Growing time with natives

danielle23

danielle23

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So, i was just reading a thred about the welsh D and when it would be fully grown and filled out etc
I was wondering how other natives grow too?
I have a new forest who i bought off the forest as a weanling, he was tiny bless him, he is now 5 and a big strapping lad, i think he mite of finished growing but not quiet sure? I havent measured him fo a bit but i think he is roughly 13.2/3 hh
Anyone else have nf pony/ies and when did they stop growing? Any any other native breeds :)
I dont know how to insert pics tho ???
 
It really depend on the pony. My friends hasn't really grown since it was 3, yet I bought mine as an unbroken 7 yr old from a stud and a year of work and good food and he grew a good inch and filled out.

To post a photo upload it onto photobucket and copy and paste the IMG link onto here.
 
You have just asked the same question i was going to. I am just in the process of buying a 2yo new forest who at the moment is standing at 13.2hh but she has'nt filled out at all and looks tiny really which is my worry but i was wondering exactly the same i know they all grow at different rates but im hoping mine will grow another couple of hands and chunk out keeping all my fingers and toes crossed really and hoping i haven't just had an impulse buy after seeing the first one. Will be interested to see other peoples replys :)
 
RoyalPolo said:
You have just asked the same question i was going to. I am just in the process of buying a 2yo new forest who at the moment is standing at 13.2hh but she has'nt filled out at all and looks tiny really which is my worry but i was wondering exactly the same i know they all grow at different rates but im hoping mine will grow another couple of hands and chunk out keeping all my fingers and toes crossed really and hoping i haven't just had an impulse buy after seeing the first one. Will be interested to see other peoples replys :)
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A 13.2hh 2yr old NF will probaby make 14-14.2hh... But if it's purebred it shouldn't get bigger as that would be considered overheight...
 
I bought a 13.3 5 year old NF who was 14.1 when I sold him not quite 2 years later. It really does depend on the individual pony, but I don't think you could say you're finished heightwise until they are 7, and my now 10 year old just looks better and better every year as far as muscular development and general "chunking" goes. I'd still say there is more to come before I get the finished article...
 
My 4 and a half Highland was very lean and about 13 hh when I got her. She's now 8 and has filled out and stopped growing around 6 yrs.

I have a 3 yr old NF who has a lot of filling out to do. Not sure when they finish but I reckon it'll be at least another couple of years.
 
My new forest chunked out loads between 5 and 7 however he did not grow any taller just wider he went from a wide saddle fitting to an xwide so up a saddle size. The vet reckons he is finished now with growing.

This is him just turned 5 when I first got him (he was not living on his own it is just a big field)

homeyfield.jpg


and at 7 rising 8

bath002.jpg
 
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My 3 year old NF is 14hh and already fairly chunky, however they don't fully mature until around the age of 7. I expect him to mature at 14.2hh adult height. Pic below of him at 7 months and 3 years - I know he looks about 16hh in the second one but he's 14hh, honestly!

Archie046.jpg


1018-A6848.jpg
 
This may sound stupid, but I think it depends on how you feed them.
Last year I bought a 13.2hh, 2year old, Vanner x TB/NF gelding, he's now 14.3hh and built like a bulldozer.
I also, recently, bought a 2 year old Section A. He's about 11.3hh/12hh now (so quite big for a Section A) and he was broken and done everything with (hacked, jumped etc;) last year! When he was just a yearling. Given the circumstances he's in no pain with his back and is in perfect health according to the vet, though i've only sat on him and walked 3 times since I've had him, he's grown almost 3cm in a week and and 3 days. Odd and slightly creepy. Everything I buy that's under 8years old ends up growing.

Apparently riding a young (2yrs/3yrs) horse into the ground on a constant basis is suppose to stunt it's growth? Hence why i've never done it, but my little welsh seems to have proved that theroy wrong. While i'm not tempted to do anything more than ground work and the odd hack it seems a bit strange how different horses grow at different rates.
 
I think a lot of it is down to genetics. I have one native broodmare whose foals are full height by 2 and don't really change shape much after 3. I have others who are not fully mature until they are 7
 
My highland is 5 now, he is about 14 hands but I think he will still grow another inch and wil definitely fill out a great deal more. I know his full sister who is one year older and see how she is changing so I'm sure mine will too. Highlands are said to not be mature until age 7 ish.
 
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