4 year old TB mare growing unevenly

amandathepanda

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I've got a 4 year old TB mare who was beautifully put together when I bought her in November last year but I sent her away to be broken over the winter and she came back looking rather poor. As a result she is now not in work while she fattens up again but I'm worried because since I got her back from my old trainer 6 weeks ago, she has had a growth spurt which has left her with her quarters about an inch higher than her withers and at the moment there is no sign of her levelling up. Could this uneven growth be due to her weight loss over the winter? Is there any possibility that she is going to level up or am I going to be stuck with a very down hill horse? At the moment she looks quite odd and out of proportion but she seems to have been stuck like this for about the past 4 weeks. She was a late foal so she won't be a 'proper' 4 year old until June.

Any suggestions will be appreciated as if she levels up she will be a fantastic competition prospect!
 

oofadoofa

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It sounds exactly like the little mare I have on behalf of a friend. She had been broken in the autumn and then wintered out. When she came to me about 2 months ago she looked really poor and her bum was definitely an inch or two higher than her withers and she had no neck. I have been feeding her top spec and she's certainly filled out a bit, especially with a bit of grass too and her neck is looking better. I'm just hoping she may grow another inch or so. Everyone who has seen her seems to think she will. She was a late foal too and I don't think she will be properly 4 until June or July. I'll keep you posted!
 

muddy_grey

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We've had lots of youngsters grow unevenly. It's like a seesaw back end then front end then back again. In the end they all evened up though. My old youngster was very skinny (starved!) when I got him as a 4yo, but he evened up and ended up looking perfect (if a little small)
 

lucygunson

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my 4yo boy is exactly the same high behind and he has just turned 5 yesterday!!! he did level up about a month or so ago but has since then had another spurt - he did go into training at 2 so i was worried if that had interfered with his growth plates but he still seems to be growing i got him in december and he was 15.2 but now he is 15.3 and 16hh behind!!!- some horses are late maturers and take ages to grow muscle up
 

amandathepanda

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I'm used to youngsters growing bum end first as this is usually normal but what is worrying me is that she seems to have got stuck! At the moment if you cut her in half you would think she was from two different horses front and back as she looks so out of proportion.

Would sticking her back on a decent youngstock mix or Topsec to get some condition on her quickly make any difference do you think? At the moment she is on ad-lib haylage, a basic conditioning mix and sugar beet.
 

Cop-Pop

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My TBx was like this - her bum would be higher then her withers then the withers would be higher - she leveled out when she was five and a half
smile.gif
 

Chellybean

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In my experience of babies, the uneven growing is perfectly normal and to be expected. My current 5yo went up like ladder rungs front and back from 6 months onwards. They often stop growing while croup high and I wouldn't worry, it'll level off in the next growth spurt. The loss of condition is likely because of all that energy being put into growing, I had it every autumn and it's gutting after a lovely muscley summer! Be careful about feeding too much to encourage growth though as this can result in weaker bone density as they develop too fast. Enjoy the gawky bambi act for now!
 
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Donkeymad

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Perfectly normal and will even itself eventually, but may grow bum/wither in turn for a year or so more, although not much each time.
 

ladyt25

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Horse will go up and down like that - when I bought mine as a 4 year old years ago i actually thought he was standing on a downhill slope - honestly! He even up no probs it's just the way some grow and it's more obvious than in others!
 
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