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Discussion on Head Growth
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Member:
cpacer
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Posted on Tuesday, Feb 19, 2008 - 1:56 pm:
Hello, when does a horses head stop growing?
I had a bridle custom made for my QH who will be 3 in May. Not sure what happened with the sizing, but it's on the last hole already.
He hasn't been started yet, but has worn the bridle for some ground work so it's used now.
I'm wondering if heads grow any more after 3 years of age? I've read articles about growth and how the skeleton fuses, but don't think I've seen anything about when the head is done.
thanks!
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Member:
ekaufman
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Posted on Tuesday, Feb 19, 2008 - 8:11 pm:
The head of a horse with a custom bridle will grow at any age until it out-grows the bridle. The amount that it exceeds the size of the bridle is in a direct relationship to (cost of bridle*cost of modifying it). Sorry.
Don't ask me about what happens to a horse with a custom nameplate on its halter. Suffice to say, I have one halter with a nameplate which is engraved: Elizabeth's Horse.
Good luck!
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Member:
maggienm
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Posted on Tuesday, Feb 19, 2008 - 8:43 pm:
Elizabeth, you have such a way with words.
and what a good idea for the nameplate.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Wednesday, Feb 20, 2008 - 6:37 am:
Not only is the chance of growing out of a halter in direct proportion to the costliness but also inversely proportional to blemishes and defects and proportional to how beautiful it is. It either of these conditions are present it will increase the chance it will be outgrown. So the equation looks like this:
P = % chance too small in 6 months
E = Expense in US dollars
B = Beautiful Factor
D = Defects or Blemishes
A = Age
P = [(4 - A)(E - 20)(B)] / [(D)(100)]
Notice that a important "universal constant" that falls out of this equation is the number 20. It is an observed fact that halters less than 20 dollars will never be outgrown no matter how ugly or broken. In fact some of these actually go on to grow too big with time (a negative P) though there are some who believe the head has actually gotten smaller as a horses becomes aged. To settle this question works are underway to figure how 20 dollars fits in with Gravitation Theory so a Unified Field Theory can be arrived at but with the recent breakdown in String Theory we are really back to first base on this one.
No one has measured skeletal growth of the skull as far as I know cp but having a number of horses go through the 3 year age, often there are a few more holes in these horses future but not a new halter unless it was small (or very expensive or too beautiful) to start with. I don't think it so much is skeletal growth but muscle and fat filling out that is so prevalent in all but those who have been prepped for halter classes earlier.
DrO
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Member:
cpacer
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Posted on Wednesday, Feb 20, 2008 - 8:41 am:
hee hee hee! You all are too funny, thanks for making the morning bright!
Maybe I'll try stretching it with neat's foot oil and a 5# dumbbell. Or it will probably fit my Arabian, although it's not his style.
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Member:
ajudson1
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Posted on Wednesday, Feb 20, 2008 - 8:54 am:
 DrO,
You just made my morning! My first impression was "holy cow, I need to get my son over here and decipher this for me!" He's in 2nd year college, for Mechanical Engineering, and it looked like one of the fancy math problems I've seen him work on.
cp,
I love those Vaquero bridles. I have 3, all bought on clearance and even my Friesion cross hasn't out grown his. They have unlimited adjustments as you just stick the tongue thing through the webbed check piece. Only down fall, and I find this with most bridles, is the throat latch don't fit. I just tie it with a leather boot lace. I do need a nice regular halter for him though; right now I use one of the knotted rope halters and I don't have much to tie any more.
Are you sure it isn't just winter hair making the bridle smaller right now?
I had an Arab breeder tell me once that the mares heads got bigger as they aged. I had asked her why the younger horses had the more dished faces and smaller muzzles and the older brood mares did not. She said they all lost some of the refinement with age...probably like we do, huh?
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Member:
ekaufman
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Posted on Wednesday, Feb 20, 2008 - 9:32 am:
Wow. I bow to the master-- I have much to learn.
- Grasshopper
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