[secuono]

So these little horses live on a very restricted diet, some say it stunts their growth & that if a baby is raised in captivity, with great food, it won't be stunted & grow a bit taller than it would of if left in the wild.

Any truth to this concept? If so, how much more could they grow?

Do string tests for height predictions work on ponies or best for full size horses?

Has anyone tested ponies with these methods, were the results correct or off?

I tried the band to knee on my mature wild pony and it was spot on. 13 inches, 13 hands.

When I tested the colt, it came to 12h roughly. Should I be preparing for him to be a child's mount in the future or hold out for a miracle growth spurt of 4 additional inches?

He'll be much loved in the meantime, so no worries there, lol.

Thanks! :gallop:

 

[walkinthewalk]

Nothing is for sure in the world of horses.

1. The gelding I raised from birth ended up being a good bit taller than both his parents.

2. A friend took a colt home from an auction barn, where some beatch of a female bought the mare and said she didn't care if the colt died in a ditch somewhere. The colt was not quite old enough to be weaned but there was no choice.

He looked like his growth would be stunted. He was about three years when I drove past the farm where he lived and saw this beautiful tall chestnut in the pasture. I called my friend to ask when they got the new horse. She laughed and said that was the colt everyone thought would end up stunted --- it was a Tennessee Walker and turned out to be a good average TWH height.

*****
The moral to both those stories is, if the horse is fed a balanced diet, room to roam, fresh water and salt, it will grow to whatever it's full potential is ----- maybe it will be short and maybe it won't, feed it healthy to give it every chance

 

[GMA100]

I had a wild mustang gelding go from 13.3hh to 15hh in about 13 months. He was 22 months when I got him, just very underweight and stunted for a while.

I'd say yours could get a little taller that 12hh.

 

[secuono]

He's probably the most well fed n cared for critter here currently. His shine can be blinding, haha.

 

[walkinthewalk]

Ah!!!! My favorite color!

Give him time. One day you will be brushing him and realize you suddenly have to reach higher to brush his back, lollol

 

[Foxhunter]

There are several string tests and generally most seem to be fairly accurate.
There is the one you have done and the other, on animals over 18 months, to measure from elbow to the back of the fetlock, and then reverse the string so it goes from elbow to withers, the difference is how much they have to grow.

Don't let him get to fat, ponies are prone to founder and it can come on very fast.

 

[WhattaTroublemaker]

My parents bottle raised a filly when I was a child and her growth was severely stunted. She never really grew out of her coltish stage until she was eleven, and when she did her legs took a beating and ended up very very crooked. She's incredibly over at the knee and she's bow-legged with severe arthritis. Vet said it's because of her diet and lack of exercise (no mum to run around after) when she was young. Funny because they fed her as per the vets advice. They sank almost 18 thousand dollars into that girl from day one and now the vet is telling them they did it wrong :lol: funny people around here.

 

[LoriF]

As far as stunting, I think that it would take a lot of malnutrition to be permanent. Yes, wild horses tend to be smaller but that is mother nature at work without man interfering as far as breeding.

The cannon bone has done 98% of its growth at birth. I've found that the measurement from the cornet band to the middle of the knee to be accurate. If you measured correctly, then he will probably be 12 hands.

I wouldn't considered that stunted, it's his genetic code.

 

[secuono]

There are several string tests and generally most seem to be fairly accurate.
There is the one you have done and the other, on animals over 18 months, to measure from elbow to the back of the fetlock, and then reverse the string so it goes from elbow to withers, the difference is how much they have to grow.

Don't let him get to fat, ponies are prone to founder and it can come on very fast.

Yes, that's the other test I did, both showed roughly 12h.

I just cut his hard feed down earlier this week, he seemed to be getting a little round, but I'm terrible at seeing it, lol.

 

[walkinthewalk]

I just cut his hard feed down earlier this week, he seemed to be getting a little round, but I'm terrible at seeing it, lol.

^^^^^Thats why I learned I need to take frequent picture of my insulin resistant horse ----- I am terrible at seeing his weight. Pictures don't lie, lol

And yes, your cutie is leaning toward being a tad chunky, lollol

Even if he stays in the 12H area, he is a solid built little guy. He is probably capable of carrying more weight than a lot of horses his size:cowboy:

 

[Foxhunter]

Ponies have evolved to live on the poorest of grassses on mountains and moorlands.
I would make sure that he has access to a good mineral block and stop all hard feed.

 

[secuono]

^^^^^Thats why I learned I need to take frequent picture of my insulin resistant horse ----- I am terrible at seeing his weight. Pictures don't lie, lol

And yes, your cutie is leaning toward being a tad chunky, lollol

Even if he stays in the 12H area, he is a solid built little guy. He is probably capable of carrying more weight than a lot of horses his size:cowboy:

I do that, too, with my gelding. He's on a magnesium supplement to see if it'll help with his fat pockets that refuse to go down. But it doesn't seem to help him with that like it does some other horses. =(