# Normal yearling size?



## demonwolfmoon (Oct 31, 2011)

smrobs said:


> Okay, so I've never had a stock horse yearling before. The only other 2 yearlings I've ever been around have been half draft so they were always....large LOL.
> 
> I've been wondering about my new filly. She's a grade pinto of stock horse breeding (QH and Paint). She's about 11 months old and stands at 12.2 hands. She was feral up until just shy of 2 weeks ago so she got no real decent food or any sort of care and I'm wondering if that affected her size at all.
> 
> Just wondering if that's a relatively normal size for a stock horse of that age.


subbing because it's interesting.

My draft X spent her first six months with a paint colt two months older than her. He was always a lot smaller/finer boned and just generally scrawny looking and unimpressive compared to her....until recently. I wouldn't worry about it, just feed and supplement her in case her growth has been retarded...Nova (the paint) seems to have caught up to Kiera now that he is about two, height wise, and he finally looks relatively sturdy...he was supplemented and fed similarly to my girl.

ETS, she doesn't sound like her height is much different. She's probably fine.  With good nutrition now, even if she's behind, she'll catch up.


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## Reno Bay (Jul 8, 2012)

I'd hazard a guess that it seems about average. Stands to reason a larger breed foal would be...larger.

Also, nothing to do with anything, wouldn't a Paint x QH be a Paint instead of a grade (unless the Paint parent isn't registered maybe)?


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## oh vair oh (Mar 27, 2012)

Do you know the approx height of her parents, or have you tried to string test her to estimate her mature height?

My 9 month old stringed to 16hh, and she is already 14hh at the hip. Daddy is 16.2 and mommy is 15.

If both her parents are in the lower size range, her height seems very normal.


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## MHFoundation Quarters (Feb 23, 2011)

Any idea what her dam & sire were like size wise? Or full sibs at maturity? Assuming that she had full sibs out there getting same care/nutrition (or lack of) I would expect her to end up similar size but now that she is getting what she truly needs she may be different. Tough to say really. 

I'll put a stick to Honor when I do chores in a few. She's not quite as old but is only a couple months shy and is cow horse bred.


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## MHFoundation Quarters (Feb 23, 2011)

Duplicate....


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Reno Bay said:


> Also, nothing to do with anything, wouldn't a Paint x QH be a Paint instead of a grade (unless the Paint parent isn't registered maybe)?


Nope, a horse can only be called a "Paint" if _they_ are registered with the APHA. Doesn't matter if their parents are or not (well, except the fact that APHA won't register horses without registered parents). Since she is not registered and none of the rest of that herd has been (they've been running feral for decades), she is just a grade pinto. I know the folks that owned the horses so that's how I know there's only QH and Paint breeding in her. I'm sure her ancestors were probably registered at some point, but that would have been many years and generations ago.

ETA: Dang, I knew I forgot something in the original post. Her entire herd was around the 15 hand range.


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## Reno Bay (Jul 8, 2012)

smrobs said:


> Nope, a horse can only be called a "Paint" if _they_ are registered with the APHA. Doesn't matter if their parents are or not (well, except the fact that APHA won't register horses without registered parents). Since she is not registered and none of the rest of that herd has been (they've been running feral for decades), she is just a grade pinto. I know the folks that owned the horses so that's how I know there's only QH and Paint breeding in her. I'm sure her ancestors were probably registered at some point, but that would have been many years and generations ago.


That makes sense.


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## demonwolfmoon (Oct 31, 2011)

oh vair oh said:


> Do you know the approx height of her parents, or have you tried to string test her to estimate her mature height?
> 
> My 9 month old stringed to 16hh, and she is already 14hh at the hip. Daddy is 16.2 and mommy is 15.
> 
> If both her parents are in the lower size range, her height seems very normal.


That's something too. Nova was expected to be "a monster" sized paint, and he is just now starting to live up to that, size wise. 

Kiera is half draft, but from a 14.2 or 3 hand QH mare. Both fed the same, but it seems like the paint took longer to grow into himself.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Well, I just string tested her while I was out doing chores and that says 15.2...but she's got some uber long cannon bones on her.


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## MHFoundation Quarters (Feb 23, 2011)

Measured my brat, she's 9 months & 13.1. Merit, a year older is 14.3.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Okay, so not too far off average anyway. Good .

Though I'd be content if she'd stop growing about 14.2 LOL.

Just to make sure she'll grow up healthy, I'm going to stick with the alfalfa as long as I can get it and deal with whatever height she gets to.

Oh, and just for grins and giggles, this is her and 14.3, 1100 pound Dobe.


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## MHFoundation Quarters (Feb 23, 2011)

I just love Dobe. He is such a great nanny lol.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

She will be the average size of what was in that herd, unless the thoroughbred stallion from the racetrack went slumming it with the wild girls one night.


