How much does a horse grow between 2 and 4?
If you have a horse that is not quite 2 and is 14 hands, what do you think that horse will finish at?
Thanks.
As a general rule I add two hands of height to their yearling height and one hand of height to their 2yr old height. However, they all grow at different rates and some a bit more and some a bit less.
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A lot will depend on breed. Is it a pony you have, a warmblood, thoroughbred? A 2 year old warmblood who is 14 HH right now will likely finish off at a very different height than, say, a 2 year old Quarter Horse.
If you let us know what breed of horse your two year old is, and the bloodlines or heights of the sire or dam, it makes it much easier to determine than giving you a ballpark figure for an unknown breed.
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[QUOTE=Daventry;4845178]
A lot will depend on breed. Is it a pony you have, a warmblood, thoroughbred? A 2 year old warmblood who is 14 HH right now will likely finish off at a very different height than, say, a 2 year old Quarter Horse.
If you let us know what breed of horse your two year old is, and the bloodlines or heights of the sire or dam, it makes it much easier to determine than giving you a ballpark figure for an unknown breed.[/QUOTE]
Ditto…though realistically you are looking at a horse that will probably be under 16H.
She is a warmblood and she’s actually 14.1. She string tests 16 or 16.1.
Sire 16.1 dam 15.3. Dam has never had a foal finish under 16 hands.
What do you think?
Well typically that is very short for a horse that will finish over 16h, not that it still couldn’t happen. ‘How big are your yearlings’ thread has most of the yearlings between 14 to 15h for a finish of 16 and over.
I would guess that the filly might be the size of her mother or a bit smaller, but anything is possible.
What about a 2 year old from a large pony sire (1/4 holsteiner and at least 1/2 Welsh in that pony) and a TB dam? Horse is 15’ now? Is there a test for a two year old? Honestly, she’s got more bone than the dam right now…
[QUOTE=TrotTrotPumpkn;4845389]
Is there a test for a two year old? Honestly, she’s got more bone than the dam right now…[/QUOTE]
Won’t any string test work? It should work on a full grown horse so it should work on her. I think they just want the legs to be mostly done growing as it is a leg/body ratio and the legs are done first.
I tried the test on a 6 month old and it said he would be 15.2h. His mother is 17 and sire 16.3, and now that he is 10 months he is just about 14.3, so I would think the string test doesn’t work till they are at least yearlings, as I have read and heard. The bone might be the Welsh?
I don’t know how to do the string test!!! LOL
[QUOTE=TrotTrotPumpkn;4845466]
I don’t know how to do the string test!!! LOL[/QUOTE]
Stringapalosa!
http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/search.php?searchid=7391474
[QUOTE=Cindy’s Warmbloods;4845087]
As a general rule I add two hands of height to their yearling height and one hand of height to their 2yr old height. However, they all grow at different rates and some a bit more and some a bit less.[/QUOTE]
I would echo this if we’re talking WBs or WB crosses.
My 2004 filly was 15hh at 2 and is 15.3hh at coming 6.
My 2008 gelding turns 2 on June 7th and is already 15.2hh, I expect he will finish around 16.1hh or better.
[QUOTE=Dressagelvr;4845336]
She is a warmblood and she’s actually 14.1. She string tests 16 or 16.1.
Sire 16.1 dam 15.3. Dam has never had a foal finish under 16 hands.
What do you think?[/QUOTE]
It is possible and on occasion WBs have grown a full 2H after 2… though that (14 to 14.1h) is small for a WB 2 YO…15.2 to 15.3 is more likely. For comparison: my 2 YOs are now 15.2 (mature at estimated 16.2) and 15.3H (est. at maturity 16.2 to 16.3) at 24 mos old. Both were 14.2H yearlings. I had an Arab/WB cross colt that was around 14.1/14.2 at 2 and he matured at 15.3H.A Paint/WB cross colt that was in that same 14.1H+ ballpark at 2 also matured at 15.3H.
[QUOTE=Cindy’s Warmbloods;4845087]
As a general rule I add two hands of height to their yearling height and one hand of height to their 2yr old height. However, they all grow at different rates and some a bit more and some a bit less.[/QUOTE]
Wow… thanks for the education! If that’s true, my Cir Caletto x Just the best colt will be 17.2!! That’s what he stringtested at as a yearling, but it is good to hear some confirmation! I don’t own him any more, but it is fun to anticipate what his new owners will have in the future, and what my mare throws! 
Cindy’s theory is about spot on for my two. My mare was 15.2 as a two year old (15.3 as a long two year old) and she finished growing at 16.2 hh. My gelding is 16.1 right now as a four year, and I expect him to finish at another inch as he is a slow maturer (still looks like a 3 y/o). Depends on the breed and the line of horses, some are slower to mature.
Hi , I just recently got a new horse , he is a OTTB gelding , he just turned 3 y/o and is standing 17.3hh measured, I just want to know if he will reach 18hh or above ?
Thank you !!
What about butt high vs growth of withers? All of the horses in my WB boy’s pedigree at least to grandparents are built uphill but at 3.5 yo he’s butt high: 15.2h at withers and 15.3h at butt. How long until the withers “pop”?
On another note, I give you breeders a lot of credit for dealing with all of this risk. You hope and pray and research and plan (and plan and plan) but sometimes these babies surprise you.
Most withers don’t sprout until 4 or later, by conformation and growth, and then can “grow” again as they go into work and the musculature starts lifting the withers out of the shoulder sling.
It’s not uncommon for a rising 4yo to be butt-high. As long as he’s not always been that way, he’ll likely finish like his parents.
Depends on what you call a WB. The WB can grown until 7 yrs of age or so. But a lot of people call draft crosses warmbloods and I don’t know how their growth happens.
TBs used to grow faster than WBs.
Don’t worry about a WB’s slow growth at a young age. All of a sudden the horse can have a growth spurt and gain height rapidly. Of course then he’ll look like rangy TB for a few months till filling out again. The WB can go through those butt high phases as JB said above.
autocorrect correction
My experience with the string test is that it is spot on for thoroughbreds.
I once had an ISH who as a yearling was 14.1 and string tested at 16.1. He was a healthy yearling.
At age 7, he was 17.1 hands.
I had a connemara/thoroughbred that was 15.2 as a 2 year old and finished at 16 hands as a 4 year old.
I purchased a draft cross at age 4 who was 16.3. He finished at 18 hands, at age 7. His string test put him at 17.2 AND he was short-backed and did not have a deep girth.
And as I said above, thoroughbreds have been pretty true to the string test.
Expect some variations with short-legged, long-legged, long backed, short backed, of course. And ponies and thoroughbreds, in my experience, finish growing earlier than draft crosses and warmblood/warmblood crosses. On average… most of the time… but there are so many exceptions that it makes predictions borderline useful!
FYI: This is a 7 year old thread that got bumped with a new question.
