Projected height for my filly

[KGminiaturehorses]

I have a coming 10 month old filly, who currently stands at 30.5".

Her dam was 33.00", and her sire was 32.00", both parents are AMHA reg. and I have copies of their papers on file.

I looked at a few growth charts, and entered her stats. The full grown heights ranged anywhere from 32.75-34.00".

Im hoping she matures under 34", but im not sure what to expect?

What do you all think?

I'll include a picture of her. Ignore the unfinished clipping!

 

[wendyluvsminis]

There are many people on this Forums when lots and lots more experience then me, but I am just going to mention that I've heard(correct me if I'm wrong, forum friends!) that a mini normally gets 75% of their growth by weanling, and 90% by yearling. .And when their tail touches the ground, they are done growing. Hope that helps and start up your discussion! Pretty baby! Looks like a nice, warm, roomy blanket too!

 

[ohmt]

I still really don't believe in the 'tail touching the ground' theory, but I know some people do. Anyway, it's really hard to say as it can differ depending on genetics, the feeding program the horse is on, and even sometimes environmental factors come into play. Most of my horses have most of their growing done by the time they reach a year. Sometimes I can tell how tall they are going to be depending on how mature they look as a yearling. The ones who are a little more gangly and less filled out tend to grow a bit more than my others-but I also know how the growth patterns of most of the bloodlines in my herd work so it makes it a little easier. I have one stallion who's foals are ALL born 23"-24" and then top out at about 32", but they mature very fast.

Here's a yearling colt that measured 31" at 10 months(sorry, this is a terrible picture, but I'm in a hurry so just grabbed what was convenient):

He was very mature as a yearling though and I guarantee he'll stay under 33" (he was one born 23"!). He hasn't grown at all since then.

I doubt your filly will go over 34", but every once in a while I get one that surprises me so don't quote me on that!

 

[Candi]

There are many people on this Forums when lots and lots more experience then me, but I am just going to mention that I've heard(correct me if I'm wrong, forum friends!) that a mini normally gets 75% of their growth by weanling, and 90% by yearling. .And when their tail touches the ground, they are done growing. Hope that helps and start up your discussion! Pretty baby! Looks like a nice, warm, roomy blanket too!

Would have to say that if the "tail growth" part is considered true -someone forgot to tell ours! Our 2009 colt had his tail touching the ground by 8 months old - he's grown more-than-a-fair amount since then. Our Red Dun filly's tail was on ground by little over year though she grew 2+" since that.

 

[MyBarakah]

I always think the best way to tell height is by measuring the cannon bone... from the photos looks like she has about a 8" cannon bone.. I bet she will stay under 34" and would guess to mature out around 33"... have you measured her cannon bone before? Depends on some bloodlines but some minis will do most of thier growing before they hit thier yearling b-day... I had one do that last year.

 

[Becky]

I’ve owned and bred miniatures since 1989 and I’ve NEVER had one finish growing as a yearling! I will say the ones that are going to mature small grow a lot less, maybe only a fraction of an inch, but the ones that are going to be taller, can grow 2 - 3 inches as yearlings. I’ve seen that happen over and over, not just with my horses but with my client show horses every year.

Even 2 yr olds here continue to grow and it can be as much as 1". Both in my own herd and again, client show horses.

Finished growing as yearlings? I’ve never seen it happen!

I would guess that your filly will mature in the 33" range if well fed and dewormed regularly. I don't *think* you will have to worry about her going over 34".

 

[KGminiaturehorses]

Thank you for all your thoughts!

She has really seemed to shoot up here in the last month, and she's starting to look more like a mature horse rather than a filly!

I haven't taken the tape measure out to measure her cannons, but im going to try and get that done today.

 

[Relic]

Okay l'm laughing l've never believed the tail touching the ground thing M/T hairs are not really related to body growth...some lines get longer faster growing M/T's..then others have short sparse M/T's all there lives some hardly have any forlock no matter how much you want one up there others are so thick it drives you nuts with upkeep...as far as yearlings topping out about where they are going to stay thats also not really ever been true for us usually even the fast growers the first year don't really stop till long 2 year olds and late 3 year olds..then you can also get the slow growers that you think are staying short but have lenght of leg and whamo as 3 year olds shoot up and you start praying stay under 34..just my experience for what it's worth

l sold 2 geldings with a money back contract both sets of parents were shorties the boys were fine till long 2 year olds and ended up at age 4 to be 36 and 37 tall. Nice boys but big boys..now AMHR.

 

[Relic]

opps

 

[Relic]

Sorry l don't know how l posted the same thing twice

 

[ruffian]

One trick that always seemed to be pretty accurate for me was this:

Take a string and put one end against the point of the fetlock/top of the ankle. Run the string up to the elbow and hold it there. Then take the other end that was at the fetlock and, while holding the string at the elbow, bring it up around their barrel to the backbone. Whatever is left from the back bone to the reaining length of the string is how much the horse can be expected to grow.

 

[Miniv]

A good majority of our kids grow about 90 percent of their mature height by the end of their yearling year. After that, they eek out a bit more height as 2 year olds, but mostly they spend their energy with filling out and maturing. Age 2 can sometimes be an awkward looking year.

Like others, I don't go by the tail growth idea either.

We often do the cannon bone measurement. (measure top of the hoof, where the fur starts, to the middle of the "knee") We measure the dam's cannon bone as well and compare. By doing this we can at least estimate whether the foal will mature out taller, shorter, or about the same height as the mare.

 

[HGFarm]

I dont put any stock in the tail touching the ground myth either. It is just that- a myth.

As a foal, I usually try to get a measurement on height, cannon bone and also elbow to ground. I combine the three heights and average it out. So far that seems to be fairly accurate but it's still a crap shoot.

I have had two stallions that did quit growing in their yearling year. They filled out as they matured, but never grew more in height. One I almost sold because his measurement at a year old said he was going to be at least 35". He stopped at 32.75".

I have also heard that a lot of the growth rate depends on their diet- horses on a lower protein diet grew slower and took longer to mature than those on a higher protein diet (like grass hay vs. alfalfa hay, etc...)