predicting the final height of yearlings

[Gomer]

hi there,

other than looking to the mare and stallion the horse is from, how would you 'guess' what final height a yearling would be?

For a warmblood type horse to make 16hh or above as an adult, what height would you expect it to have as a minimum when it is 1 1/2 years old? (Or, in other words, how small would it need to be at 1 1/2 for you to start worrying that it won't make 16hh?!)

many thanks in advance for your opinions

 

[Bananaman]

Hmm, not sure as they can develop at different rates.

My warmblood yearling, 16months, is about 15.2h now. Everyone teases me that he's going to be huge!

How tall/small is yours?

 

[Gomer]

I am still just looking, waiting for the right thing to come along!

I find it confusing how yearlings ranging between 14h and 15.2h all are presented as 'will mature to 16hh'....! Is it plausible that something around a year and a half, and not more than 14-14.1 will still grow that big??

I also heard a theory that the length of the leg from fetlock to elbow will be the same as that from elbow to the wither when the horse is fully grown - but in my opinion this does not seem reliable..

 

[ticobay831]

Apparantly, if you measure from the centre of the knee to the top of the coranary(??) the measurement in inches is what the horse will make in hands. eg 15.5 is 15.2.
I have used this method on all my horses and it is bang on with all of them.
However, i have a 20 month old gelding that is about 15hh and according to his leg measurement he should make 16.2hh

so just have to wait and see with that one.
Debs x

 

[Gomer]

where is the coranary, is that top of the front leg? sorry, I'm a bit confused

 

[Gomer]

ahhhhh the coranary band. silly me. I was thinking shoulder area...ooops.

 

[hati]

Our yearling (May 2005) is proabably about 15.2 and a bit. Hope he makes about 16.2hh

 

[lisaward]

what age do you measure them ??
i have a foal 6 months can i do a test on her??

 

[Gomer]

I think this is only supposed to work from 1 year onwards. but according to this one of the 1 1/2 year olds I've seen won't grow any more at all and that surely cannot be right?

I've also read that on average foals at 6 months have 84% of mature height.

 

[sorona]

A yearling is supposed to be approx 90% of its final height so 90% of 16hh is about 14.2hh so i guess if your youngster is over that, then he should mature to 16hh in theory. There are ways of measuring leg lenght to body depth etc but i cant remember it offhand. The 90% rule seems to be working with my 2 1/2 yr olds!

 

[AmyMay]

The best indicator we've found is the size of dad (in most cases anyway). For instance: two brood mares of 15.2hh respectively have never had offspring grow to less than 16.3/17hh - in each case dad's were large.

New broodmare of 16.3 put to 15.2 stallion - foal is going to be at least as big as mum (he's huge, and has massive knees) if not bigger.

 

[burtie]

I would be surprised if anything under 14.2 hands at 18 months would make more than 16hh, but it 's not impossible. A breeder friend of mine used to say you can add 6-8 inches onto a horse on it's first birthday and I'd say this covers 95% of young horses, matches the 90% rule too!

 

[airedale]

My yearling is 15.2 to 15.3 now at exactly 18 months old

daddy warmblood 16.3
mum 14.1 welsh PB (and her sire was a full up 15.2 with mum 12.3)

Was aiming for a 'ladies' horse about 15.3 but he's going to make full up 16hh if not more

I reckon a horse will grow another 1/2 inch or so between 4 and 5
about 1 inch between 3 and 4
and about 1 to 2 inches between 2 and 3

esp. if there is warmblood breeding as they mature later than TB types or native X types.

 

[EnduroGal]

Well I have a filly who is 18 months old and is standing 16.2hh already!

Mum is 17.1hh and dad is 16.1hh but the filly looks set outgrow them both by a long way! LOL!

 

[AmyMay]

[ QUOTE ]
Well I have a filly who is 18 months old and is standing 16.2hh already!

[/ QUOTE ]
Oh S**t!!!!