Two years ago this week, my husband and I rescued a horse.  At the time he was only a yearling, and he had been severely neglected — he and his pregnant mother had been in a pasture all winter with no hay or grain, so she’d basically had to nurse him and carry another baby while malnourished.

As a result, my horse’s growth seems to have been pretty stunted — at almost full grown, he is only 14 hands tall, quite a bit smaller than average for a horse.  (A hand equals four inches.)  The vet talked to me a little about how to bring about a height increase, but realistically I think he’s done growing.

I actually don’t mind much if he doesn’t grow taller.  He’s a cute little horse at the height he is, and honestly he’s so spirited that sometimes I really have my hands full even at the size he is!  When I hear stories about other girls my size being lifted clear off their feet when their horses toss their heads during deworming, I’m actually really glad my horse isn’t any taller.

Still, I hope his growth and development wasn’t so stunted that it’s actually done damage to him physiologically.  The vet already thinks that his round belly may be because his rib cage is holding intestines meant for a bigger horse (i.e. the size he was supposed to be).  He seems okay to me, but I hope that he stays healthy for a long, long time!

Here is a video of me and my horse.  I’m 5′4", which should give you a point of reference for his height.  As you can see, he’s not all that tall, and he’s definitely short from head to tail as well!

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