question about growth

[waplama]

Hello,

Though I have lots of experience with adult horses, I now have my first foal. I bought her as a weanling so I know she's had premium food and turn-out her whole life Both sire and dam are 16 hands. My question is if anyone has either anecdotal or research info on growth patterns in Saddlebreds. My filly is now 21 months and 15h at the withers (but about 15.2 at the croup right now!), but I've gotten comments from Quarter Horse owners about how small she is for a Saddlebred. She's grown very little in height over the past several months, but her head, neck and leg diameter definitely continue to grow. Her breeder says Saddlebreds are slow growers and not to worry. She's a keeper regardless, but I am hoping she'll gain a few more inches.

By the way, this is my first Saddlebred and I am seriously impressed! I doubt I will ever have any other breed from now on--she has been incredibly easy to train, calm and firey all at the same time!

[3kidsandahorse]

I'm not a breeder either, nor do I have colts. But my girls' ASB was just 4 when we bought her. I think she's grown at least 3" since then, so they will continue to grow later! Some bloodlines grow slower. I wouldn't panic at the moment. She's not even 2 yet, and I'm sure they almost always grow in their 3 year old year as well.

QH colts aren't lanky like most young ASBs. That's prob. why she looks small to some of "those" people. :blink: Some ASB's look like TB's for a while. The aforementioned girls' horse looks like a QH now :ohmy: but sure didn't when she was 4. She wasn't lean but she sure bulked up later into a pretty big mare.

Welcome to the breed. They are smart, loving, and generally easy to train if approached right. Don't rush to break her to ride. Let her mature, like a good wine. You'll both be happier for it!

[Cynthia]

Same here, we bought my mare just when she turned 3, and she kept growing easily through her 4th year.

[wstrngrl]

We've had horse grow through their 6th year; so don't worry yourself

[lcunningham]

I wouldn't worry, either. Last year, everyone commented on how much my 5 yo mare still looked like a filly - slender and lanky. Just this past winter, she's probably grown 2 inches and is really filling out for her 6 year old year! Just give her time!

[saddlebred26]

I'm not a breeder either, but when I was grooming, I groomed lots of colts. Of course we sold most of them before they were fully grown, but I've seen several of them since. Many of them do take a while to finish growing. We had one colt that was about your filly's age that was only about 14.2, but he mature to over 16. Of course, we had a few that were 16 near the end of their 2-Y-O years, but it always seemed like they had difficulty trying to figure out where to put those legs. So, don't worry, just keep feeding her right, make sure she gets good exercise, time to play and grow up, and she'll keep growing.

Melissa