Mustang Saga

I walked out the door and it was raining. So I'm putting off those two "to-do" items until later. I'm all wet and cold now as it is.

I went out to feed and I got some measurements on my horses, to try to estimate Scout's adult height.

Formula #1: At only 3-4 months of age, an average healthy foal will have reached about 80% of this adult height! Measure your foal's height at the withers, in inches. Then divide that number by 0.80. Then divide the result by 4.0 for an estimate of his adult height in hands. Result: 15.2 hands.

Formula #2: Measure from the coronet to the middle of the knee. The number of inches = the number of hands. Result: 15.2 hands or better.

Formula #3: Measure from the fetlock to the elbow, then keep one end of the tape at the elbow and rotate the other end around until it is above the withers. Where the tape ends is how tall the horse will be. Result: 14.2 hands

Formulas 2 and 3 are better done when the horse is older than Scout is now.

He is currently 50 inches, or 12.5 hands.

I tried Formula #2 on the other horses and it was kind of accurate. It was right on for Tonka, but for Mack he would have been 14.3, but he's taller than that. On Bella it said she should be taller than she is. There's a possibility she's not done growing, but I doubt she'll grow another hand. Interesting though, the domestic raised horse grew more than the formula thought he should. The mustang rounded up as a 2 year old was right on, and the mustang rounded up as a two year old but nourishing a baby is a bit short. Could be diet related? Or could just be that some horses have short canon bones, and Mack is a Quarter horse and I believe they breed for that.

I just hope Scout gets big enough for me to ride.