Is this person high? In re horse growth

[Tsavo]

4 yo Clyde/Han 15.3 HH

The claim is he will finish at 16.2 HH.

Is this person high? Do horses really grow that much past 4??

Thanks in advance,

[Ponichiwa]

Can’t vouch for their sobriety, but Kiwi grew 1 hand between 4 and 7. Her sister grew 6".

[Tsavo]

Wow! I didn't know that was possible.

[Ponichiwa]

That said, it’s worth verifying the horse is actually 15.3 to start with...

[musical comedy]

I just read (according to Deb Bennet) the neck keeps growing until around 6. What Ponichiwa said...it's the rare horse seller that actually measures a horse when they give the height. It is almost always less than they say.

[musical comedy]

You'll laugh maybe, but I insisted on a measurement of my mare before I bought her. I bought sight unseen so I could not risk less than
16h.

[Tsavo]

I guess you trusted them to not have the mare up on blocks or something.

[musical comedy]

I guess you trusted them to not have the mare up on blocks or something.

I did. I trust very few people, but this seller I did trust as much as we can trust anyone .

[Chisamba]

I would say 70 % of horses are shorter than advertised in my experience

[orono]

Agree that most are shorter, but they can keep growing past 4. I've known some to grow til 7.

[khall]

Rip grew 1 1/2 inches between 6 and 7. Gaila got to 15.2 hh at 3 and has not grown since. String test is a good estimate of height. Rip was 15.3 at 3 and now is 16.2. Joplin string tests at 15.3 which is exactly what I wanted. She is extremely uphill was just noticing today and she has grown.

[StraightForward]

I would say 70 % of horses are shorter than advertised in my experience

Yep. I was very surprised when I went to see a horse recently and it was actually a solid 16.1 with room to grow.

I bought Maya, my appaloosa, sight unseen. She was 3 and advertised as 15.3. The first question I asked the seller was if that was her current or expected finished height. She assured me she was 15.3 and would finish at least 16H. I was rather when I arrived in California and she presented me with a near pony-sized thing. Well, it was $800 and I was out the gas to get there and back, so in the trailer she went. She finished at 15.1 at age 5. The seller was like 5' tall, so I imagine that she honestly thought the horse was big.

To the original question, I think that's a little optimistic, but possible. Obie only grew another inch or so after age 4 to finish right at 17H. OTOH, I looked at a Weltmeyer filly that was around 15H as a 2 yo. The seller swore up and down that she would grow a ton and finish over 16H. Well, I saw her advertised from another seller recently, and she is 15.2 as a 5 yo, so it is a crap shoot.

If a horse is on the lower edge of my size requirement, I would ask for a leveled up, stick-measured height.

[StraightForward]

Wait, I thought you weren't horse shopping.

[Tsavo]

Wait, I thought you weren't horse shopping.

I am not. That was window shopping. Also that was a gelding which is off the table.

[Sue B]

One of my TB's (a gelding) was 15.1 when I bought him at 3yrs old, and he finished out at a solid 16.1. He had his final growth "spurt" at 5.

[Tuddy]

My Tuddy grew until he was 8.

[Nikiwink]

I think some breeds are more inclined to go up late as well as out.

A perch x tb i bred was 15.3hh at 13mths. 16.1 at 2yr...both measured. He topped out at 17.2 apparently. And new owner said he grew that last inch in his 6th yr.

A friends angle was very weedy and narrow and 15.3h measured at 4. By 7 he measured 16.2 and a half. Shocked everyone.... But he'd also gone out substantionally too.

[Ponichiwa]

In summary-- pretty sure the only time your horse won't grow after 3yo is when you need them to.

[Chisamba]

It has been scientifically shown that all breeds require 7 years to finish growing. They all mature the same way, with the same growth plates maturing in the same time frame.

Studies of thousands of horses have shown that they receive 95% of their growth height at 22 months.

In my opinion any deviation from that is human measuring error.

If seen the same horse measured three times in the same day "grow" three inches. Lol

[Tsavo]

It has been scientifically shown that all breeds require 7 years to finish growing. They all mature the same way, with the same growth plates maturing in the same time frame.

Studies of thousands of horses have shown that they receive 95% of their growth height at 22 months.

In my opinion any deviation from that is human measuring error.

If seen the same horse measured three times in the same day "grow" three inches. Lol

That is what I thought. Hence this thread.

[Ponichiwa]

It has been scientifically shown that all breeds require 7 years to finish growing. They all mature the same way, with the same growth plates maturing in the same time frame.

Studies of thousands of horses have shown that they receive 95% of their growth height at 22 months.

In my opinion any deviation from that is human measuring error.

If seen the same horse measured three times in the same day "grow" three inches. Lol

That is what I thought. Hence this thread.

That math checks out:
15.3hh = 63". 63/0.95=66" = 16.2hh.

[PhoenixRising]

I find this interesting. As a baby I tried to string test Phoenix and if I did it correctly, it estimated 16.2-16.3. Right now she's 4 and almost exactly 16h. I hope she continues to grow as I really like the bigger horses.

[Tsavo]

It has been scientifically shown that all breeds require 7 years to finish growing. They all mature the same way, with the same growth plates maturing in the same time frame.

Studies of thousands of horses have shown that they receive 95% of their growth height at 22 months.

In my opinion any deviation from that is human measuring error.

If seen the same horse measured three times in the same day "grow" three inches. Lol

That is what I thought. Hence this thread.

That math checks out:
15.3hh = 63". 63/0.95=66" = 16.2hh.

The horse is 4, more than double the 22 months at which 95% of the adult height is achieved.

[MysticOak]

While MOST horses achieve 95% of their growth at 22 months, that is not true of all horses (I'm pretty convinced there is no rule of horses that applies to ALL horses ). My observation (having bred many horses, and having had several other babies grow up at my place)… The rangy, immature looking youngsters tend to take longer to grow up. When you have a 2 year old that looks pretty "finished" and balanced - they are... I've had 2 year olds who put on 2 more inches to maturity, and 2 year old that put on 8 inches to maturity. I had a three year old who was DONE at 3, and another who easily put on another 4 or 5 inches.

Most four year olds will not put on 3 inches, but it DOES happen. I did have one grew almost 2 inches between 4 and 6. But that is pretty rare. By the way, I DO know how to measure.

So if your youngster is rangy and growthy looking, he may put on another 2 or 3 inches. If he's pretty balanced looking at 4, he is probably pretty close to his finished height.

I do think some breeds tend to reach full height quicker then others - such as the QH - you don't see many of them put on another few inches after 3 years old. Drafts and WBs seem more inclined to put on that extra height. If an extra 3 inches is important to you, I think it is a bit of a risk to hope for 3 inches growth in a four year old. OTOH, if you just want the horse to reach 16 hands - it seems highly possible (if the horse is truly 15.3 now).