Question over my horses age

[antongoodwin]

Hi all I have a coloured cob that I believe may have originally come from spindle farm (AMERSHAM). According to his passport issued by "Richard J Steel" (no longer exists) he was 5 years old in Jan 2007 and standing at 15.1hh.

I have had him since Feb 2009 and he now stands at 15.3hh (last summer).

He is very green and seems to have an unfinished look about him (muscle).

His passport would suggest that he grew 2 inches between 5 years and 9 years old?

Does that sound a bit iffy to anybody?

My Guess is he is actually around 7 years old and not the 9 years old he is supposed to be.

Does anybody have any thoughts on this?

Also a lot of people have said to me that he looks like he is a shire cross cob, anybody heard about shires being used as spindle farm?

Many Thanks

Anton

P.S I just want to say it dosen`t matter how old he is or what he is made of he is an absolute gem of a horse.

 

[Bertthefrog]

It's fairly difficult to age a horse once it gets past seven to be honest.

There is a hook that generally appears on the corner incisors at seven. If only one side can mean they are rising or post seven - or have a wonky jaw. You can age between 6-10 with the incisor tables - but practically this is very difficult and from the experience I have had - pretty unreliable.

I would suggest you look up ageing horses on the net - and compare the diagrams you find and go from there. Or ask your vet when he's next out/ Ageing is a nightmare and I know many vets who won't commit themsleves!!