Heights of your babies!

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Kacey88

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Putting my mare in foal next year, I'm very interested in genetics and all things breeding related, thought I'd start a thread where people recorded their mare's height and stallion height and the height of the offspring (or estimated height at maturity).

Someone told me if there is a difference between height of mare and stallion the foal usually sways closer to the mare's height, I wonder if there's any truth to that?
 
Here you go .....

mare 15.2hds, stallion 16.2hds. 3 year old now 16.1 at withers 16.3 at bum

mare 16.1hds stallion 16.2hds ( same stallion as above) 3 year old now 15.1hds

Both very chilled out characters, but built very differently. Similar markings
 
Asha said:
Here you go .....

mare 15.2hds, stallion 16.2hds. 3 year old now 16.1 at withers 16.3 at bum

mare 16.1hds stallion 16.2hds ( same stallion as above) 3 year old now 15.1hds

Both very chilled out characters, but built very differently. Similar markings
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That's crazy, you just never know really do you?! My mare is 15hh but I'm only 5 foot 1 so don't want something massive! I suppose know knowing is half the fun.
 
Kacey88 said:
That's crazy, you just never know really do you?! My mare is 15hh but I'm only 5 foot 1 so don't want something massive! I suppose know knowing is half the fun.
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both the vet and i where a tad shocked when the first one was born!!

I did a bit of research into the dams breeding, and it looks as though she came from big stock. So she just throws big foals. Her this years foal, is looking to be just as big.

Can you look back into your mares history ?
 
Asha said:
Can you look back into your mares history ?
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All I know is her sire was shorter than she is and her dam was a short draught, a bit taller than my marer! Vague dealer doesn't know exact heights, but basically she could have anything! Anything 15hh - 15.3 would be fine, but taller than that and I'd struggle. I was looking at a draught stallion who is 15.3, I think that's safe enough. I'd MUCH rather something 2 inches taller than 2 inches smaller. My farrier knows someone who bred two big Irish Sport horses and came out with a 148 jumping pony!
 
competitiondiva said:
There are no guarantees with breeding! What height stock is that stallion throwing? What height stock is he from?
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Well his sire is 16.2 and his dam is 16.1. Looking back the line, they vary from 16 to 17 hands. I don't know what height he throws yet but have asked. Not many Irish draughts with shorter genes! But some lines are certainly more compact than others.
 
Mare 16.2 Stallion 15.2 foal of this is currently 18.1hh at 5yrs old, just to make it a bit madder, she was rejected from the foal auctions as she was too small!!
 
Gem - dam was 16.1 and sire was 16.1 (all previous lines were no smaller then 16hh) and gem's reached 15.1 and a bit :( but we believe that was more to do with the bad start she had.

My foal's dam is 16hh and his sire 16.1 and his breeders recon he'll make 16.1 at least (as apparently his foals CAN grow quite tall - fingers crossed) he's standing at about 13.1 or 13.2 at 14 week's :).

STB
 
15.2 mare to 16.2 stallion - 4 yr old now about 14.3h and measuring to be an FEI event pony I think.

16.1 mare to same 16.2 stallion - 2 yr old now standing 16.2hh

16.3 mare to 16.2 stallion - 4 month old foal standing 14hh!!!!!

15.2 Welsh mare to 16.1 stallion - stood 15.2 at 18 months

16.2 mare to 16.2 stallion - 3 yr old standing 15.3hh
 
It's more to do with hidden genetics than just looking the dam and sire's heights.

I bred my non-maiden 15.2 TB mare to a 16.3 TB twice. Colt #1 matured 14.3 and filly #2 matured 15.1. I then put the grown up filly to a 16.1 WB and her first foal was a filly who is now 5 and stands 16.2. Had I bought my 15.1 mare and not known her ancestry, I may well have expected her first foal from a 16.1 stallion to have made about 15.2 - 15.3.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slave2Magic
My 16 month old lad is 15.1 at the moment. His sire is 16.3 and his dam 16 hands. Not too sure how tall he will finish at. Any guesses?

Kacey88 said:
You could try this:

http://www.ultimatehorsesite.com/info/stringtesting.html

I'm going to say 16 hands!
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I'd say taller myself. Of course, it depends upon the genetics and breed but my WBxTB filly was smaller than that at that age (about 14.3 then) and is a good 16.2 at 5 years old.
 
Just to confuse you more, I know a 16.1hh stallion, that regually throws things that mature at over 17.2hh+ and another grade a stallion that has throwbacks, that go on to compete in the pony classes......
 
