Re: RC: Re: Russian Arabs

[Bette Lamore <woa@stormnet.com>]

Hi Karen
The standard of measurement in the industry is at the withers. I suppose
if you bred horses with low backs then it could be misleading so of
course you would want to look at the horse and make sure he is
conformationally correct. As most measure at the withers, a back
measurement would be hard to compare-- and where would you measure at
the back?? Opens a whole new can of worms-- especially as some horses
can become swaybacked as they get older--- do we say they have
"shrunk"???<BG>
In answer to your question, my babies have no withers and it takes at
least a year for them to "emerge"; once my offspring are 2-3 their
withers appear to grow in proportion to their other parts. Of course the
Indians claim that you can take any horse over a year and take a string
from the front "elbow" to the ground and then take that length from the
"elbow" up and that should be the final height. I've done it and it
worked for some, not for others. So much for folk-lore. I wish there was
some sure-fire way to predict height at birth. Generally I can get a
pretty good idea by the comparable size of the joints--- if the foal
looks like a great dane puppy, I know I've got a big one in the works!
Bette
Bette Lamore
Whispering Oaks Arabians, Home of 16.2hh TLA Halynov
(yes, REALLY!)
http://www.arabiansporthorse.com



Karen Sullivan wrote:
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Bette Lamore" <woa@stormnet.com>
> 
> > I sold Halyva Guy to Red Shield Equestrian 2 years ago; Hal was 5 years
> > old and an honest 15hh. Frank called me a few weeks ago and reported
> > that he is now 15.2 at 7 years old and Frank said he swears he is still
> > growing. I'll have to check back in a year.
> 
> Here is a question- is the whole horse still growing, or just the withers?
> Since withers seem to grow as the horse ages, seems a better measurement
> would be the middle of the back.  My 4 year old is 14.2 at the withers-but
> she basically has none right now!
> 
> If they grow to resemble Mom, she will hit 15.0 or 15.1, but I doubt her
> back will make much higher.  Any comments?
> 
> Karen
> 
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