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Post by leahlady on Dec 2, 2008 2:43:41 GMT -5
What an incredibly gorgeous animal. My god. He is just stunning!
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Post by schwung on Dec 2, 2008 20:34:12 GMT -5
I went out and visited Dory on Saturday at her foster home (and brought a potential adopter to visit her as well). She is doing fabulous! She's in with three other horses and they all cater to her as the baby - she sneaks her way in slowly to the other horses' stalls and eat their food after hers is gone, so she's a bit on the chubby side right now. She looks great and is just as sweet as can be. While we were playing with her there was a tractor going by and they were building something in the barn aisle using a circular saw and she was totally unfazed by it. Her foster mom went on and on about how great she is with her kids and how she can let her kids lead her out to the pasture without any trouble.
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Post by beisbolbrat on Dec 8, 2008 13:56:49 GMT -5
I wish I was able to adopt this little beauty. She is so lovely. Unfortunately it's just not in the cards. A wonderful dream for the future though.
I'd really forgotten how wonderful being around horses was. I'd had horses when I was young but got away from them. Lately I've been volunteering at Equifriends but sadly that has ended so now no contact again with these creatures.
No property... not enough in the budget... but like I said above... the dream is alive! Lucky the person who gets to love Dory!
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Post by mytwoponies on Dec 8, 2008 19:19:29 GMT -5
If I could get another one- I would snatch up Dory in a second!
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Post by TashGaia on Dec 14, 2008 23:29:34 GMT -5
She sounds like such a good girl. Really a poster child rescue here.
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Post by paintedpony on Jan 26, 2009 20:43:51 GMT -5
She is a stunner! If afalfa wasn't $15 dollars a fudging bale and if we had more room I'd take her in a heartbeat. I can't wait to see her start training, I bet she'll be a joy to whoever she ends up with.
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lyn51
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Post by lyn51 on Jan 26, 2009 20:53:12 GMT -5
I too am a big Dory fan, does anyone have an idea as to how tall she will get and when? And is there some way to predict how tall a horse will get?
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Post by schwung on Jan 26, 2009 21:07:40 GMT -5
There is a string test, which I have not done on her, that is sort of accurate. My guess is she is going to be around 15-15.2. I don't think her dam, April, was a "big" horse, or at least it wasn't ever mentioned to me. I am guessing she's probably in the 15-15.2 hand range as well. If you compare her to Phoenix, she was smaller than he was. However, Phoenix's dam was fairly tall. But Dory is quite a bit bigger than Sinatra, who was older than her, but out of a 14.3 hand mare.
If I get time I'll try to string test her, but even that is really a guess.
Typically, Arabs and Appaloosas fall into the category of being fairly quick growers, with most of their height occuring by the time they are 2-3 years old. After that they tend to grow out rather than up, although they still may get another inch or two. It is drafts and warmbloods that can continue to grow in height until their 7th or even 8th year, sometimes gaining a hand or more after between their 3rd and 7th year. Age 1-2 is a huge growth year so we really can't look at Dory now and determine how big she will get, as she has quite a bit of growing left to do.
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Post by horsewrangler on Jan 26, 2009 21:20:46 GMT -5
I don't know where anyones located but I am making a trip to Yakima and there alfalfa is only $10 bucks a bale. the bales are 95lbs to 100lbs. they have great hay over there.
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Buena
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Post by Buena on Jan 27, 2009 0:21:10 GMT -5
If I get time I'll try to string test her, but even that is really a guess. Typically, Arabs and Appaloosas fall into the category of being fairly quick growers, with most of their height occuring by the time they are 2-3 years old. After that they tend to grow out rather than up, although they still may get another inch or two. It is drafts and warmbloods that can continue to grow in height until their 7th or even 8th year, sometimes gaining a hand or more after between their 3rd and 7th year. Age 1-2 is a huge growth year so we really can't look at Dory now and determine how big she will get, as she has quite a bit of growing left to do. This is an excellent read: Dr. Deb Bennett's paper, TIMING AND RATE OF SKELETAL MATURATION IN HORSES gives the ages at which different parts of the skeleton mature. Now I want to discuss the concept of skeletal maturity and deal with that concept thoroughly. Ranger is not mature, as I said, as a 2 ½ year old. This is not because Ranger is a "slow-maturing" individual or because he comes from a "slow maturing" breed. There is no such thing. Let me repeat that: 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). So, for example, 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. This begs discussion of (1) what I mean by "mature" and (2) what I mean by "starting".More here: equinestudies.org/ranger_2008/ranger_piece_2008_pdf1.pdf
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Post by schwung on Jan 27, 2009 0:27:41 GMT -5
Um yeah, I've seen that before, and it may be true for skeletal maturation and the timing of when the joints close, but in terms of when the horses get most of their height, I still maintain there is a difference across the breeds.
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Post by fanaberia on Jan 27, 2009 1:12:36 GMT -5
...yeah, but if $5 a bale is a make-or-break for anyone, then a commitment to take a horse may not be the best idea. Who knows what hay prices are going to be like next year. All my hay came from Yakima too, you are right; that hay is nice.
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Post by drsgjunky on Jan 27, 2009 9:37:07 GMT -5
Thanks Liz for sharing this. A long read but well worth it. Very Enlightening.
If this holds up, just Wow.. Unreal.
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cricket
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Post by cricket on Jan 27, 2009 14:34:58 GMT -5
Thanks Buena, for sharing the link to Dr. Bennett's article. I read this a few years ago, but I'd forgotten where I read it. It helped me make the decision to wait to start my horse under saddle until he's fully mature.
I really believe the longer you can (or will) wait, the better for the horse in the long run. I'd be interested to hear others' opinions on this though. I do a lot of reading, but I don't know a lot of "horse people" in my area other than my farrier and vet.
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Post by schwung on Jan 27, 2009 17:03:11 GMT -5
Our policy for the rescue horses is we do not start them until they are at least 3 years old. Groundwork is fine, sacking out, basic handling, even a little ponying is all ok prior to that, but no weight on their back and no roundpenning or lunging.
For my warmblood mare, I waited until she was 3 1/2. I would have preferred to wait until she was 4, as she was still a little physically immature even then, but there were some *cough* temperment issues that really needed to be addressed. She's recently started jumping lightly, as a nearly-five year old, and that's the earliest I think jumping should be started.
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