Taylah - What a difference 6 weeks makes

Wagtail

Wagtail

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I don't know if she's having a growth spurt, but she looks a lot more trim. It's strange because she was only fed on hay and straw at the stud and now she has a hard feed of Pure Stud once daily (don't want to over do it) and ad lib haylage. I don't want her too thin either though so would you start giving her two feeds a day or keep her lean? I wormed her a few days after the first photo and she did have a worm burden so maybe it is a bit of a worm belly in the first pic?

This was Dec 6th:

taylah6thDec13_zps6a5ceae0.jpg


This is today:

Taylah22ndDec2014_zps9240e80a.jpg
 
She looks much better in the later photo! My lad get's a abit trim and leggy when he's having a bit of a growth spurt. How old is she?
 
Sheep said:
I know virtually nothing about youngsters but she looks lovely. Nice and in proportion, very pretty girl.
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Thank you. She will be 3 in June. I am hoping she grows a bit before then. She's only 14.2 hh and a bit small for backing yet. I may have to wait a year before backing her. Her sire is 16.1 and dam 15.3 but I don't think she's going to make 15.2 hh. Though in her latest photograph she looks as though she has a bit of growing to do and quite immature.
 
it may be how she is standing but she looks to have filled out across her quarters, maybe she had a worm/hay belly before and better food has meant the weight has 'covered' her a bit better. I think she looks great and reckon you will get your 15.2hh's
 
twiggy2 said:
it may be how she is standing but she looks to have filled out across her quarters, maybe she had a worm/hay belly before and better food has meant the weight has 'covered' her a bit better. I think she looks great and reckon you will get your 15.2hh's
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Thank you. I hope so!
 
Wagtail said:
Thank you. She will be 3 in June. I am hoping she grows a bit before then. She's only 14.2 hh and a bit small for backing yet. I may have to wait a year before backing her. Her sire is 16.1 and dam 15.3 but I don't think she's going to make 15.2 hh. Though in her latest photograph she looks as though she has a bit of growing to do and quite immature.
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She looks like a lovely sort, please keep us updated on her progress! I saw your other thread about losing your riding mojo. Perhaps having this girl to focus on, without the pressure of riding her, will help you 'recover'. All the very best with her!
 
Sheep said:
She looks like a lovely sort, please keep us updated on her progress! I saw your other thread about losing your riding mojo. Perhaps having this girl to focus on, without the pressure of riding her, will help you 'recover'. All the very best with her!
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Thank you. Yes, part of the reason I got a youngster was to have a horse to bond with but with no pressure to ride just yet. She's a lovely girl, but I think it takes years to build up a really strong bond with a horse. But she is everything I could hope for in a youngster, so long as she grows big enough. But I'll be keeping her in any case.
 
If it makes you feel better mines was only about 14.2 at three and grew nearly a hand so I'm sure she will too, you deserve something nice after the last few months
 
Growth spurt! Young horses shouldn't look like "finished" horses, they should put their energy into growing. I like to see a rib on anything under three, anything fatter than that is overfed IMO.
 
Wagtail said:
Thank you. She will be 3 in June. I am hoping she grows a bit before then. She's only 14.2 hh and a bit small for backing yet. I may have to wait a year before backing her. Her sire is 16.1 and dam 15.3 but I don't think she's going to make 15.2 hh. Though in her latest photograph she looks as though she has a bit of growing to do and quite immature.
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I can't see any pictures at work, but my sister has an 'Irish sports horse' x warmblood who was an August foal. He was about 14.1 at this time of year as a 2 year old. He was 15.1/2 last year as a rising 5 year old and is now a very solid full up 15.3 as a rising 6 year old. He's never really done growth spurts, just kept creeping up! He's deceptive, as has seemed to just fill out as he's got older, but got out his winter rugs from last year this autumn to find that he's out grown all of them as he must be 4 inches longer as well as higher!

I hope you get all that you want from her, seems like you deserve something good. :)
 
I have to say, in my experience later born foals do seem to take a while longer to catch up. I've wondered if it's something to do with the grazing season or something because all my April foals, after however many months are always taller at the same timescale than the occasional late foals I've bred. I have a June born youngster, he'll be 3 this year and he was always small and yes it concerned me that he might not make the height he should have, but in the last few months he's shot up and I am not worried at all now as I realise he's just going to take longer to make that height. My filly born in the same year as him but in April, is huge! She'll easily make 16.3hh. Both will be backed this spring. The filly I'm sending away to be backed (yes I know it's what we do for a living lol) as I don't have time to do both what with all the foaling down we'll be doing this year. So I'm going to keep him and do him myself. He's the son of my beloved mare who died last year so maybe that's part of why I chose to do him. Not that he excites me right now to be honest, the filly is the one I have the far closer attachment to.

If I were you her size wouldn't concern me. She's genetically programmed to make the height you need and I think she will. I mean just look at those long pasterns on her! She has to grow into them lol! Have you string tested her yet?
 
