# how big will my 2yr old grow?



## badger_lol (17 April 2009)

I have a 2 1/2 year old dutch warmblood x tb foal. He was gelded a few months after he turned two. He was a small foal and appeared to grow slowly. At 9 months he was diagnosed with OCD in both stifles. He is now recovering better than expected and his management has returned to normal. He did not grow very much as a foal and at around 12 months he was only around 14.1hh. As he reached 18 months he he grew a bit faster and was measuring a good 14.3hh. Over last summer, when he was rising two he caught up rather a lot in height and measure around 15.2hh. After he turned two he seemed to grow at an incredible rate and is now standing at a good full up 16.1hh. My question is how large do you think he will be?

His dam is a 16.1hh thoroughbred x (namely tb though) and his sire is Tsjakka, the 17.2hh dutch warmblood (with 44 percent tb blood). 

Although both sire and dam are chestnut (so is the foal unsuprisingly) he appears to have taken more characteristics from his sire. His marking represent those of the sire as does his character. My foal is still quite gangly (but this might be due to lacking condition) and has a larger head than body. He fills an eskadron full sized headcollar and takes a 6'0 to 6'3 rug.
He still appears 'leggy' and his leg legth is not far off that of my 16.3 1/2hh hannoverian x tb gelding.

I have always reckoned he would reach a good full up 16.3hh or more, but my vet seems to think he will not grow anymore. I am inclined to disagree with this as he is still very narrow in the girth and chest, which i think suggests he still has much growing do?!???

Iv tried to put as much info as possiblee for you. Does anyone have any ideas on wht height he might reach? (im 6'2! so i need a big horse!)


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## toomanyhorses26 (17 April 2009)

woukd expect you to get at least another two inchs if not more but for the time being I think he would be doing more groing outwards than upwards


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## Cliqmo (17 April 2009)

I believe (but will stand to be corrected) that warmbloods grow more slowly than your average horse, I bought a 17hh 3.5yr old danish warmblood x last september and he has grown about .5" at the wither (but about 4" in width/depth!). I would guess your boy will reach and maybe pass 17hh.


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## badger_lol (17 April 2009)

Thank you for your prompt replies. As i say i had reckoned 16.3, hoping for a 17 hander! I tried the string test ect, but they didnt give very good results. When i measure from knee to coronet band and converted the length in inches to hands, i got 16 hands. He was about 18 months old at the time! So that obviously cannot be correct since he is now bigger than that! I know you can nevr really know until they mature, but im going to be so disappointed if he doesnt mature to at least a big 16.2hh


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## Peasfriend (18 April 2009)

My gelding of similar breeding, had similar growth rates.  He turns 4 in May, and at last measure in November was somewhere around the 17.2hh mark...


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## Foxford (19 April 2009)

If he is 16.1 now, it sounds as though he will make 17hh, possibly more. My almost 3yo is standing at 16hh and I expect him to make around 16.3 by the end of next year. He is a very steady grower so I don't expect him to shoot up anytime soon - touch wood!


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## Spyda (20 April 2009)

Sorry to hijack the post! My 23 month old WBxTB filly is standing 16 hands behind and 15.3 hands and a quarter of an inch in-front. So, do you think she may make 17 hands eventually?

I ask as I bred her to make 16.1 hand LOL. But in all seriousness, I find it very hard to guage with the TB blood in there, as TB's are 'supposed' to be fast growing, whilst WB's are the opposite. I don't know if my filly is going to grow like the clappers until 2 and then grind to a halt and fill out! Or whether she'll rumble on growing upwards until she's 5 or 6 and thoroughly out grow me (I'm only 5'1").

Her TB dam was only 15.1 hands so the filly has already out grown her


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## badger_lol (20 April 2009)

This is my boy last year at around 15.3hh (25-26 months old i would think) Th angle maks him look more mature than he is.


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## badger_lol (20 April 2009)

spyda,

Your fillys growth seems similar to my boy so i would reckon around the same height. 16.3hh maybe more


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## Spyda (20 April 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
spyda,

Your fillys growth seems similar to my boy so i would reckon around the same height. 16.3hh maybe more 

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, what I thought then 
	
	
		
		
	


	




  And I'd been worried whether she'd make 16 hands, LOL. 

<u>*Does anyone use the string test?</u>*  I've always wanted to ask, when you measure from the middle of the knee to the coronet band, where do you place the tape? At the front of the knee joint and keep in tightly against the front of the canon to the coronet band? Or from the side of the knee, and run the tape down the side of the canon? In which case, do you place the tape in the centre and measure straight down the centre of the leg and count to where the tape hits the top of the hoof?  The hoof slopes from the side and it makes a big difference to the final measurement where exactly you measure to!!


