I got a 3 year old mare just about a month ago and she still kinda looks like a yearling and has a short back and quite a small butt. I’m hoping she may grow out of it and get longer as time goes on but I think she should’ve hit that stage already. I believe she is a warmblood cross but not exactly sure she came to me grade. What are y’alls thoughts?
What is wrong with short back?
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I just don’t know if it is a confirmation flaw or not, I also would love to use her for jumping but am clueless if that would effect anything
I was always taught that a short back is better (and stronger) than a long back.
The only potential problem is if it is so short you have difficulty fitting a saddle.
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The saddle seems to fit her well but gives very little space in between and if a saddle ever were to slip the rider would be sitting on her kidneys. That’s my biggest concern.
Her back does not look short to me. At the moment she appears to be immature for her age–and still at the stage where her parts and pieces don’t yet fit together. I suspect she will look totally different a year from now.
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FYI: https://www.rodnikkel.com/content/saddle-tree-blog-from-shop-and-desk/youre-not-hurting-his-kidneys/
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I hope so, she is nearly 16 hands and seems to still be in that stage. She may just slowly mature, she’s my first youngster so Im overly concerned about her.
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Are you SURE she’s 3? She looks YOUNG.
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Oh, wow, she does not look 16h in the photo. A short back is a good thing for a jumper, but I was trying to figure out how to nicely tell you she was going to stay a hony….
. Glad to hear it’s the pic.
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At 3, her back isn’t done lengthening.
It’s really pretty rare for a back to be functionally too short. I’ve maybe seen 2?
What’s more common (not COMMON, just more common than the truly too-short back) is a back too short for the size saddle that horse’s rider needs
Example: My last WB was 17h, 1500lb, but only an 80" blanket. No big deal for all 5’5" of me, with a 17-17.5" saddle working just fine. But, I found the perfect Dressage saddle for him that was an 18", and if it hadn’t had upswept panels, would have been too long to not sit too far back on his back.
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Yeah she’s definitely 3 she has most her adult teeth and she’s close to loosing her last set of baby teeth.
Yep 
one of mine is CHONKY and looks bigger than he is but has maybe 16” of weight bearing space (multiple fitters agree). Guess how tall I am? 5’9” and leg for days. Saddle shopping was a NIGHTMARE so I completely understand the worry that the back will be shorter than desired 
That said, a short back isn’t a flaw, and is perhaps better for jumping than the opposite. OP, your cute mare looks quite immature so I expect you’ll have something completely different in a year - especially if she has quite a bit of WB in there. They tend to just keep growing!
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If you find the last rib - the 18th and run your hand up (and you move at an angle as you probably know?), you can confirm your saddle panel isn’t sitting behind her ribcage. That’s what matters, right?
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I feel this struggle. My guy is 17h, with a barrel as wide as a boat, but goes in a M width saddle with “pony panels” and a 78” sheet 
we joke that he’s built like the PF Chang horse
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yes! This is how to find that
not straight up from the last rib, you need where the rib connects to the spine
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Have you put a stick on her or are you just guessing her height? She does not look 16 hands and she does not look 3.
Who told you she was a WB cross? She’s super cute.
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I have measured her with a proper measuring tape and she is 15.2 almost at 15.3 which makes her pretty close to 16. She string tested to 16.1 or 16.2. Also I’ve had her checked out by the vet and they said she is at least 3
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Agree she doesn’t look 16 hands. Maybe 15.1 or 15.2. Buy a level measuring stick. She’s adorable. Best wishes.
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