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## Kayella (Feb 11, 2012)

I just measured Henny tonight. At 10 months old, he's currently 12.2 hands and string tested to be 15 hands exactly. I'm hoping that's not true, cause I'd like him to stop in the 14 hand range like you do. His sire is 15 hh even, and his dam is 14.3 hh, so the likelihood of him being shorter than 15 hh is pretty slim :/


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## riccil0ve (Mar 28, 2009)

Gracie was about 12 hands as a yearling and she topped out at about 14.3 when I sold her as a 4.5 year old. I would say your filly is pretty average.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## SorrelHorse (Apr 9, 2009)

He sounds good to me.

Are we forgetting about seven year old Selena who's only 13.3? You're making her feel like a midget. :rofl:


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## Poseidon (Oct 1, 2010)

My friend's now 8 or 9 month old grade QH filly is at least 13.2hh and string tested at 15.2hh. She was a decent bit taller than my stunted 3 year old Fjord, who is 12.3hh.


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## outnabout (Jul 23, 2010)

Pics of my colt at one year, yesterday, and his sire. He measures 14hh now at age 2. His dam was 14hh, and his sire 15.2. He'll probably end up around 15hh, which is tall enough for me!


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## Duren (Oct 25, 2011)

And here I thought my APHA filly was small...even the vet yesterday said he was surprised when I told him she is almost 2. I measured her at 14.1-.2 and she'll be 2 in April. She looks tiny to me! I'm hoping she at least makes it to 15.0


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## BBBCrone (Jan 28, 2012)

waresbear said:


> She will be the average size of what was in that herd, unless the thoroughbred stallion from the racetrack went slumming it with the wild girls one night.


Well you know what they say about them girls from the wrong side of the track!


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## BigGirlsRideWarmbloods (Mar 28, 2010)

My warmblood colt is 10 & a half months old and sticked at 14.2, and he's a monster.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

Our only stock horse yearling (registered foundation bred QH colt) measures 13.0 hh at the hip, and he's 11 months old. He should mature at about 15hh. He looks like the little jock kid next to our 18 month old TB colt, who is a rediculous 15.3hh at the hip already and still growing, but string bean like and just awkward xD the QH colt is a compact little dude, so honestly I expect him to be able to carry more and withstand more work than Peppin (TB) when its all said and done.


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## Breezy2011 (Nov 23, 2012)

She will probably have a big growth spurt by the age of 2. When I got my filly, she was a long yearling, and 13hh, I have had her for just over 5 months, and now she is almost 14.1hh. My filly also was like yours... she had minimal human contact and was just put out in pasture, living on grass for most of the year, until I bought her.


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## Duren (Oct 25, 2011)

Is measuring at the hip a young horse thing? I've never heard of measuring anywhere besides the withers.


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## BigGirlsRideWarmbloods (Mar 28, 2010)

Foals have a tendency to grow butt first. The hind end grows the the front end catches up. The hind end grows, the front catches up. So until they're about 2, so time you measure from the hip, b/c it's the highest point of growth.

It's kind of like measuring a babies age in months until they're two. There is just do much growth and development going on, if you're going through a gawky awkward growing phase, you measure from where it makes the most sense for greatest understanding.

Like I said my yearling is 10.5 months and 14.2 @ the withers BUT he's almost 15 hands tall at his hip. He should even out by his 1st birthday. 

After 2 years the still grow but it's much more even throughout the body and is more width than height.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Duren (Oct 25, 2011)

Makes sense...thanks.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

I didn't think to measure her butt, but she's definitely butt high at the moment. Since her front end is 12.2, her hind end is probably over 13.


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## paintedpastures (Jun 21, 2011)

I have found if they make 14hh their yearling year they will be 15hh+ when mature.I have a coming 2 yr old AQHA{21mths} just measured recently she is 14.3 wither 15hh at hip. She did make 14hh as a yearling & strings to 15.2hh. Based on her parents think she is on track. Was worried for her as she was well behind her peers early on, as she was an orphan baby & sickly her first month or 2 :-( but she caught up


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

smrobs said:


> I didn't think to measure her butt, but she's definitely butt high at the moment. Since her front end is 12.2, her hind end is probably over 13.


Measured her butt tonight and it's hanging out at 13.1.


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## xxdanioo (Jan 17, 2012)

How do you do the string test? I will measure Joey this weekend when I see him next to see what he is at.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

You take a flexible measuring tape (like the kind tailors use) and measure from the coronet band to the mid-point of the knee joint. However many inches it is will be their final height. For her, she measured 15 1/2inches...so that equates to 15.2 hands.


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