Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

There's a nice exerpt of Dr. Deb's in the January EN issue, on that  
very subject.

I've seen the preview (supplied the images accompanying it) and it's  
great stuff.

Lynne

On Jan 3, 2006, at 9:50 AM, Dream Weaver wrote:

> Lysane -- here is a link to a radio interview with Dr. Deb Bennett  
> where she discusses at what age a horse matures.  Karen
>
> http://www.naturalhorsetalk.com/real/eq-skeletal/dbennet.ram   or  
> go to http://www.naturalhorsetalk.com/recentshows.html and click on  
> the link from there.
>
> Here is more info from her:
>
> "Maturity in Horses"
> By Vertebrate Paleontologist Deb Bennett Specialist in Equines
>
> No horse on earth, of any breed, at any time, is or has ever been  
> mature before the age of six (plus or minus six months). This  
> information may come as a shock to many people who think starting  
> their colt or filly under saddle at age two is what they ought to  
> be doing. This begs discussion of (1) what I mean by "mature" and  
> (2) what I mean by "starting." (1) Maturity-Just about everybody  
> has heard of the horse's growth plates, and people tell me that the  
> growth plates are somewhere around, or in, the horse's knees  
> (actually they're located at the bottom of the radius-ulna bone  
> just above the knee). This is what gives rise to the saying that,  
> before riding the horse, it's best to wait "until his knees close"  
> i.e. until the growth plates fuse to the bone shaft and cease to be  
> separated from it by a layer of slippery, crushable cartilage.
>
> What people often don't realize is that there is a "growth plate"  
> on either end of every bone behind the skull, and in the case of  
> some bones, like the pelvis, which has many "corners", there are  
> multiple growth plates. So do you then have to wait until all these  
> growth plates fuse? No, but the longer you wait, the safer you'll be.
>
> Owners and trainers need to realize there's a definite, easy-to- 
> remember schedule of fusion-and then make their decision as to when  
> to ride the horse based on that rather than on the external  
> appearance of the horse. ....."
> and it goes on to explain.

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