Possibly being daft!

[AppyLover1996]

Hi Guys,

So I have a lovely rising 3 year old who is a bit of an enigma to me currently - that or I am officially crap at measuring horses heights

As you do with young horses, I keep an eye on his growth levels and make sure everything is as good as it can be.

Back in October, I measured him at the bottom when he was bum high, and he measured a nice 15.3hh - perfect height for me (well anything over 15 hands is a great height for me!) and I was merrily thinking to myself that he's on track for a nice full up 16/16.1hh when he finishes growing in a few years.

Now I measured him after he'd finished the above growth spurt and we got the same as above - dead on 15.3hh on the arse and withers.

Fast forward to yesterday afternoon - he appears to have shrunk slightly!

He's now going through another growth spurt and is currently measuring 15.2hh on the arse and slightly below 15.2hh on the withers. He also appears to have gotten stockier/filled out more than he was previously.

Both times he's been stood square with his head level, on flat ground and no distractions - so as far as I'm aware those are the ideal conditions for measuring height etc.

When he was 11 months old, he was just about 14hh on the measuring stick - so logic tells me that he's going to make at least 15.3hh if not over the 16hh mark?

String test he has tested to a smidgen above 16hh - and I know these are quite accurate.

Anyone else had a horse randomly change heights whilst growing - or have I just made a complete twit of myself?

 

[foxy1]

As horses don’t have a clavicle (collar bone), the forelimbs are attached to the body by a muscular sling, meaning the scapula is suspended by muscle rather than bone. Because of this, the withers aren’t a completely rigid, fixed point like a true bony joint.

Things like how the horse is standing and head/neck position, relaxation vs tension, muscle development around the shoulder and withers, fat cover, and normal growth stages (bum-high vs levelling out) can all cause small fluctuations in measured height at the withers, usually around ¼–½ inch, but could be a little more in youngsters. This is why practices like lunging or dehydration before official measurements can affect how a pony measures on the day.

 

[AppyLover1996]

As horses don’t have a clavicle (collar bone), the forelimbs are attached to the body by a muscular sling, meaning the scapula is suspended by muscle rather than bone. Because of this, the withers aren’t a completely rigid, fixed point like a true bony joint.

Things like how the horse is standing and head/neck position, relaxation vs tension, muscle development around the shoulder and withers, fat cover, and normal growth stages (bum-high vs levelling out) can all cause small fluctuations in measured height at the withers, usually around ¼–½ inch, but could be a little more in youngsters. This is why practices like lunging or dehydration before official measurements can affect how a pony measures on the day.

Ah - thanks for the above, very informative - and also glad that I'm not making a complete twit of myself aha!

I even asked my friend to measure him and she got the exact same as me, but was also doubting herself - hence this post