Our Mouse, coming up on physical maturity.
Almost ready to start at 7 years old. - See more at:
http://thesoulofahorse.com/blog/no-horse-is-physically-skeletally-mature-before-5-5-to-6-years-old/#sthash.mVz9Vu4s.dpuf
Our Mouse, coming up on physical maturity.
Almost ready to start at 7 years old. - See more at:
http://thesoulofahorse.com/blog/no-horse-is-physically-skeletally-mature-before-5-5-to-6-years-old/#sthash.mVz9Vu4s.dpuf
Mouse,
coming up on physical maturity.
Almost ready to start at 7 years old.
Our Mouse, coming up on physical maturity.
Almost ready to start at 7 years old. - See more at:
http://thesoulofahorse.com/blog/no-horse-is-physically-skeletally-mature-before-5-5-to-6-years-old/#sthash.mVz9Vu4s.dpuf
Below are a few key quotes from the
article (but I encourage you to take the time to read the entire paper). It teaches that no
horse, of any breed, in any country, at any time in history either now or in
the past, has ever been physically (skeletally) mature before it is six years
old (plus or minus a few months), including every healthy, domestically-raised
male and most female horses on the planet. Gaited horses (Tennessee Walkers,
American Saddlebreds, etc) can require up to 8 years to fully mature
skeletally.
This article is
written by Dr. Deb Bennett Ph.D. Dr. Bennett is a 1984 graduate of the
University of Kansas, and until 1992 was with the Smithsonian Institution. She
is considered by many to be an authority on the classification, evolution,
anatomy, and biomechanics of fossil and living horses.
“Believe it or
not many vets are totally unaware, as many members of the general public are
also unaware, that horses have more than one “growth plate”, that there are
multiple ossification centers pertaining to every bone of the body outside of
the skull, and that the schedule of growth-plate closure (which begins around
the time of birth and extends until the sixth year, and is coordinated with the
eruption schedule of the teeth) has been well known to veterinarians,
paleontologists, zooarchaeologists, and mammalogists since the early 19th
century.”
“There is no
such thing [as a] slow-maturing breed. The Quarter Horse is not an ‘early
maturing’ breed – and neither is the Arabian a ‘slow maturing’ breed. As far as
their skeletons go, they are the same. This information comes, I know, 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. “
It’s about
more than just growth plates:
“While growth
in cannon bone length stops with the fusion of both growth plates at around 1 ½
years of age, increase in cannon bone girth does not taper off until close to 5
years of age, and essentially the same can be said for the girth of any other
limb element, with those bones located higher up in the body maturing later.”
It is the
spine, not the limbs, that the horse primarily uses to govern overall
coordination of the limbs
“Most of the
growth plates above the distal radius in a three year old horse are unfused,
including, most importantly, those of the animal’s spine. It is the spine of
the horse that governs the overall coordination of the limbs and the animal’s
running “style”. It is the spine, not the limbs, that the animal primarily uses
to compensate for potholes, slick spots, and other irregularities in the race
track [or any track]. The higher the speed and the greater the physical effort,
the more important it is that the animal have all of its joints mature and in
good working order. While catastrophic failures are uncommon, more subtle
distal limb disease and chronic pain and dysfunction in two and three year old
racehorses are commonly diagnosed and are major causes for the “wastage” of
young Thoroughbreds.”
“The demand for
all-out speed from any animal that is not skeletally mature is a recipe for
disaster.”
“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 or
vertebrae, which have many “corners”) there are multiple growth plates.”
“The lateness of vertebral “closure” is
most significant for two reasons. One: in no limb are there 32 growth plates!
Two: the growth plates in the limbs are (more or less) oriented perpendicular
to the stress of the load passing through them, while those of the vertebral
chain are oriented parallel to weight placed upon the horse’s back. Bottom
line: you can sprain a horse’s back (i.e. displace the vertebral physes – see
Figs. 5 and 8) a lot more easily than you can displace those located in the
limbs.”
“So do you then
have to wait [to start your horse] until all these growth plates convert to
bone? No. But the longer you wait, the safer you’ll be. Owners and trainers
need to realize there’s an easy-to-remember general 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. For there are some breeds of horse –
the Quarter Horse is the premier among these – which have been bred in such a
manner as to look mature long before they actually are mature. This puts these
horses in jeopardy from people who are either ignorant of the closure schedule,
or more interested in their own schedule (for futurities or other competition)
than they are in the welfare of the animal.”
“Bottom line: if you are one of those who
equates “starting” with “riding”, then I guess you better not start your horse
until he’s four. That would be the old, traditional, worldwide view: introduce
the horse to equipment (all kinds of equipment and situations, with the handler
on the ground) when he’s two, add crawling on and off of him at three, saddle
him to begin riding him and teaching him to guide at four, start teaching him
maneuvers or the basics of whatever job he’s going to do – cavalletti or stops
or racing or something beyond trailing cattle – at five, and he’s on the
payroll at six. The old Spanish way of bitting reflected this also, because the
horse’s teeth aren’t mature (the tushes haven’t fully come in, nor all of the
permanent cheek teeth either) until he’s six. This is what I’d do if it were my
own horse.”
