Pictures How big are your yearlings?

FestiveFuzz

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I've been terrible with the foal updates I know. Life has kinda got in the way these past few months and every time I think to post an update I realise I have no photos that either a) don't have my ugly mug in or b) aren't of him snoozing or being an absolute goofball, and whilst I could happily spend all day looking at pictures of him sleeping, they're probably not that interesting to anyone else.

Excuses out the way, D has been growing like a weed recently and now the foal fluff has made way for his summer coat I'm catching more and more glimpses of what he might look like as a grown up, which is equal parts exciting and terrifying! For the last few months I've very much adopted the ostrich in the sand approach to any mention of how big he is, alternating between either a big fat "la la la I'm not listening" or a hopeful "foals shrink in the wash right?!", whilst reminding anyone that'll listen that I've done both string tests on him now and they were fairly conclusive that his end height would be around the 16.2 mark - although that's potentially wishful thinking me thinks!

I finally took the plunge this weekend and borrowed the measuring stick, and give or take a little room for error on our part he's coming in at around 15hh at nearly 14 months old....excuse my face, he has a terrible habit of sticking his tongue in my ear/licking my face at the most inopportune moments, despite his 'butter wouldn't melt' face!

D height check.jpg

So those of you with yearlings (past or present!) how big are/were they? Brownie points for anyone who can reassure me I'm not, in fact, growing a total giant! :D
 

TheMule

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That's quite tall, though they do all grow at different rates. Mine is 2 and was teeny tiny last year but has really started to grown now, just as I was dreaming of him making up into an FEI pony!
 

FestiveFuzz

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That's quite tall, though they do all grow at different rates. Mine is 2 and was teeny tiny last year but has really started to grown now, just as I was dreaming of him making up into an FEI pony!

Haha I'm hoping he's going to slow down soon otherwise he's going to be HUGE! Fortunately he's an absolute sweetheart so he's with us for life no matter how big he ends up. What height were you hoping yours made?
 

HufflyPuffly

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If it helps I also had a lot of stick when I bought Skylla (suppose to be 3 was only 2), she was 'about' 15hh at 2, and last measured was 15.3hh at 5.

I have not measured her since :p but I don't imagine she's made it over 16hh....

Forgot to add, he looks lovely :) and sleepy baby horse pictures would always be welcome!
 

TheMule

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Haha I'm hoping he's going to slow down soon otherwise he's going to be HUGE! Fortunately he's an absolute sweetheart so he's with us for life no matter how big he ends up. What height were you hoping yours made?

15.2/3 would be perfect- dam is 15.1, sire is 16hh. He's about 14.2 now at 2 and best guess is that they grow a hand from 2 so fingers crossed!
We had one that grew and grew and we got quite worried, but at 2 she just stopped growing and ended up a sensible height
 

FestiveFuzz

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If it helps I also had a lot of stick when I bought Skylla (suppose to be 3 was only 2), she was 'about' 15hh at 2, and last measured was 15.3hh at 5.

I have not measured her since :p but I don't imagine she's made it over 16hh....

Yes! This is exactly what I like to hear (although would prefer if he could get to 16/16.1hh ideally) I'm still fairly sure he'll slow down soon....but it is a bit daunting when they have a sudden growth spurt!
 

FestiveFuzz

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15.2/3 would be perfect- dam is 15.1, sire is 16hh. He's about 14.2 now at 2 and best guess is that they grow a hand from 2 so fingers crossed!
We had one that grew and grew and we got quite worried, but at 2 she just stopped growing and ended up a sensible height

Ah sounds like he should be on track for that then, fingers firmly crossed for you! I suspect D is like the latter one and is getting all his growing out of the way now....else I'm going to spend an awful lot of time going up and down ladders! :p
 

HufflyPuffly

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Yes! This is exactly what I like to hear (although would prefer if he could get to 16/16.1hh ideally) I'm still fairly sure he'll slow down soon....but it is a bit daunting when they have a sudden growth spurt!

Well not to rain too much on your parade but the estimates from when we knew her height but not her age, were that a 15hh yearling would be flipping massive o_O, but if you know his parents heights and the general heights of relations then that should give you a good idea!
 

MissTyc

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Mine is 13.3hh (14 months) and is supposed to make 16hh based on parentage. Thankfully, I'm quite small and even ride a 14.2hh quite happily ... but I still need him to grow. He was supposed to the "proper horse" not yet another oversize pony!
 

eggs

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One of my foals who was out of my mare who was about 16.0 hh and by Sandro B who was about 16.3 hh was 17.0 hh as a yearling. Very sadly he died at 3 from colic but was about 17.2 hh by then.
 

splashgirl45

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my trakehner cross was just over 13.3 at 15 months when i bought her, 15.1 at 3 and 16hands at 6. just the right height for me as i am just under 5ft 5. maybe your has been fed well and has done his growing early...he looks very smart (and big!!)
 

FestiveFuzz

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Mine is 13.3hh (14 months) and is supposed to make 16hh based on parentage. Thankfully, I'm quite small and even ride a 14.2hh quite happily ... but I still need him to grow. He was supposed to the "proper horse" not yet another oversize pony!

Eeek mine was 'about' 13.1hh when he arrived at 7/8 months :eek:
 

DabDab

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My big horse was 14.3hh at a year old, 15.2hh at 2, 16hh at 3 and now fully mature (10) he is 16.3hh (he's been this height since about 6)

Arty mare was about 13.3hh when I bought her at 2.5years, and she's now 15.3hh at 5

Pebbles pony was 14.1hh when I bought her at 2.5years, and she's 14.2hh now at 4

Nowt so queer as horses growing!
 

