# thoughts on my yearlings projected height



## Sydinthesaddle4 (Jun 4, 2018)

hello,
I got a mustang and he just turned 1 in late june. He is currently 13.1 hands and I was wondering what you guys think his height will be once hes done growing? 

thanks!

-Sydney


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

It is said that if you measure the length of the cannon bone in inches, that will be, in hands, the height he will make. 

The other string test, done at 18months + is to measure from the point of the elbow to the point of the fetlock and then reverse the string from the elbow to the withers, the difference in the distances is how much he has to grow.


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## smaile (Sep 21, 2010)

Foxhunter said:


> The other string test, done at 18months + is to measure from the point of the elbow to the point of the fetlock and then reverse the string from the elbow to the withers, the difference in the distances is how much he has to grow.


Ha, I did that and it said that my horse won`t grow bigger than around 150cm. He is now 6 years old and around 170cm  

My other horse (half-brother from mother side to this one) was born teeeny tiny and up until he was a yearling I thought that he`ll definitely end up small. He is now 5yo and is getting close to 180cm. Mother of both of these horses is around 160cm and they both have also outgrown their fathers and all of their brothers and sisters. 

It is almost impossible to predict how tall your horse will be. Some grow really fast at the start and then just stops and stay small, some are small up until 3yo and then suddenly they have a growth spur and they end up tall. Some small horses have tall parents and some tall horses have small parents. You never know which gene your foal will end up getting.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

The string test is usually pretty reliable if done correctly and at the right time...
It_* is *_only a estimate though...

I have to wonder though if what we feed our youngsters doesn't affect their growth amounts...
Fortified, GMO changed feed and ingredients, enriched soils, vitamins and minerals for growing bodies...
Enrich, enrich, enrich...how could it have nothing to do with how our horses turn out in size in the end.
Sure seems that all that "enriched & improved" foods we feed our kids have changed sizes, ages of maturing and lasting health issues which seem to start earlier than say at when our parents were the same ages...

Any idea of the parents sizes?
That too would give you some idea of where you might end up...
:runninghorse2:...


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Foxhunter said:


> It is said that if you measure the length of the cannon bone in inches, that will be, in hands, the height he will make.
> 
> The other string test, done at 18months + is to measure from the point of the elbow to the point of the fetlock and then reverse the string from the elbow to the withers, the difference in the distances is how much he has to grow.


My dressage trainer says she's done that 18 month measurement and found it to be REALLY accurate on Warmbloods and Warmblood types, but worthless on Stock Horses. Never tried it myself, but we just happened to be talking the other day and that came up.


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## rambo99 (Nov 29, 2016)

At 13.1 hands he will probably mature to 14.1 maybe 14.2hands tall. Also depends on how big sire & dam were. 

Nothing wrong with a 14.2 hand horse. Easier to get on closer to the ground if you fall off.


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

It works fairly well with TBs too. 

Measuring a horse is a skilled art. You cannot measure a horse with a piece of string or a tape and get it accurate. 

In the U.K. where many show classes have height restrictions, a horse, for Registration, has to have a height certificate. A permanent certificate is not granted until the horse reaches its sixth year. Prior to this they are done on an annual basis. (4yrs - 6) This measuring has to be done by a vet, the animal has shoes removed and a level concrete pad used. 

A horse that is worried about the measuring stick, and many are for some reason, will measure two or three inches bigger than one that is relaxed about the matter. 

I had gone to look at a horse at a dealer friend. It wasn't what I was looking for. It was about 15.3. Other buyers came along and looked at the same horse. The girl was well suited with that horse but reckoned it was to small. John got the measuring stick hustled into the stable, snatched at the horse and was abrupt with the measuring stick. That horse measured in at 16.1 later I remeasured it quietly and it was 15.3 and a bit. 

16 hands is a tall horse. So many times I went to look at horses and had been told they were 16.3 when they were a hand smaller.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Foxhunter said:


> 16 hands is a tall horse. So many times I went to look at horses and had been told they were 16.3 when they were a hand smaller.


We call that measuring with an "Arabian Measuring Stick", it reads a full hand larger than a regular one. Can't tell you how many Arabs I see advertised for 15+ hands or they swear the horse is 16 hh tall (allegedly Purebred) and back when I was shopping, I could guarantee that a horse advertised at 15.2 would never make 15 hh. Tall Arabs are really pretty rare. More are about 15 hh these days but still most aren't going to be much over that.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

Foxhunter said:


> A horse that is worried about the measuring stick, and many are for some reason, will measure two or three inches bigger than one that is relaxed about the matter.





Dreamcatcher Arabians said:


> We call that measuring with an "Arabian Measuring Stick", it reads a full hand larger than a regular one. .



Are these comments ever true...
Went to look at a paint horse a few months ago...
Girl selling swore the horse was 15.3+ and stocky...
Yea, when we arrived the horse barely touched 15 hands and had long feet...

I'm not positive but think for permanent pony cards the pony is measured barefoot here or if shod the height of shoe and pad deducted for say one who has a medical condition and shoes must be worn..
The pony must move soundly so if you had a large but wanted a medium you couldn't file down a bit to much to make size..There is also a age thing but not sure what age is determined for permanent versus temporary...
:runninghorse2:...


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

Never heard the term Arab measuring stick before! Most people have them. 

I have only come across three horses that were over 18 hands, two were steeplechasers, both by the same stallion that was renowned for throwing tall offspring and the other was a Shire stallion. 

One tall racehorse that was 17.3 was Party Polotics, he won the Grand National. 

I do know that a lot of people on standing alongside these horses would be well out in their assessment of their real height.


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

When I bought my yearling Paso Fino, the breeders told me he would probably mature to 15.1. I thought, "Yeah, right," and didn't believe a word of it because large Pasos are 14.2. I wanted a 14.2 Paso, so I thought I was right on target.

I did that measuring thing with his canon bone, and sure enough, it said he would be 15.1. I thought, "Oh no, could this be true? . . . Nah, no Pasos get that tall."

Sure enough, he finished growing at 15.1. I talked to the breeders later. They said every colt that mare dropped was 15.1 even though she was 14.1. Didn't matter who the sire was, her colts were always waaaay big. Oh well. I love him anyway. People are always telling me, "That can't be a Paso. He's too big." I say, "Like Emily Elizabeth in Clifford the Big Red Dog, he just kept growing and growing because I loved him so much."


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

You see the same with drafts. Everybody has that 19, 20, 21 and I have even seen claims for a 22. Most are 16.2 - maybe 17. Some were no bigger than 16. A stout 16 but 16. Not saying there aren't plenty 18 and the odd 19 hand out there but there are a lot of fish stories.


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