Predicting Foal's fully Grown Height

The suspense is killing me already! Only because I really hope this lovely little chap will grow to be a bit bigger than Spice so I can sort of get away with riding him.  Whilst I'm not averse to a bit of pony squishing, being not quite 10 stone (and 5'9") I do get a bit conscious of looking like a Mexican riding a donkey.

How Titch may look when loaded with me and my hip flask in a few years time!

I am taking bets as to his final measurements but you will have to wait till he is about 5 for the final measurements.

His breeder thought he would make 14hh.  I hope he is wrong.

Here are a couple of methods I found on t'internet...

Method 1 - measure middle of knee to coronary band. Every 1/4 " you measure corresponds to 1" of full grown height - This method will make Titch 14.2hh


Method 2 (which should be done at a year) - measure elbow to fetlock, keep tape at elbow and swing other end of tape up to predict wither height.



Method 2 put Titch at 14.3hh from his 5 month measurements. I hope this method works. I will re-do it when he is 1 year old.

Method 3 (Read more:http://ihdg.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=ght09&action=display&thread=102019&page=1#ixzz2B5484iKy)
'In the book 'Horse Nutrition and Feeding' by Sarah Pilliner there is a table of percentages of height at 6 months, 12 months and 18 months to adult height. Sadly it doesn't mention cobs! however according to this TBs and Arabs have attained 84% of mature height at 6 months, Anglo-arabs 83%, and Shetlands 86%.

At the time I read this, I had a 6 month old Sec D colt standing 13 hands - I worked out using 85%, I think, that he'd make 15.2hh which was exactly right, as it turned out.

So, if 12 hands is 85%..... I make that 14.1...?'

I'll try this in a month's time.


What I do know from measuring Titch this morning is that he has 7" bone, ie circumference of leg beneath front knee - a good stocky kind of breed like Irish Draught should have about 9" of bone. If Titch is already 7" at just 5 months I wonder if this will change as he grows up...?  How stocky and hairy will he be?

After our measuring session and the usual morning routine I took Titch for another walk up to the end of the lane and back, then thought I would offer him the opportunity to check out the hose on our return, like you do.  He sniffed it - totally ok. I turned the water on and that made the hose even more appealing!  Now any of my other horses, including Spice the wonder horse would avoid a hose if at all possible and preferably trot off in the other direction, but our little Titch thought he would quite like drinking from that hose! No not scared, not even a teeny bit, just very thirsty and loves hoses.  I did wash off his feet once he was fully bevved up and that was fine too, but I will leave washing him off totally until we get some lovely warm days next summer.

See, how can S.A.D get you as November begins, when one has so much to look forward to?