Asha

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Your lad is looking very tall OP .
We measured Frank the other day, hes 2 now and coming In at 15.3, was 14.2 as a yearling. Im hoping he stops at 16.1, but I reckon hes looking a bit leggy at the minute,so will be keeping everything crossed he slows down a bit. His mum was only 16hds, and dad is 16.1AF8EE036-FEA3-40C2-AD94-22229E1BCBAD.jpeg
 

Adorable

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My youngster was born teeny and we all feared he'd end up short. Had a massive growth spurt his yearling year and never looked back.

Him at 14 months:

Cad14mos.jpg

Him at 4yrs
Cad4yrs.jpg

His momma, who officially measured 15.2 7/8 at her warmblood mare inspection
SophieDoorway.jpg

He's now 6 years old and probably about 16.1, but he's not done yet! Dam sire was 16.3 and he might be a throwback. FWIW, my guy's sire is 16.1, so pretty sure he'll be taller than either parent when done.

Conversely, his pasture mate as a little one used to tower over him then stopped growing at age two and has topped out at 15.1hh (out of much taller parents than my guy).
 

ihatework

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Your lad is looking very tall OP .
We measured Frank the other day, hes 2 now and coming In at 15.3, was 14.2 as a yearling. Im hoping he stops at 16.1, but I reckon hes looking a bit leggy at the minute,so will be keeping everything crossed he slows down a bit. His mum was only 16hds, and dad is 16.1View attachment 33546

If he’s 15.3hh at 2 and looking like that I reckon he may well finish well over 16.2hh possibly closer to 17hh.

I’ll swap you my bloody midget who only seems to grow outwards 🙈
 

Asha

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If he’s 15.3hh at 2 and looking like that I reckon he may well finish well over 16.2hh possibly closer to 17hh.

I’ll swap you my bloody midget who only seems to grow outwards 🙈

I may just take you up on that ... no way did we plan for a big one ! How’s big is yours at the minute?
 

daydreamer

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This is my Morgan yearling, Duncan, on his first birthday the other week :). I haven't measured him recently but he is probably around 13-14hh?? I am 5'5" (stood behind him). He should (hopefully) make 15.2. His field mate is much bigger and when I did the string test on him it came out as 17hh :oops:
 

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JanetGeorge

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Your lad is looking very tall OP .
We measured Frank the other day, hes 2 now and coming In at 15.3, was 14.2 as a yearling. Im hoping he stops at 16.1, but I reckon hes looking a bit leggy at the minute,so will be keeping everything crossed he slows down a bit. His mum was only 16hds, and dad is 16.1View attachment 33546
Eek - if he's 15.3 in that pic - you PRAY for him to grow to 16.2 in front and slow right down behind. Whatever height he ends up, he's already got a hell of a backside.
 

fairyclare

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My yearling was 14.2hh when I measure him a few weeks ago, he has since grown but I'm yet to re measure.
The vet saw him last week for his vaccinations and said 'Hey little fella' we had a discussion about his height and the vet was of the impression he was 2 and was a bit of a shorty!

His mum is 16hh, Dad is Amour G who is 16.1'ish (167cm) so I've got my fingers crossed for 16.2hh max!
 

Sasana Skye

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My Oldenburg when she was a yearling and again at 4.5. She was approx 15hh when I bought her but her full brother is 17.2, dam 16.3 and sire 17hh with all ancestors for as far back as I could see making at least 16.2. So I was expecting a pretty big horse. In the first 18 months she flew up a hand and an inch to 16.1 by 3 years old and I got a bit worried that if she followed that same growth rate for another year, she was going to be much too big. However, after that she hasn't grown another inch but had filled out loads. She is plenty big enough for me which is the main thing but I would have liked a solid 16.2. She only turned 5 last month so maybe we'll get another inch out of her. She string tests just over 16.2 so I will try planting her in a good fertiliser with regular watering and see what happens :D If anybody has any stories of their horses growing after 5 please provide me with some hope!
 

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Sleipnir

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IMG-1234.sized.jpg


My little lad is currently around 14hh and, based on his parents, should reach around 16hh. However, my big lad was 16.1 when I bought him as a 5yo and not supposed to grow any higher, however he grew to become 16.3hh over the next few years!
 

splashgirl45

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mine was 15,1 at 3 and 16hands at 6. not sure what she was at 5 because i was happy she had reached 15.1 and wasnt worried if she didnt grow anymore..
 

Brownmare

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My Friesian x is currently 16hh at 2, string test says 16.1hh, dam is 15.3hh, sire is 16.1hh, full brother is 17hh!
 

JJS

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My Oldenburg when she was a yearling and again at 4.5. She was approx 15hh when I bought her but her full brother is 17.2, dam 16.3 and sire 17hh with all ancestors for as far back as I could see making at least 16.2. So I was expecting a pretty big horse. In the first 18 months she flew up a hand and an inch to 16.1 by 3 years old and I got a bit worried that if she followed that same growth rate for another year, she was going to be much too big. However, after that she hasn't grown another inch but had filled out loads. She is plenty big enough for me which is the main thing but I would have liked a solid 16.2. She only turned 5 last month so maybe we'll get another inch out of her. She string tests just over 16.2 so I will try planting her in a good fertiliser with regular watering and see what happens :D If anybody has any stories of their horses growing after 5 please provide me with some hope!

Tudor grew three inches between six and seven, so I wouldn’t rule out that extra inch just yet!
 
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