4 year old growth spurt

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seabiscuit

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Have not seen growing like this before! Ellie's wither, which was completly flat and round before- you could not really see a wither there at all, now seems to have suddenly shot up about a good 2-3 inches! So now its a very clearly defined wither. Trouble is that her neck has not gone up to line up with the wither, it has stayed where it was! So she looks a bit cut and shut at the moment. Have any of you seen growing like this?She has been croup high up to now so I guess that everything is now beginning to level out. Oh dear I think she might be not be 15.3/16 hands anymore, but pushing on for 16.2 hands,so she is getting on to be a big girl !! Eek!
 
Yep mine was exactly the same... hes still slowly adjusting and will be 6 in the spring!
He had no wither at all, his neck just kind of stuck out of the shoulder...then his withers popped up but neck still stayed the same. He's doing a lot more 'proper' work now and therefore his topline is improving which has made his neck look a lot more in proportion to his withers. I do however think he will always have a slightly low set on neck.
 
Havent seen any pics of her for ages, would be interesting to see how much she had changed
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if its any consolation Archie is 6 and just had a growth spurt - i measured him the other day and hes now just shy of 18hh
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Good job you have long legs!
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if its any consolation Archie is 6 and just had a growth spurt - i measured him the other day and hes now just shy of 18hh
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Good job you have long legs!
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LMAO - i know!!!!
 
Sounds just like Ellie! It takes a long time for them to level out! I guess that they say that they dont stop growing until 7. have just not seen such noticeable changes like this though!
MadHector-will take some pics of her this weekend- am clipping her out ! Agh!
 
I met a woman out hacking a Shire x Tb the other day. She had Clover Hill in her breeding somewhere along the line. She had this massive overgrown TB body, but a bit more chunk to her. She did get her feet from the Shire though!

Rider looked like a pea in a pod on her and she said the horse was 18hh, or just over, I think. Made me feel like I was sat on an 11.2 in comparison. HUGE!!!!!!
 
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if its any consolation Archie is 6 and just had a growth spurt - i measured him the other day and hes now just shy of 18hh
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NO! He was what, 17 hands when you bought him?! Jeez ! He doesnt do things by half does he that horse?!
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My 5yo grew 3 inches this year!
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Stop right there- you are scaring me! Ellie is only 4 and I only have wee short legs!!
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He was 17'2 (just) when i bought him - hes suddenly really grown into himself recently!

He has a really really high wither tho - his bum is probably only at 17hh i should think!
 
My chap has done exactly this!! He is 5 1/2 now and I had saddles checked at the end of May - both were wide fitting.
I then had saddler out last weekend to check again, and he is now a medium/wide, where he has muscled up, lost the baby fat and all of a sudden has grown a well defined wither!!
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It's made him shoot up again - he's now close to 17hh and saddler still reckons he's got to level out....
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Hope he stops soon - I'm only 5'3"
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I'm going to need a ladder soon.....
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I thought Goddy had grown loads in the 2yrs I have had him, as he has had def bum high moments! He was just under 16hh and half an inch when i brought him (measured in Ireland by myself!) and then I measured him Aug bank holiday at BB's, at he was only 16.1hh!!! But looks loads bigger than he did, and has had definite changes....sounds like she will be big CD, looking forwrad to seeing pics
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He has grown fast!
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Its those long legs of his, they go on forever!

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I know! Hopefully thats it now tho - hes just got loads of filling out to do instead!
 
Interesting that because I have seen your pics of G when you first bought him, and I wouldve said without a doubt that he must have grown a couple of inches since then!But only half an inch?! Lol. I guess it is all his muscle that has changed.
I have my saddler coming out next week and she always has her measuring stick with her- will get her to measure E again and see how big she really is now! as she was bang on 15.3 and a half in March.
 
Yeah i know, everyone thinks he is bigger when they loom at him....but when you get up close he is smaller, he is odd! But yes I was v.surprised it was only half an inch
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I'm getting worried reading these.
Alee was 15.2 hh when I bought her at 2 1/2 a year ago. She is now 16.3. What size will she be when she is 5!!!
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I don't really mind but one of the reasons I sold my old lad was because I felt that at 17.1hh he was too big!!!
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I really must measure Miles, he was sold as 16.1 and has definitely grown since and still is...

He doesn't ride big and I dont think he looks it but everyone at the new yard seem to think hes about 17hh, which is unlikely!!
Im only 5'3" too and small with it... long legs are on my xmas list yet again this year
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Darcy was 14.3 when I got him at just turning 4... by 5 he was 15.2, is now 15.3 and has gone croup high again, I think he'll finish at 16hh when he is 6....
 
I should measure Grace because she has definitely grown since I got her... she stood at exactly 17hh without shoes when I first brought her home at 5 years old last year...
 
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My 5yo grew 3 inches this year!
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Stop right there- you are scaring me! Ellie is only 4 and I only have wee short legs!!
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Did I mention that she was already 17h last christmas
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and is showing no signs of stopping yet!!
 
Some of the change in height around this age is literal growth, some of it is development. Because the withers aren't actually attached to the shoulder blades by bone (horses don't have collar bones) the whole area is in effect in a sling of soft tissue. This is why horses "grow" when they are excited and part of what all the fuss about measuring ponies is about. So as the horse "bulks up" and develops a topline the withers can actually raise relative to the rest of the horse. Of course, many of the growth plates ARE still open so the horses are getting taller, too.

It's also possible to make the withers LOOK more prominent if there is muscle wasting behind the scapula. It won't actually make the horse measure taller but it will change the shape. Unfortunately given how hard it is to fit saddles to 3-5 year olds (MOST require frequent changes, at least in pads or even whole saddles) this is not that uncommon when horses start work.
 
My (when 4 was apparently) 16.2hh (measured him once 2 months later, had grown an inch, never did it again!) thourghbred was 7 this year and grew! The first time the farrier saw him as an unbroken 4yo he said he wouldn't mature till he was 7. Praying hes right, as hes allready too big!!! Nobody believes hes 100% TB, just to big and too much bone!!!
ps Hes the bay doing dressage in my sig!
 
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