How big will she grow??

M

murraymoo

New Member
Jul 11, 2007
17
0
0
Hi - was just wondering if anyone is good at guessing how big a foal will mature at?

We have a standardbred filly who is 18 months old and is a tad over 15.2hh at the moment!!

What height do you think she'll be at maturity? I'm hoping she'll stop growing soon - as I'm only 5ft 3 - and she's the perfect height for me at the moment. Have a feeling I'll be needing a step ladder when we finally get to back her!!
 
Foals usually attain about 90% of their adult height by twelve months (based on TB growth rates - individually they do vary but that's a fairly accurate estimation).
 
Mines around 15.3hh too, and shes the same age!

She is a TBx Friesian, but I havent been feeding her - shes made that on thin air! Foals tend to reach most of their adult height between 18-24 months, but breed and what6 you feed also has an effect on this!

If you feed foal pellets, they grow much quicker, and will reach near mature height much earlier. Tbs also tend to be faster growers, and will reach around 90% of their full height by 2 - then everything slows down height wise, and they start to fill out.

I think IDs are slower to mature height wise - but im not entirely sure how it all works out...

What have you been feeding your foal on? If its just been on grass and hay, then it will mature much more slowly than if you feed foal nuts or youngster mix!
 
Whoo! Shes a big girlie! Jackson hit a HUGE growth spurt at about 18 months and is now just a touch over 15hh. He'll be 3 Feb 22. I expect him to be about 15.2-3hh eventually, they can continue to grow slowly for several years. If she is 15.2hh now, I think she'll probably get to approx. 16.1hh give or take an inch or so?

Do you know how big her parents are?
 
p.s. foals usually err towards their dams height...ie. if mum is 17hh, and dad is 15 hh, the foal is more likely to hit 16hh or over, but if mum is 15hh, and dad is 17hh, then the foal is more likely to end up 16hh or under...if that made any sense? Its just a general rule - not set in stone or anything, and there will always be exceptions...

My IDxTB/arab is near 16.3hh at 4 years old...his dam was 15.2hh and his sire was 17.2hh!

My 16 month old filly is 15.3hh now, but her sire is 16.1hh and her dam is 17.2hh...I expect her to be over 16 hands - probs 16.2hh....but who knows! I did an old folks tale way of guestimating her adult height when she was 1 (measure from elbow to ergot, and then invert it and measure from elbow up - where the end hits on the measuring stick is her approx adult height...she came out at 17.1hh...but I dont know how accurate that would be though, lol...)
 
Last edited:
standardbred said:
Can i ask how she is bred?
Click to expand...


Hi, she's by Daylon Alert, out of our mare, Brywin's Melody. She will be raced under harness, but I'm hoping she'll make a nice riding horse too, as she has her mothers kind, gentle nature. Her mum is a good 16.2hh, not too sure about her dad, will have to look him up on the web!!
 
Ashlea said:
What have you been feeding your foal on? If its just been on grass and hay, then it will mature much more slowly than if you feed foal nuts or youngster mix!
Click to expand...

Hi - she's only recently started on hard feed, has just had hay and grass before that. I say that she's 15.2 at the moment - her bum is actually about 2 inches higher - she's constantly walking downhill!!!
 
its interesting to know the 90% rule, i always thought they continued to grow til they were 5,

well, thats what i hoped, i have a 4yr old and he's 17'1 already :eek:
 
standardbred said:
I can't find a pic of him, but he's nicely bred. I can remember your mare racing and i'll look forward to seeing your youngster on the track.
Click to expand...

Wow - that's amazing!! I didn't think she was that well known!! She did win a couple of races, and is such a lovely mare, just makes a better mum than a racehorse!!. The first foal my dad bred from her is doing quite well at the moment, (his names Immpartial, by Immortalised). Hopefully this filly will be good too - but you never know, sometimes they just don't take to pacing - or can do it in a straight line, and not round the corners lol!!!:D

What are your horses called, I might have heard of them?
 
Oh cool, he's had a great season! Yeah i know what you mean, you can have a really well bred thing but it still runs like a donkey:) I've got Key Factor but only for the winter:( But previous to that the last one i had was Meadowland Chancer and that is about 8 years ago.
 
I suppose the one good thing is that with Standardbreds, if they're not too good at racing, they make really nice riding horses, contrary to popular belief.

Thanks to you all for the info, I guess I'll just have to wait and see how big she'll get. Will let you know the result in a couple of years!!! lol:D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
newrider.com
Top Bottom
Back