Below
is the link to the best article I’ve ever read on this subject. It
teaches that no horse, of any breed, in any country, at any time in
history either now or in the past, has ever been physically (skeletally)
mature before it is six years old (plus or minus a few months),
including every healthy, domestically-raised male and most female horses
on the planet. Gaited horses (Tennessee Walkers, American Saddlebreds,
etc) can require up to 8 years to fully mature skeletally. Our Mouse (above) is a rescued Saddlebred.
This article is written by Dr. Deb
Bennett Ph.D. Dr. Bennett is a 1984 graduate of the University of
Kansas, and until 1992 was with the Smithsonian Institution. She is
considered by many to be an authority on the classification, evolution,
anatomy, and biomechanics of fossil and living horses.
Below are a few key quotes from the article (but I encourage you to take the time to read the entire paper).
“Believe it or not many vets are totally
unaware, as many members of the general public are also unaware, that
horses have more than one “growth plate”, that there are multiple
ossification centers pertaining to every bone of the body outside of the
skull, and that the schedule of growth-plate closure (which begins
around the time of birth and extends until the sixth year, and is
coordinated with the eruption schedule of the teeth) has been well known
to veterinarians, paleontologists, zooarchaeologists, and mammalogists
since the early 19th century.”
“There is no such thing [as a]
slow-maturing breed. The Quarter Horse is not an ‘early maturing’ breed –
and neither is the Arabian a ‘slow maturing’ breed. As far as their
skeletons go, they are the same. This information comes, I know, 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. “
It’s about more than just growth plates:
“While growth in cannon bone length
stops with the fusion of both growth plates at around 1 ½ years of age,
increase in cannon bone girth does not taper off until close to 5 years
of age, and essentially the same can be said for the girth of any other
limb element, with those bones located higher up in the body maturing
later.”
It is the spine, not the limbs, that the horse primarily uses to govern overall coordination of the limbs
“Most of the growth plates above the
distal radius in a three year old horse are unfused, including, most
importantly, those of the animal’s spine. It is the spine of the horse
that governs the overall coordination of the limbs and the animal’s
running “style”. It is the spine, not the limbs, that the animal
primarily uses to compensate for potholes, slick spots, and other
irregularities in the race track [or any track]. The higher the speed
and the greater the physical effort, the more important it is that the
animal have all of its joints mature and in good working order. While
catastrophic failures are uncommon, more subtle distal limb disease and
chronic pain and dysfunction in two and three year old racehorses are
commonly diagnosed and are major causes for the “wastage” of young
Thoroughbreds.”
“The demand for all-out speed from any animal that is not skeletally mature is a recipe for disaster.”
“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 or vertebrae, which have
many “corners”) there are multiple growth plates.”
“The lateness of vertebral “closure” is most significant for two
reasons. One: in no limb are there 32 growth plates! Two: the growth
plates in the limbs are (more or less) oriented perpendicular to the
stress of the load passing through them, while those of the vertebral
chain are oriented parallel to weight placed upon the horse’s back.
Bottom line: you can sprain a horse’s back (i.e. displace the vertebral
physes – see Figs. 5 and 8) a lot more easily than you can displace
those located in the limbs.”
“So do you then have to wait [to start
your horse] until all these growth plates convert to bone? No. But the
longer you wait, the safer you’ll be. Owners and trainers need to
realize there’s an easy-to-remember general 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. For there are some
breeds of horse – the Quarter Horse is the premier among these – which
have been bred in such a manner as to look mature long before they
actually are mature. This puts these horses in jeopardy from people who
are either ignorant of the closure schedule, or more interested in their
own schedule (for futurities or other competition) than they are in the
welfare of the animal.”
“Bottom line: if you are one of those who equates “starting” with
“riding”, then I guess you better not start your horse until he’s four.
That would be the old, traditional, worldwide view: introduce the horse
to equipment (all kinds of equipment and situations, with the handler on
the ground) when he’s two, add crawling on and off of him at three,
saddle him to begin riding him and teaching him to guide at four, start
teaching him maneuvers or the basics of whatever job he’s going to do –
cavalletti or stops or racing or something beyond trailing cattle – at
five, and he’s on the payroll at six. The old Spanish way of bitting
reflected this also, because the horse’s teeth aren’t mature (the tushes
haven’t fully come in, nor all of the permanent cheek teeth either)
until he’s six. This is what I’d do if it were my own horse.”
- See
more at:
http://thesoulofahorse.com/blog/no-horse-is-physically-skeletally-mature-before-5-5-to-6-years-old/#sthash.mVz9Vu4s.dpuf
