How is being in a stable or wearing a rug going to help her grow?!
*shakes head in disbelief and not just at PL52*![]()
Actually....stabling/wearing a rug, especially on cold days will help the youngster grow by keeping it warm. The less s/he shivers to keep warm, the more energy can be put into growth.
Intead of eating to keep warm, the foal can eat to gain weight/strength etc.
Having said that, I left all of mine as long as I could without rugs/stables/feed etc because I wanted them to be tough. But I always had good grazing.
To answer the original question, the average size of the parents is a good indicator as to the rough foal height at adulthood - provided their growth isnt stunted for whatever reason (usually malnutrition). Also good idea to get average sizes of the foal's siblings as some can produce surprisingly small/large offspring for their heights! If the foal is the first one the mare has had, then the chances, it will be slightly smaller than what could otherwise be expected.
Iv got an ID x anglo-arab who is standing 16.2hh at 5....his dam was 15.2hh, his sire was 17.2hh, so hes right in the middle. Having said that, they do say that foals tend to err more on their mothers side in terms of height, but each case is different.
Another rough guestimator is to add roughly 2hands onto a yearling that has been left to grow naturally (i.e. no super feeds for TBs that make them grow quicker).
Also could try using string to follow the contours down from the soft bit in the knee to the coronet, and then inverting the string so it goes from the knee straight up, and the bit left above the withers is a rough indicator of how much more the foal has to grow upwards....I dont know how accurate this is though.
The filly in the video looks marvellous though! Such a dainty little thing! I wouldnt mind her myself, no matter what size she matures to!
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