nikicb
Well-Known Member
I was just looking at my 5 year old Connie x ISH when I brought him in this evening and realised that he is no longer looking particularly bum high. Grabbed the measuring stick and whilst I don't know how accurate it is in absolute terms (a cheap one off ebay!), it definitely showed that he has grown almost an inch in front since I got him at the beginning of the summer.
In itself that didn't really surprise me as I expected him to level out at some point. But it did seem quite quick. As the mother of a 15 year old boy I know that growth tends to be in spurts rather than gradual. However it made me wonder whether the change in workload/turnout has made a difference.
I bought him from a professional yard where he was being ridden 5/6 times a week and on limited turnout. I don't for one minute think he was overworked, and he had a lovely variety of work, but he certainly had more work than he gets now being kept at home. On the other hand he is turned out for 10-11 hours a day now compared to only a couple before, albeit on poorer grazing. I guess he would say he has a better work/life balance.
I just wondered whether his slightly more laid back life has accelerated his growth or whether it makes little difference. He is also on a lot less hard feed than before, in fact he is on minimal now, and what he has is all high fibre so it's certainly not that!
Thoughts?
In itself that didn't really surprise me as I expected him to level out at some point. But it did seem quite quick. As the mother of a 15 year old boy I know that growth tends to be in spurts rather than gradual. However it made me wonder whether the change in workload/turnout has made a difference.
I bought him from a professional yard where he was being ridden 5/6 times a week and on limited turnout. I don't for one minute think he was overworked, and he had a lovely variety of work, but he certainly had more work than he gets now being kept at home. On the other hand he is turned out for 10-11 hours a day now compared to only a couple before, albeit on poorer grazing. I guess he would say he has a better work/life balance.
I just wondered whether his slightly more laid back life has accelerated his growth or whether it makes little difference. He is also on a lot less hard feed than before, in fact he is on minimal now, and what he has is all high fibre so it's certainly not that!
Thoughts?