My 3 year old is starting work under saddle. He has no withers yet. He was a very uphill youngster do just wondering ehen this might change?
My Arabian mare was 8, and none of her saddles then fit. She went from a pear shape propane tank in a sliding wide saddle to M-MW. She looks great now.
[QUOTE=Paris;8099202]
My 3 year old is starting work under saddle. He has no withers yet. He was a very uphill youngster do just wondering ehen this might change?[/QUOTE]
I feel your pain! My coming 3 year old filly (turns 3 at the end of June) is still not very “withery”. I know the withers are THERE–and they are long and well-shaped–but they just haven’t “popped.”
I always say that I’m “waiting on the withers fairy” 
sigh
IME, between 3 and 4 they tend to grow noticeably in many horses (I’m sure some take even longer!) My filly is a WB and is turned out with a few TB fillies–one of the coming two year old TBs has more wither than she does! Of course that 2 year is still downhill (and gawky), so it varies from horse to horse; this filly will probably be ALL withers when she finishes up.
I’m waiting to back my girl until early fall, hoping that by then there will be some incremental growth–but I’ve put a saddle on her and it sits well–she has a good “saddle position” and a nice, long shoulder.
How does the saddle sit on him? Does it stay put when he’s moving?
Up to 6 here…
Bumping up an old thread because I have the same question and I thought I’d see if @Paris or @Dr. Doolittle had updates on their youngsters now that we’re two years out.
Also would love to know what your youngsters looked like pre-withers. Every youngster I’ve ever owned has had massive withers from yearling year onward. But my current 3 year old looks like someone chopped off her withers with a hacksaw. I’m assuming that’s just what it looks like before withers “sprout,” but would love to hear from others!
Ha, well – the “filly” in question, now a mare - does finally have withers, but they are not very prominent. Her dam (half TB) is much more withery. It is what it is! She’s not a very tall horse in general, about 15’1 1/2, but at least has a well laid-back shoulder and a nice neck. She’s not particularly uphill, unfortunately.
I use a shoulder relief girth on her to keep the saddle back, she’s on the chunky side with a flat back, kind of built like a tube and the saddle will creep forward a bit without the TSF girth. She’s also very long backed too; that and the fact that she is not uphill (and still young, so gradually developing more hind end engagement) means that I need to be very conscious of where I place the saddle, and make sure my girth is tight 
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Withers are a product of 2 things:
1 - age. The spine doesn’t finish “closing” until age 5, give or take a bit. Some horses still grow vertically after that, and not just a wither measurement.
2 - work. The withers are supported by the shoulder sling. When there is enough appropriate work, those muscles help literally lift the bony column in the wither area, thereby “sprouting” withers.
My TB mare had her sharkfin withers when I got her at 3.
My WB gelding didn’t really get his adult withers until more like 6 or so.
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I had a mare who was 5 when I bought her, she definitely grew especially in the wither area over the winter age 5/6. By 6 she was almost two inches taller in the withers, with them being much more noticeable than before.
One of my geldings I got at the end of his 4 year old year. He was already huge but kept filling out and changing shape until he was 6. He was unfortunately retired at 6 and was turned out, by age 7 he grew withers (and a small roach) seemingly out for no where. I’m not sure if they were really hidden from his shape (very solid muscled horse) or if they just took to growing.
Both of these horses were in work since around 18 months.
I think it’s safe to say your horse could be changing shape for a few years yet!
One can hope! 
From the sire’s side (and based on half siblings by him - yes, I realize that half siblings only refer to out of the same dam) don’t seem to be particularly “withery”, nor do they tend to grow much past the age of four or five IF they look like a “finished horse”?when young. He tends to throw small! Which was what I was looking for…
It would certainly be nice to have another inch of withers, though! Fingers crossed.
Age 3-4 imo. YMMV.
I’m not saying that is when they are done growing, but that’s when I typically see them appear in a horse that has been largely butt-high.
Remember too that withers are supported by the shoulder sling, not a fixed point in space, so a younger horse can “suddenly” sprout withers with the increased muscles pulling/holding up the structures there.
Yes, those shoulder sling muscles lift the front of the horse – when developed, the horse can literally become more “uphill” Which is why I’m noticing that my mare’s “posture” is gradually becoming a little more uphill as a result of the increased demands on her in the work; she has a lovely neck to begin with, but now she’s developing shoulder and trapezius muscles. I just wish she weren’t so long backed. Oy 
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