Lots of Cobby development questions!

Narcissa

Narcissa

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Jan 20, 2018
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Hello, I bought a little cob colt a few months ago due to the fact he was severely underweight and was being treated very poorly. After a check from the vet he is estimated to be around 2 1/2 nearly three, though doesn't look it at all (he is still very gangly and small) I'm not questioning his age but more his development, will his lack of nutrition permanently hinder his growth? Or will he just mature slower but end up the same height as what he would be if he was fed a good diet. He has gained lots of weight and is being fed good food, but still just looks very underdeveloped for his age. (more like a horse that has just turned 2)

He's currently 12.2hh and I was told by his old owners that he should make 14.hh+ (I'm not sure I believe it but it gives me some kind of estimate to how tall the parents were) So does anyone have an idea of how tall he will get? I'm thinking around 13hh, but then again I have never owned cobs before, and I was wondering whether they mature slower in general (more like their larger draft horse friends)

Sorry for so many questions haha- I am pretty ignorant when it comes to cobs :p
 
Cob or not, I believe all horses develop at the same speed. They reach maturity around six/seven.
Various bones fuse around four/five and the muscles/ filling out carry on.

I would be guessing 13hh for maturity if you actually measured the height. My cob is 14hh and was 13.2hh at two and half. She was however very poorly and so that probably did stunt her growth.
Ask how big his parents were and get him cut.
 
Thanks, guessed about the same. He is getting cut in a couple of weeks, was due to be cut last month but then we discovered he was a rig so we have had to spent a fair amount of time arranging vet visits around my work.
 
native / cob types mature more slowly than other breeds. Growth plates may fuse at around the same time but research has shown that something around 70% ( i cant remember exactly) of height is achieved in the first 2 years. What you will find however is that if the height is reached at 4 - the horse you have at 6/7 will still look vastly different as they fill out into their frame and the chest widens for example.

With regards your question about nutrition - I believe the height they achieve is determined genetically, the poor start may mean they take longer to fill out and mature; so they may look at 5 , a well rounded 3 year old but with the correct input they reach the same point eventually as one who started well. It’s a broad generalisation though as you may have one who had a great start but is just a bit of a poor one that doesn’t thrive for whatever reason despite having everything thrown at them, then you can have one thats been on next to nothing doing amazingly well. I have a 4 year old stallion who in his yearling year was unfortunately on awful grazing and we had a very very rough winter with feet of snow. Now he was fed and had adlib haylage but he has not matured at quickly as the others and Im sure that year stunted him a bit. Heigh wise he is where he should be but he looks like a ‘good’ 2 - rising 3 year old, he hasn’t started to fill out into his frame. However, he is also a bit of a stress head so who knows, this may have been just him, regardless of that bad winter.

I hope that gives you a bit of insight, I rambled slightly!
 
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Talking of filling out. It took a while for mine to grow into her ears. Now not saying they are huge, but let's just say in her younger days they attracted your eye first.

Any photos. :) welcome to the forum by the way.
 
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^^^Got one of him when he first came home ^^^


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^^^ And one of him and his TB friend haha ^^^


And thank you! Been a lurker on these forums for a long while now so thought it was about time I made an account :p
 
Hello, my cob was in pretty cad shape when i got him at 18 months, deaths door. At 12 years he was 12hh hes now 7 Hes made 14.1 and was only supposed to make about 13.hh. Hes stocky too, took a while for him to hold his weight well but hes got there, attached pics and if u look at the bottom of the box u write in there is an "upload a file" button thing, click that to add pics as thumbnails, then click thumbnail to get the pics up big at the bottom of peoples posts (hope i explained that well)
 

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Most of my files are too large but I got one working haha :)
*edit Got the other one too :p
 

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I can't really help with your questions but I am glad that he has found a good home with you.

My horse is a 16.1hh shire x and he was still growing at 7 years old. I think that the heavy types (even the smaller cobs) all take longer to becoming fully grown compared to the finer types.

Can you explain more about him being a rig? I thought that a rig was a horse who had been gelded but unsuccessfully? How can he be a rig if he is still a colt? Sorry if this is a stupid question, it just interests me.
 
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Mary Poppins said:
I can't really help with your questions but I am glad that he has found a good home with you.

My horse is a 16.1hh shire x and he was still growing at 7 years old. I think that the heavy types (even the smaller cobs) all take longer to becoming fully grown compared to the finer types.

Can you explain more about him being a rig? I thought that a rig was a horse who had been gelded but unsuccessfully? How can he be a rig if he is still a colt? Sorry if this is a stupid question, it just interests me.
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I think one testicle isnt descended... They thought my cob was but turns out it was just a tiny testicle with a huge testicle
 
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From my own experience, a poor start can lead to poor development, especially when they have been weaned.

I rescued 3 starved weaned foals (born May, weaned October, rescued in end of January in near death state. Condition score 0).

The miniature and the midi foals have both attained normal height. The standard (whose parents are both around the 40" mark) is 1" above being classad as a miniature. He is tiny and should be much taller. I reckon it was down to his lack of proper nutrition and squalid living conditions when he needed it most.
 
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Mary Poppins said:
I can't really help with your questions but I am glad that he has found a good home with you.

My horse is a 16.1hh shire x and he was still growing at 7 years old. I think that the heavy types (even the smaller cobs) all take longer to becoming fully grown compared to the finer types.

Can you explain more about him being a rig? I thought that a rig was a horse who had been gelded but unsuccessfully? How can he be a rig if he is still a colt? Sorry if this is a stupid question, it just interests me.
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As Prjsmk said, it is that one of his testicles hasn't descended. The term rig I think applies to any horse with one testicle or something that's left after a gelding operation that continues to produce testosterone ( I may be wrong but that's how I understand it :p) He is currently living with another rig (this one doesn't belong to me) so we made the joke that that horse taught him how to hide it to avoid getting gelded hehe.
 
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