Height - late cut WBxTB.

[BFTJ]

Hey,

Yet another height post!

I have a 3.5yo WBxTB, he is still entire and due to be cut early spring, will this late cut have made him finish shorter? He is currently around the 15hh mark, but I plan to officially measure him tomorrow.

He is pretty well covered, and doesn't look particularly immature, just short. He's pretty well covered, dare I say, fat. I have convinced myself his knees look bigger these last few weeks, potentially just my imagination though!

At 10 weeks old he developed physitis in 3 of his fetlocks, and had to be penned up and stripped of all feed except hay for 2 months, his limbs did come right but would this have stunted him?

His dam was a 15.1hh TB type, we believe she may have been TB x Cleveland Bay, but her breeding was unrecorded. His sire is warmblood and is around the 16.2/3 mark. I hoped he would make 16hh, but is that likely with him only being 15hh at 3.5yo?

 

[BFTJ]

I did actually measure him today, and his is standing at 15hh. I did the string test, which measured at 87cm so 174cm adult height?

Probably wishful thinking, but if he would reach 16/16.1hh that would be brilliant

 

[Pinkvboots]

I reckon he could still get taller.

 

[I'm Dun]

Leaving him entire till 3yrs old will have knocked a good bit of height off. It makes them shorter and stockier which is what you are seeing.

Maybe you will get lucky and have him grow a hand, but at this stage I wouldnt be expecting any more upwards growth and just be pleasantly surprised if he did grow.

Your string test sounds very odd

 

[Cortez]

Is he a first foal? As in, the first foal from the dam?

*your string test sounds wrong/impossible: how did you measure?

 

[BFTJ]

Leaving him entire till 3yrs old will have knocked a good bit of height off. It makes them shorter and stockier which is what you are seeing.

Maybe you will get lucky and have him grow a hand, but at this stage I wouldnt be expecting any more upwards growth and just be pleasantly surprised if he did grow.

Your string test sounds very odd

Maybe I did it wrong then, I didn't do point of elbow to ergot I did point of elbow to ground which is what it said on the fei website!

I then cut the string to the exact length, double checked it was still the correct length against the back of his leg and then used a tape measure to measure it.

I did also flip it upwards to see a general idea and it seemed to add around a hand to his current wither height.

I chose to leave him entire because he was unfortunately the weakest, spindliest creature I'd ever seen so hoped it would improve him slightly and he does look okay now, just short!

 

[BFTJ]

Is he a first foal? As in, the first foal from the dam?

*your string test sounds wrong/impossible: how did you measure?

Maybe I did it wrong then, I didn't do point of elbow to ergot I did point of elbow to ground which is what it said on the fei website!

I then cut the string to the exact length, double checked it was still the correct length against the back of his leg and then used a tape measure to measure it.

I did also flip it upwards to see a general idea and it seemed to add around a hand to his current wither height.

Not sure about whether he was the first, we suspect so, but we didn't own the dam until her 7th year and had absolutely zero backstop on her.

 

[BFTJ]

*backstory

 

[BFTJ]

He's the bay.

 

[Clodagh]

I think he’ll be a much better horse as a result of being given time to strengthen up and hopefully that other hand will come.

 

[Cortez]

Maybe I did it wrong then, I didn't do point of elbow to ergot I did point of elbow to ground which is what it said on the fei website!

I then cut the string to the exact length, double checked it was still the correct length against the back of his leg and then used a tape measure to measure it.

I did also flip it upwards to see a general idea and it seemed to add around a hand to his current wither height.

Not sure about whether he was the first, we suspect so, but we didn't own the dam until her 7th year and had absolutely zero backstop on her.

1st foals are often smaller than you'd expect from the genetics, I had a mare whose foals were all over 17h; the first was 15.2 (same sire).

String test is elbow to ergot, flipped up over wither and excess is final height. Try that.

Just seen pic - he's carrying too much weight, not growthy.

 

[BFTJ]

1st foals are often smaller than you'd expect from the genetics, I had a mare whose foals were all over 17h; the first was 15.2 (same sire).

String test is elbow to ergot, flipped up over wither and excess is final height. Try that.

Just seen pic - he's carrying too much weight, not growthy.

Hey, thanks I'll try that tomorrow! Not sure why the website I used asked to do it from the ground

Not sure what the term growthy means, but yes he is fat. He very much takes after his dam in that way!

He's currently on hay, and lives out 24/7 unrugged, and has 1 bucket feed to get his powder balancer and thankfully he's dropped in the 3 months since that photo but he is still certainly well covered.

 

[BFTJ]

I think he’ll be a much better horse as a result of being given time to strengthen up and hopefully that other hand will come.

Thanks, he certainly looks better than I expected based on how he looked as a foal.

He'll be cut in the spring, and sent for backing at 4 but I plan to turn him away after that for another year so he has time to grow if he's going to!

 

[Springs]

Hi In our experience having him cut is unlikely to affect his finished height, that will only come in time.

 

[Cortez]

Hi In our experience having him cut is unlikely to affect his finished height, that will only come in time.

