​What Size Horse Do You Want?

​
By Gaye DeRusso
 
So, you want a certain sized horse because your short or your tall. As your looking you decide you want 14.2 hands or maybe you want 16 hands. How do you find one that is the correct size for you?
 
Well, you buy one that size. But it's not that simple is it. Gaited horses grow a long time and if you first told me that when I started with gaited horses, I would not believe it myself. But now I have been doing this over 20 years and I have watched many young horses I sold, grow into adults.
 
I was use to thoroughbreds, warmbloods and quarter horses and they seem to be fully grown at around 6 years old. But with gaited horses, I have seen them grow a long time, up to about 9-10 years old. They slowly go up in height and then fill out, especially the TWH, some of them tend to look lanky and funny while growing and disproportioned and then they finally fill in. 
 
I visited one of these TWH recently. He was 6 years old when the client got him and he was about 15/15.1 hands, he is now at least 16 hands and 12 years old.
 
So, if you are looking at young horses, you must keep this in mind, because even when I explain this to people looking, they won't listen. They want a 14.2 hand horse and I explain then if its young you must get one that is 13 hands or 14 hands, but if you get one at age 4 that is 14.2 hands the perfect size you want, well he is not going to be that size at 10 years old. They usually do not listen and buy the size they want and when that horse grows, they decide it is now too big and sell him. Which is always very sad to me. 
 
Also, just because the parents are on the smaller or larger size does not guarantee their foal will be that size because sometimes, they get genes from the grandparents that were shorter or taller, so you don't always know what you’re going to get.
 
If you need a horse to be a certain size or a certain width because you are tall or short or have bad hips etc., then it is best to buy one that is fully grown and not a young horse that may grow past what you want. 
 
You may not believe this either, but I have seen it over and over again. Even the Rocky Mountain Horse I was selling, everyone thought he was too small, but he is slowly filling out and going slightly up, he is only 6 years old, so I know he still may get bigger. He is the one on the left in the picture and use to be much smaller than the 15-year-old black horse on the right. Now they are about the same size. 
 
So just know if you are looking at horses under age 10, there is a high possibility it is still going to grow and if you’re not willing to accept what size or width that horse will grow into, please buy a horse age 10 or older, as then you are guaranteed to have the size you want.