Horse wont grow!?

Question

hey i bought a qh paint filly about a year ago and since buying her she hasnt really grown much.(shes 3 in sep) both her parents are 14.2 and at the moment she would be lucky to be 14. i heard that horses height can vary from .2h above and below their parents height. i think she will only grow to 14. is there any supplement that you would reccoment to help her grow or is it just a wait and see sorta thing. she was broken in wen she was 2 and we took things real slow and now we have just spelled her for a couple of months.

Answer 1

Horses will continue to grow until around the age of 5, but the guarantee in shooting up in height is no guarantee.

I do not suggest any supplements for growth, as this will cause her to grow too fast and cause many many issues that will hurt her down the road. Supplements would need to be given in proper amounts, and even then it won't do enough good for it to matter. It would also possibly have the effect of imbalances natural ratios. This could cause even more harm. Supplements should be given under the guidance of knowledgeable vet.

I also wouldn't have bought her, knowing she was broke as a 2 year old. That's pretty much abuse. A horse isn't ready to carry the weight of the tack and rider at this age, and shouldn't see a rider until after the age of 3, or even 4. It can do some terrible damage to their joints and back. Just because there are 2 year old futurities, doesn't mean it's good to do. Their knees have yet to be fused properly, and the 2 year old phase should be focused on groundwork and light lunging. Research shows some exercise at this time prepares them to take on more so long as it is given in small doses so as not to ruin them.

If you are so terribly worried about having a taller horse, you perhaps should have looked into QH's who have produced/ are in the 15hh range.

Answer 2

First of all a supplement is fine and at 3 will NOT cause her to grow too fast because her growth is slowing down.  I would feed a 16% protein all natural dairy.  About 3/4 to 1 gallon a day.  This will help some and will make sure that she will continue to grow as much as possible.

Second, I too feel that she will grow perhaps another inch or two.  My daughters horse was small at 3 but has grown to 14.2 1/2.  The likelihood of her continuing to grow depends on how well she was fed when younger.  The more you feed the faster they grow.  However the final height is not effected as much as people think.  The final height is unlikely to be affected by more than 1 inch.  

Third It is a good thing to have a horse broken at two and lightly ridden.  All the nonsense about waiting longer came from one woman who wrote an article.  The problem is that she did not cite any research or evidence.  She simply said look at this horse.  He was ridden at two and look at his problems and here is another, etc.  The problem with that is that she used breeds which are genetically predisposed to the problems she was quoting as caused by riding too young.  The problems had nothing to do with the age of the riding, they had to do with the genetics of the horse.

Have you ever heard that pickles are poisonous?  They are highly toxic!  In fact everyone who ate a pickle in 1859 is now DEAD!  So that must prove that pickles really are poisonous!  How is that for logic!.  (Sorry but I like to throw in a little sarcasm now and then. HEE HEE)

BTW  Make sure the dairy has no added nitrates, urea, uric acid, or nitrogen.  All these are codes for urine added to the feed to boost protein (bacteria grow on the nitrates and convert them to protein).  Urea is safe for cattle but will shut down a horse's kidneys.

Edit

Here is my stud grown on the the dairy feed.  As for the height being within two inches of the parents....He stands well over a hand higher than either of his.

http://www.justwrightfarm.com/stallions....

BTW

Virtually all horse feeds start as natural dairy feeds.  Companies will change it slightly so they can rename it, and then charge a higher fee to horse owners.  I get my dairy feed for $7.40 a bag.  The horse feeds closest to its make up range from $10 to $14 per 50lb bag.

Answer 3

well give her to at least 5 to finish growing. I have a three year old QH and he is already 16.1 (he was even a month premature, so he's basically a freak of nature) and I am expecting him to get to 16.2 but hoping for possibly 16.3. But anyways the parents can give an idea to height but you can't count on it completly. His FULL BLOODED sister is only 15.0 hands and she is a year older than him.

Just take it easy on her because she was broke at two, My qh was broke at two and a half also but he was broke in the fall given the winter off and then was lightly ridden in the spring then I bought him and have only ridden himonce so far haha. But since she is so small I am surpised that they did break her. Most of the time they will only break them at two is they are big enough, but its usually pushing when they are about to be three.