She's looking well, much better than the first picture. She'll grow in her own good time, you can only help her along with feeding hard feed to suppliment what she's perhaps not getting from the grass. I've always tried to 'teach' my youngsters to have good appetites from being a foal, I think if you are inclined, maybe up the quantity a small amount but split it into two feeds anyway.
 
asommerville said:
If it makes you feel better mines was only about 14.2 at three and grew nearly a hand so I'm sure she will too, you deserve something nice after the last few months
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Thank you. It's good to hear.

Cortez said:
Growth spurt! Young horses shouldn't look like "finished" horses, they should put their energy into growing. I like to see a rib on anything under three, anything fatter than that is overfed IMO.
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Thank you. She certainly looks suddenly more long and gangly. I think she may have crept up a quarter of an inch since she came.

Megibo said:
She looks fine weight wise to me. Lovely girl, so different already. Bet she will be even more lovely once she's matured! And she has my name :D :P
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Taylah? I think it's a nice name for a person, and she just suited the name. Though I don't know any other horses named Taylah.

TheHairyOne said:
I can't see any pictures at work, but my sister has an 'Irish sports horse' x warmblood who was an August foal. He was about 14.1 at this time of year as a 2 year old. He was 15.1/2 last year as a rising 5 year old and is now a very solid full up 15.3 as a rising 6 year old. He's never really done growth spurts, just kept creeping up! He's deceptive, as has seemed to just fill out as he's got older, but got out his winter rugs from last year this autumn to find that he's out grown all of them as he must be 4 inches longer as well as higher!

Yes, length is something you don't always think about. She's only in 5'9 rugs. I've never had something so small!

I hope you get all that you want from her, seems like you deserve something good. :)
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Thank you. :)

Spring Feather said:
I have to say, in my experience later born foals do seem to take a while longer to catch up. I've wondered if it's something to do with the grazing season or something because all my April foals, after however many months are always taller at the same timescale than the occasional late foals I've bred. I have a June born youngster, he'll be 3 this year and he was always small and yes it concerned me that he might not make the height he should have, but in the last few months he's shot up and I am not worried at all now as I realise he's just going to take longer to make that height. My filly born in the same year as him but in April, is huge! She'll easily make 16.3hh. Both will be backed this spring. The filly I'm sending away to be backed (yes I know it's what we do for a living lol) as I don't have time to do both what with all the foaling down we'll be doing this year. So I'm going to keep him and do him myself. He's the son of my beloved mare who died last year so maybe that's part of why I chose to do him. Not that he excites me right now to be honest, the filly is the one I have the far closer attachment to.

If I were you her size wouldn't concern me. She's genetically programmed to make the height you need and I think she will. I mean just look at those long pasterns on her! She has to grow into them lol! Have you string tested her yet?
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Thank you. That's interesting what you say about the late foals. Also, she has not been overly fed, which I know is good, but I probably would have wanted some sort of balancer fed. But I'm no stud manager. I know next to nothing about breeding. I was privileged to share in the delights of breeding when one of my liveries put her mare in foal. He will be two this April and is over 16 hh already. Dam is 16 hh and sire is 17hh but I think he will be at least 17.2. He has the most enormous knees!

Bobbly said:
She's looking well, much better than the first picture. She'll grow in her own good time, you can only help her along with feeding hard feed to suppliment what she's perhaps not getting from the grass. I've always tried to 'teach' my youngsters to have good appetites from being a foal, I think if you are inclined, maybe up the quantity a small amount but split it into two feeds anyway.
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Thank you. I'm pleased people seem to think she looks better. It's funny but she was so well behaved when she first arrived. Maybe a little shut down? But now she is such a cheeky thing and has started to try it on. I have had to get quite firm with her. She goes out at night with the yearling and my gelding. They have a mad half hour as soon as they hear me getting up. The two youngsters play really rough and my gelding has started to join in. I think it has been fabulous for the yearling to have another youngster around to play with as he's really missed out on playing with others his age, being an only foal.
 
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She looks to me to have gone from badly (not under) fed to well fed so is growing in the right way and doesnt just have a fat hay/grass belly
She is certainly a very pretty girl and because she is now being fed properly will probably go steadily up over the next year or so
 
Thank you. I must say I was surprised when I compared the photographs and she looked so slender compared with when I bought her. I can't wait to see what colour she is in the summer.
 
Spring Feather said:
Here's the one who looks similar to yours. Mine is an AQHA and she goes greyish in the winter and like this in the summer ..
June282012004.jpg
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Wow! She's gorgeous. I'll be really pleased if Taylah goes that colour. It's my favourite shade of buckskin. I had searched all the images on google and couldn't find many pictures of different shades of buckskin in their winter woolies. My sister has a 5 year old dark buckskin and he's been a different colour every year, but his winter coat is not grey like Taylahs. He has some lovely silvering in his mane and tail and is an AQHA like yours.
 
I have soooo many photos that I can rarely find the ones I'm searching for, they are in some sort of order but there's just too many to put my finger on certain ones. I will try to find a photo of the same horse in her winter coat. She's very similar to your lady, and has a winter silvery coat rather than golden one.
 
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