Spyda said:
I bred my non-maiden 15.2 TB mare to a 16.3 TB twice. Colt #1 matured 14.3 and filly #2 matured 15.1. I then put the grown up filly to a 16.1 WB and her first foal was a filly who is now 5 and stands 16.2. Had I bought my 15.1 mare and not known her ancestry, I may well have expected her first foal from a 16.1 stallion to have made about 15.2 - 15.3.
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Are maiden mares more likely to have small foals or is it that they are born smaller but then catch up?
 
In racing terms my OH always tells me that the first foal out of a mare is the best one.

I can't say from experience as all the 'first' foals we've bred were sold as foals. I've got three at home out of the same mare now and they are all whoppers. The 4yo is a good strong 15'2 (out of a 15hh mare and 15'3 stallion), her 3yo full sister is 16'2 and their half brother who is by another 15'3 stallion is already 15hh at 15 months and tbh he's got a lot of growing to do!
 
Two FULL siblings... 8 yr stallion, 15.3 and 4 year old mare 17hh!!! He is a beauty, she is a umm, well not quite so beautiful!! (She had to be hand reared from 5 weeks as dam was ill = something in the bucket??:eek::eek:)


My mare is just 15hh... her dam was a full up 15.1, her sire was 16.1.. was hoping for around 15.2, but love her the way she is and considering she was born at ONLY 315 days, (and looked like a dog) we're lucky she is here at all.

My filly ''should'' make 13.2hh... her dam was 12.2 (officially measured) and supposedly her sire was a 3yr 14.1 (to mature at 14.2)... however, filly is currently 2 yrs 4months and is standing at 12.3 but doesn't look like she will grow to THAT height as she looks quite 'even'.
I guess only time will tell!
 
Kacey88 said:
Are maiden mares more likely to have small foals or is it that they are born smaller but then catch up?
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Mine was a maiden and her first foal was a filly (aren't they supposed to be colts!!!) and grew 2 hands taller than her dam. Taller than her sire too. Should add though, the filly was small when she was born but her knees were above her dams when she was born and she soon caught up.
 
Thanks everyone for all your information, its nice to see all the variations!

Do you think that its only major surprises in height being posted? I would love if there was a study done, ot would be very interesting.

Anybody have stories in which the foals actually grew to their expected height?! :confused:
 
Spyda said:
Mine was a maiden and her first foal was a filly (aren't they supposed to be colts!!!) and grew 2 hands taller than her dam. Taller than her sire too. Should add though, the filly was small when she was born but her knees were above her dams when she was born and she soon caught up.
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Wow that is a bit mad! What about the dam's and the sire's parents? Were they big?
 
Kacey88 said:
Wow that is a bit mad! What about the dam's and the sire's parents? Were they big?
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Well yes, the dam's sire was a 16.3 TB - although going back, average height of his ancestors was between 15.0 and 16.1. The dam's TB dam was a tad under 15.2 herself and again, her ancestors weren't huge. Mainly under 16 hands. This mare had bred 13 racing foals in her lifetime and none made bigger than 15.3. The two I bred from her, from the same 16.3 sire, they made 14.3 and 15.1, respectively.

The sire I used for the filly foal was a Polish WB. His breeding includes a lot of Arab blood, so smallish stock. And right back, some fairly chunky coloured pony types. Nothing huge in his ancestry either.

I guess whatever gene my filly inherited, she picked up from her dam's sire. Goodness knows where he got his height from though!
 
I know of two stallions in this country who are by the same stallion, the one, Zest For Life is 16'3hh, the other, Doonbeg, is 14'3hh at a push! Their father was approx 15'3hh and neither dams were excessively big or small respectively.

There's also a freak racehorse who has been exported to race in Canada and she is 17'2hh, despite having no brothers or sisters (full or half) that exceed 16hh. She's better than some stallions in this country when it comes to racing too :) go girl!
 
Kacey88 said:
Thanks everyone for all your information, its nice to see all the variations!

Do you think that its only major surprises in height being posted? I would love if there was a study done, ot would be very interesting.

Anybody have stories in which the foals actually grew to their expected height?! :confused:
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TBH, unless you are breeding pure breds (which meet their breed standards and have done so for numerous consecutive generations), breeding will always be a surprise. And even with the pure breeds, surprises happen albeit less often.

If you are determined to produce a foal over or under a particular height then the best you can do to raise your chances is to very carefully examine the ancestry of the horses you plan to cross, and better still, be able to see the outcome of stock produced from both the dam and sire lines. Some sires/dams are reknowned for throwing large or small stock. Otherwise, guestimating is about all you can hope to achieve. :)
 
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