But sorry I got side tracked, but just give her time to finish growing, and also no amount of training is a waste or a waste of time and is a terrible thing to imply or say. You should love your filly no matter what size she is.

Answer 4

horses can grow until age 5. it's not uncommon for a horse to gain an inch or more between age 4 and 5. however, just because both parents were 14.2 DOES NOT mean she'll make it to 14.2. she could have been stunted as a foal due to poor nutrition or just have gotten some of her distant relatives size genes. the size of the parents is a very general guide but you can't always count on the foal to finish the same size as the parents. at 3 years old and 14 hands i'd say there's a good possibility she'll finish between 14.1-14.3

slowly starting a horse at 2 and a half isnt going to cause major issues! pushing a two year old will, but if this horse was slowly started as stated it's not a huge concern. supplements for growth are not going to help at this point because her bones are closed. the only place she's going to grow any height is through her shoulder, and that isnt going to be much... maybe 1-3 more inches

***you can't rodeo and game on a horse you expect to place at western pleasure. that's just not possible.. you're asking for two TOTALLY different animals. no horse in the world is going to excel at speed events then slow down and do a western pleasure jog and lope. you need to decide what EXACTLY you want to do... rodeo or western pleasure and go from there, or buy one horse for each discipline

Answer 5

For the person who said to buy a QH : A paint is a quarter horse !

For the person who said a horse used in speen events will never make a great performance horse & slow down for that, you're wrong. I have had a great horses that did it all. It's in how you ride, work  & show them . Mine could run a barrel pattern & settle right down & go into any performance class & excel. A lot of people commented on him & his ability to do that, but  I expect it of my horses. If they are too wired & can't get safely into the arena for a speed event , then they shouldn't be doing it. They need a break or a total change ! If they are not controllable then they are not ready to be shown.

As for your horse's size, I agree with the crowd. Probably won't get much taller, but one never knows. Quality of feed is really important. A supplements it oK but don't expect it to work miracles.  For me,  14 h would be great because I am short. Not sure how tall you are , but you might start another young horse just in case. Continue working with this one because training is going well it sounds like. If you don'

t end up with this horse then someone else will be very lucky to have a horse with so much time put into it . the horse will be well mannered and ready for a rider and won't have developed all those bad habits we see out there.

Answer 6

It's to early to tell as they can take 5 to 7 years to reach there full height. she may be bigger in the end if she is that size already. my horse was small for many years and then by the time she was 7 she was 15hh.

Answer 7

Hi!  You don't need to give her a supplement - just time.  She will still grow- it just can be slow and you might not notice it right away.  They an grow until they're 5.  I wouldn't be surprised if your horse was over 14.2 if it's not 3 until September and is already close to 14 hands.

Either way though - the horse market is BAD right now.  If you want a good horse and have a little money stashed away - this is the time to buy.

Your 14 hand horse may or may not do the job.  Typically people ride 15-16 hand horses in barrels.  A big stride can help hugely.  HOWEVER!, I ride a 14 hand horse - and can out run the big horses every time.  It has to do with your pattern.  If you teach them right - keep your turns tight and perfect - you can easily outrun the sloppy big horses.

One more thing - regarding the person commenting on western pleasure (I didn't even see where you wrote anything about WP - but maybe you did).  Anyway - SOME horses can do both.  I know of one APHA Paint horse that has a ROM in WP and HUS.  She also can attend any barrel race and be in the 1D division.  It's rare, but not impossible.  Some pleasure horses can't run even in the pasture - but other can run, they're built nicely, and they're broke - some of them it doesn't take long to make them a fabulous barrel horse.  It all depends on the horse!

ANYWAY!!  Don't fret about  your horse's height.   I truely do think it'll be atleat 14 hands EASILY.  Best wishes!

Answer 8

noo dont give her suplement let her grow naturally if she isnt tall she isnt tall its nothing wrong and at 3 in sep she isnt nearly done growing so hold in there