distinct boom kinds between different breeds.

Answer 6

Depends on what breed it is Warmbloods and draught horses can grow up until there 8yo. Although I had a Welsh D X Newforest and he put in another inch when he was 8 rising 9 he ended up at 15.3hh he was only supposed to grow to 15.1hh, he dwarfs his parents now.
Just depends on the horses build really if he's big boned then he'll mature later.

Answer 7

Depends on the type - thourghbred types mature about 4 or 5, while bigger types, eg friesians, heavy horse, cobs etc may not mature until 6 or 7. You can start doing a small amount of light work, eg getting them used to bridles, harness and saddles from about 18 months to 2 years, and you can do a little long reining on straightish lines - don't lunge or do only cricle work as this is bad for their joints at that age. Don't back them until at least 3, and do a fair amount of lunging and long reining before backing as this will develop the muscles required for carrying a person - they need these developed before you begin riding.

Answer 8

Depends on the breed, and the nutrition the horse is recieving. A horse with good nutrition could continue growing until they are around 8. A horse with poor nutrition will usually stop around 5. I don't like to start training young horses to ride until they are about 3 or 4, because at 2 their bones aren't fully fused together and hard riding will cause problems later in life. Ponies will usually stop growing about 4 or 5, average riding horses stop about 6 or7, draft breeds will stop around 7 or 8. Lippizanner horses don't even start training until they are 7 to 8 years old, so the people know the horses are fully developed and can physically and mentally be able to handle a rider. Then these horses are able to perform until they are in their 30s. America has it backwards, we start training the horses when they are 2 or younger and by the time they are 3 they are champions, but by the time they are 10 they are considered old and broken down, and belong in low class show rings. And they normally are very sore and broken down.

Answer 9

Most of the time around 3 or 4 years old.

Answer 10

About 5-6 years old, depending on the breed.

Answer 11

5-7 years depending on the horse and its job.