Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Lysane -- here is a link to a radio interview with Dr. Deb Bennett 
where she discusses at what age a horse matures.  Karen

http://www.naturalhorsetalk.com/real/eq-skeletal/dbennet.ram   or go 
to http://www.naturalhorsetalk.com/recentshows.html and click on the 
link from there.

Here is more info from her:

"Maturity in Horses"
By Vertebrate Paleontologist Deb Bennett Specialist in Equines

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). This 
information may come 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." (1) Maturity-Just about everybody has 
heard of the horse's growth plates, and people tell me that the 
growth plates are somewhere around, or in, the horse's knees 
(actually they're located at the bottom of the radius-ulna bone just 
above the knee). This is what gives rise to the saying that, before 
riding the horse, it's best to wait "until his knees close" i.e. 
until the growth plates fuse to the bone shaft and cease to be 
separated from it by a layer of slippery, crushable cartilage.

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, which has many "corners", there are multiple 
growth plates. So do you then have to wait until all these growth 
plates fuse? No, but the longer you wait, the safer you'll be.

Owners and trainers need to realize there's a definite, 
easy-to-remember 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. ....."
and it goes on to explain.


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp

Ride Long and Ride Safe!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=