Lots of studies show gelding means a slight increase in height. Most of the time.

 

[quizzie]

1st foals are often smaller than you'd expect from the genetics, I had a mare whose foals were all over 17h; the first was 15.2 (same sire).

String test is elbow to ergot, flipped up over wither and excess is final height. Try that.

Just seen pic - he's carrying too much weight, not growthy.

And just to prove that you never can tell, I bred 4 from same mating, dam 16.1, sire 16.3
1st foal ( gelded at weaning) 17.1
2nd foal (gelded at 2yo) 17.3…both ideal for me as tall…both intermediate eventers.
3rd foal (filly) 15.3
4th foal(filly) 15.1……at which point I gave up!!

 

[BFTJ]

So I did the string test again today, from ergot to elbow so I could visually see his potential adult height and it seemed to show he will grow a little more. Not sure it was a full hand, but I'd be happy with anything from 15.2/3 upwards!

If I want to actually calculate his adult height, how do I do that? Measure the string, double it and add a bit on for the floor to ergot measure?

 

[Cortez]

If I want to actually calculate his adult height, how do I do that? Measure the string, double it and add a bit on for the floor to ergot measure?

What? No, forget the floor to ergot thing (please!); measure from the point of the elbow to the ergot, keeping the end of the string on the elbow, flip the end that's on the ergot (I.e. keeping the measured length) up to the wither - the amount that is over the present wither height is the estimated final height. So if there's 2 inches excess, he'll be more or less 2 inches taller than he is now.

 

[I'm Dun]

So I did the string test again today, from ergot to elbow so I could visually see his potential adult height and it seemed to show he will grow a little more. Not sure it was a full hand, but I'd be happy with anything from 15.2/3 upwards!

If I want to actually calculate his adult height, how do I do that? Measure the string, double it and add a bit on for the floor to ergot measure?

Theres a video in my first reply, no ground involved at all

 

[BFTJ]

I think the main issue here is, I have no idea how tall he is now. I don't have a stick, and the tape measure I am using only goes to 100cm, I'm basing his approximate height on how he looks standing next to his 16.2hh field mate. I thought we had a soft HH measure, but discovered it had been eaten by a mouse.

He could be 14.2hh, or he could be 15.1hh!

I hoped there was some way I could work it out based on the few measurements I have but I'll maybe have to go and get a stick as soon as I can.

Thanks all, I'll just keep him fed and healthy and hope he either grows a bit or at least is chunky enough for me. He is due to be cut in spring, and then will be backed as a 4yo before being turned away for a further year to mature. It'll be interesting to review once he is 5yo xx

 

[Gloi]

Just take your string from ergot to elbow and measure that, then add it to the elbow to floor measurement for the height.

 

[Cortez]

Just take your string from ergot to elbow and measure that, then double it for the height.

Err, no.....

 

[Cortez]

I think the main issue here is, I have no idea how tall he is now. I don't have a stick, and the tape measure I am using only goes to 100cm, I'm basing his approximate height on how he looks standing next to his 16.2hh field mate. I thought we had a soft HH measure, but discovered it had been eaten by a mouse.

He could be 14.2hh, or he could be 15.1hh!

I hoped there was some way I could work it out based on the few measurements I have but I'll maybe have to go and get a stick as soon as I can.

Thanks all, I'll just keep him fed and healthy and hope he either grows a bit or at least is chunky enough for me. He is due to be cut in spring, and then will be backed as a 4yo before being turned away for a further year to mature. It'll be interesting to review once he is 5yo xx

If you can line him up with anything fixed, like a wall or tall gatepost, use a stick - keep it as level as you can - across the withers and mark where it touches the wall. Measure the height from the ground*

*You don't seem cut out for a career in spatial awareness.....hope you're not an architect!

 

[BFTJ]

Just take your string from ergot to elbow and measure that, then add it to the elbow to floor measurement for the height.

God I hope not, that's makes him about 14.2hh at full grown, which means he definitely needs to find a new home otherwise I need to lose a lot of weight and/or chop my feet off at mid shin!

 

[BFTJ]

If you can line him up with anything fixed, like a wall or tall gatepost, use a stick - keep it as level as you can - across the withers and mark where it touches the wall. Measure the height from the ground*

*You don't seem cut out for a career in spatial awareness.....hope you're not an architect!

Haha, no I'm not!

I'm my defense, I'm very deep in headtorch horsemanship at the moment and I'm always standing near him either down hill or up as our winter fields are both muddy and very sloped.

Nothing fixed to stand him against, at least not on level ground. I'll wait until he is moved across to summer grazing and borrow a stick.

Thanks for all your help

 

[Supercalifragilistic]

If you are desperate to work this out before you move him in the summer try this - Do the string test correctly (elbow to ergot) and cut your string to the right length
- cut a second piece of string the length of ergot to ground (note this measurement is NOTHING to do with the string test, but it should allow you to work measurements out away from the horse).
The final height should then be double the length of the string test string PLUS the length of the short bit you cut to measure the ergot to the ground.
Obviously stand him on the flat to do it.