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## lizzieuk1 (20 April 2009)

as a 4yo H was 16.1 and now as a 7yo he is 16.3 (ISH) def took along time to mature but i'd reckon yours will get to at least 16.3 prob over 17hh.  a rough guide for mature height is to measure from elbow to floor and then double it!


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## Spyda (20 April 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
as a 4yo H was 16.1 and now as a 7yo he is 16.3 (ISH) def took along time to mature but i'd reckon yours will get to at least 16.3 prob over 17hh.  a rough guide for mature height is to measure from elbow to floor and then double it! 

[/ QUOTE ]

Think I've done that one, got something horrific like 17.2 hands so wasn't sure it was reliable. Well, was hoping it wasn't. My poor little leggies _really_ wont reach that high into a strirrup - even from a mounting block. Cripes, had better start the YOGA now - in readiness


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## Spyda (20 April 2009)

Woops, sorry to have hijacked somewhat  
	
	
		
		
	


	





Back to badger-lol's question, I'd rekon 17 hands give or take an inch either way. He's got to be, with parentage like he's got and him being the size he is ATM.


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## H20AYL (14 April 2012)

I have a Percheron x filly just rising 2 she's standing approx 16.3hh at her withers and higher at the rear. Her breeder told me to expect her to clear 18hh but I've been told by another breeder today that's she's unlikely to get much bigger than she is now. I'm not convinced as her legs still seem quite long!


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## little_Christmas_monkey (15 April 2012)

My rising 2 year old id x is 15 1 on wither bum high at 16 hh string test said he will be 16 2 ish which i do expect him to make mum 15 2 dad about 16 3 so i think ur youngster will be about 16 3 /17


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## H20AYL (15 April 2012)

I think she's at least 17hh at her bum now but I'll check. What is the string test?


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## little_Christmas_monkey (15 April 2012)

Sorry h20ayl that comment was for OP lol i think ur youngster will be well over 17 hh lol i think the breeder for ur youngster is rite she will clear 18 hh and the draught type breeds take longer to mature. if i remember correctly u take a long bit of string measure from middle of knee to cornet band make sure it is centre then double the length u get


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## H20AYL (15 April 2012)

Ah ok thank you I'll try that today and see what I get. At the moment she still looks like an overgrown foal which is why I'm convinced she still has some growing left to do


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## little_Christmas_monkey (15 April 2012)

Yeah she sounds like there alot of growing left in her


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## H20AYL (15 April 2012)

Ok I measured her knee to coronet band and it was 17" but if I double that it makes 34" which doesn't make sense?


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## little_Christmas_monkey (15 April 2012)

U need to measure the string against a measuring stick well that's how i did it please feel free to correct me if am wrong


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## Magicmadge (15 April 2012)

Knee to coronet in inches 17" = 17hh. Or you can try point of elbow to coronet  then keeping the string on the point of the elbow turn the string up from the coronet up to wither and the height you get will be pretty much how big your horse will be at maturity. Worked for me for years.


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## H20AYL (15 April 2012)

Ok that helps thank you


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## Elfen (15 April 2012)

My boy is full trakhener, 16hh when I bought him at 18 months, about 16.1 five months later at 2, and now at rising three he's 17.1 and a little bit  he's still got lots of growing to do - I think he'll end up a good 17.2/17.3!! He's an absolute darling though so I'm not worried. H20ayl - I'm thinking yours will be 17.2+

18 months





2 years





Rising 3


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## H20AYL (15 April 2012)

Thanks for that I know they're all different and she's an absolute sweetie. I guess time will tell!


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## Tempi (16 April 2012)

I have a 4yr old warmblood gelding that i bred myself, as a 2yr old he was about 14'2 (he was also gelded then aswell).  He is now standing at 16'2, and I believe he will make minimum of 17hh once he has fully matured.  Warmbloods do grow slower, I dont think they stop growing until they are about 7.  

I used to own a KWPN which I got as a 5yr old, he was 17'1 then, I sold him as a 7yr old and he was just over 18hh.


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## CILLA (17 April 2012)

Have a trakhener cross dutch warmblood 2 next month and is about 15.1 looks very foal like still but head is changing did the string test from knee to coronet band and came out at 16.5 inches would expect him to mature at 16.1 -16.2 .


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