I am looking at an Irish Draught colt that was 15.3 at 12 months. Any experience out there on estimating his final height? He is leggy and not yet gelded.
He is out of the area so I can’t do a string test on him. However, I’ve found the string test to be unreliable with the breeds that grow longer (my last IDSH string tested at 16.0 and he finished at age 6 at 17 hds)
Am I looking at a 17.2+ mature horse? My limit on height is 17.2 and I do NOT want an 18 hd horse. Sire is 17.2; dam is 17 hds.
The non string test rule of thumb is to add 2 h to 12 month height. Odds are will be closer to the 17.2h parent
Is he gelded? Geldings tend to grow taller than stallions. Testosterone influences the growth plates to close.
[QUOTE=carolprudm;7784262]
Is he gelded? [/QUOTE]
It appears from the OP he is not gelded.
The rule of thumb is add 2h to the 12 month height, then 1h to th 24 month height.
But, you say he’s leggy, so he may have done a bit more growing up front than “normal”.
The surge of testosterone of an uncut colt will cause sooner closure of the growth places, for a shorter horse, but we’re talking about small differences in heights. Not inches.
Do a string test on him. It’s pretty reliable, though it can be off for horses who are gifted or challenged in the leg department. It would be interesting to know the results of both string tests compared to the 17.3 prediction.
Since the parents are 17 and 17.2, and he’s already 15.3, while he may not truly get to 17.3, I would lay good $$ that you are looking at 17.2 give or take.
No way to say
I have had both fast early growing Irish Draughts and slow but continual growing Irish Draughts and even from the same stallions. I have a tall colt similar to your colt but out of a 15.1 hand mare. The 15.1 hand mare is a surviving orphan who is throwing tall young horses so I suppose she is likely 16.2 or 16.3 genetically. It is ridiculous how fast some of them can grow. I have then had them pretty much stop going high by early 3 and just grow a few inches after that, She would have been 19 hands if she kept going at the rate she was as a 2 yo She ended about 17.2 but the amount she filled out in the last 5 years of maturing was amazing. She was so narrow you couldn’t get a hand between her front legs and as an adult she is very broad.
I have had a yearling that grew an inch every year until he was 9 to settle at 16.2 and he never looked like he was growing. He is the identical horse he was at 3 just evenly bigger all over. So I just don’t think you can know for sure. None of my Irish Draughts fit the string test as they are very short in the cannon bone and very deep in the chest as adults. So what I can say is they are big horses but not necessarily wide horses. The majority have lovely saddle positions and do not spread you apart or at least you can find IDs who are not flat and broad in the back. I don’t find them to be big thugs either as many very large horses can be. They are very civil to handle.
They are smart and they take care of themselves and can be kept simply and inexpensively. I would worry more about whether your young candidate is socialized with horses and that he doesn’t spend his life in a box stall that he gets to play and move and use that growing body, though you would risk dings and dents they are worth the opportunity to be active and athletic as they grow…I have learned that IDs are very tough and have a attitude of an athlete who loves to move and play…that booboo is along way from my heart.
They have a lot more endurance that you might expect…they a more influenced by boredom than being un fit. To keep their lives challenging and interesting is what they like. I am going to hold off on gelding my large kid as long as possible…he is out in a gelding herd…and hope the testosterone will help temper the growth. At the point he has the testosterone turned on…and that seems to be how it goes…then he will be cut. I have kept colts with geldings up to 3 with no problems but each colt is unique and you have to watch. Have fun and good luck. They are addicting. PatO
I agree that IDs eventual size can be hard to predict. We bought an IDSH for my then not very tall 18 year old daughter. There were two, 2 1/2 year olds who we liked. The one who was 15.1h was predicted to end up at 16h. The other, who was 15.2h was predicted to end up at 16.3. We bought the shorter one. He had a big growth spurt and ended up at 16.2h. The taller one barely grew, and ended up at 15.3 or so. Fortunately, my daughter grew an inch, so 16.2 was fine.
I agree with PatO that IDs can be addicting. After getting our first one, we decided that IDs and IDSHs are the only breed for us.
I agree…there was a 3 yo cobby IDSH gelding…he looked like a 15.1 cob and he finally found his buyer and I saw him at a show and he was 16.3. All the growth after 3. PatO
thank you so much… everyone… Your comments and suggestions are terrific. I really love the pics, videos, and pedigree of this young lad and I think I will take the risk on his growing… I am thinking that I will pursue him so I am likely going to have x-rays done to rule out OCD, along with a vet check, as soon as I have the funds to buy him. He is about 20hrs from me so I will most likely purchase him sight unseen… I am not set on buying him yet, but I am leaning heavily in that direction… 
I think you would not find much evidence that xrays for this age horse will do anything but make your vets richer. I have had a colt fully vet checked with xrays at 3K…he wasn’t even 9 months old. The value of xrays begins about 3 yo and even that could be argued. The issue with babies is that a positive xray on a baby is worth nothing as usually debris if it is there reabsorbs as the joints grow such a huge amount. The other extreme is that negative xrays don’t mean anything at that age either as there is so much re modeling going on as they grow it is constant change especially when they are on the large end of the spectrum or particularly fast growing. Consider if you are raising a normal colt. You WANT them to live out and play and use their muscles and joints, you DO NOT want them to live in a stall wrapped in bubble wrap. If they are living the normal life of a young colt they will get dings and dents and boo boos and that is a normal part of growing up and learning to be a athlete…and it is SO fun to watch too. In the course of this they will get imperfect and get better and get imperfect and get better. This age really doesn’t rule out OCD in an xray but you can do your research to show you that. You vet will love you and will not discourage you as this kind of stuff is their bread and butter and after all they will say…I can’t say it will and I can’t say it will not cause any problem…it is your decision…and it is. When there are big young horse sales in Europe thay sell babies, yearlings and 2yo without flexions and xrays and they can sell for a 100k. Most breeders will not let you do flexions on anything younger than a 3yo because your vetting process can damage the very babies you are vetting. I can say Irish Draughts are tough and it takes a lot to make them lame or to quit, the worst thing you can do to them is bore them other wise they are game to go by nature. good Luck. PatO
I do a string test ad compare it to the add 2 hands at 12 months. If they agree, I feel fairly confident on final height. Do you have other offspring to compare final heights. If 17.2 is a hard rule, there are some lines that are really throwing height and with 2 horses already at or close to your ceiling, you could definitely be facing >17.2H. I just came from inspections with multiple horses sticking 17.3 and neither dam nor sire were >17H
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
