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One of my friend's friend's horse is so adorable! He just turned 3. But what was shocking is that hes almost 18 hands!! He's still growing, too! is this normal??

2007-09-09 11:59:45 · 16 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets Horses

16 answers

sounds like a shire or other very large breed and at 3 he should be about as tall as he is going to get if he is not a draft. Some drafts continue growing well past 3.

2007-09-09 12:05:34 · answer #1 · answered by mike093068 3 · 2 1

It isn't completely normal, but it is not uncommon. We had a shire/TB cross (mare was 17h, sire, 16h) that was 18.2 by the time he was 3. Some horses just grow faster than others.
Some are full height by 2 or 3, others grow until 8 or 9. My draft mare was 16.2 hands at 2 yrs old and just recently stopped growing at 17.2h at 8 yrs old.
The things you need to worry about are bone/joint problems from growing so fast. Joint ossification (OCD) is a problem you can run into with fast growth.
Also, do not ride him too hard or long until he fills out more (if he grew that fast he is probably pretty skinny right now).

2007-09-09 12:43:00 · answer #2 · answered by D 7 · 1 0

Sure, but wait until his knees have closed before riding and just because he's big right now, doesn't mean he's durable for serious work. Now, if his parents are an Arab and a Shetland Pony, you have reason to be very concerned. If he has large breed ancestry, he may just be a large horse. But if it really seems odd, have a vet do bloodwork to rule out any abnormalities that could be causing this. Such things could mean he has very delicate bones, also. Other problems are bones that grow faster than muscles and vice versa. Being out on pasture and light exercise should keep him doing well until he's been checked out. But is it possible there's a Shire in his family tree??

2007-09-09 12:09:07 · answer #3 · answered by ibbibud 5 · 1 0

Here is one way to estimate how tall an equine will get.
You can use this method on a yearling. You can also use it on this horse to see if he is close to being done growing.
Take a string and hold one end on the very tip of his fetlock, you know, that little toe thing hanging there in the feathers.
Now, pull the string taught and find the point of it's elbow. Keep a hold on these two points. Now keeping your marks, take the string away and place the bottom mark at the elbow, and the elbow mark will now be up around the withers somewhere. If it is above the wither, that is how much taller the equine will get, if it lands on the wither, he is done growing in height.
tally ho!

2007-09-09 15:25:05 · answer #4 · answered by Rev. Deb 4 · 1 1

My son's youthful pony is the precise comparable way different than he prefers his magnificent lead! In our case i think of portion of that's rider blunders using fact when I ask him, i will get the left lead, yet my youthful son can not seem to get it. the horse will canter on the appropriate lead on a longe line and not applying a rider, and could land on the appropriate lead while touchdown in a left turn after a bounce. So, confirm you're balanced interior the saddle, no longer leaning to the realm, and are giving the appropriate aids. Have somebody watch or action picture you when you consider which you won't be able to oftentimes tell once you're leaning. Cantering discern 8's with trotting as you come to the middle does artwork properly while they seize on. My son and his pony made some progression with that. purely remember you're no longer driving an certainly discern 8, you're driving one like a kindergartener might write - 2 circles linked interior the middle. so which you would be driving on a circle at the same time with your horse bent to the appropriate, then close to the middle, come to a trot (nevertheless bent magnificent), then substitute the bend to left and ask for the left lead canter. Trot and alter lead each time you come to the middle. yet another portion of the problem is possibly that the horse is youthful, nevertheless attempting to maintain her stability with a rider on suitable, and probably hasn't developed the flexibility to do all of it yet.

2016-10-10 06:47:17 · answer #5 · answered by warford 4 · 0 0

Depends on the breeding. I have draft cross horses and my 4 month old foals are almost 14 hands tall.

2007-09-13 08:20:11 · answer #6 · answered by PMU Owner 2 · 0 0

Yes its normal for a young horse to be tall. Especially depending on the breed.

2007-09-09 12:06:54 · answer #7 · answered by hunsie\ jim 1 · 1 0

Depends on the breed. Our neighbor has a 21 hand draft horse. Some don't reach maturity until 5.

2007-09-09 12:07:51 · answer #8 · answered by GeriGeri 5 · 2 1

Not if he's a draft horse. Some Thoroughbreds and Warmbloods can also be close to 18 hands.

2007-09-09 12:05:16 · answer #9 · answered by hwinnum 7 · 1 0

It depends upon what his bloodlines are. Arabians are on average around 141/2 hands. However it's not uncommon for a thoroughbred to reach 19 hands or more. At age 3, he probable won't grow much more in height. He'll just fill out.

2007-09-09 12:15:39 · answer #10 · answered by fivestring46 4 · 1 1

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