Jasmine is growing up!

Docs Princess Jasmine is my little Mustang mare, and I absolutely love her!

I first adopted Jasmine when she was but a yearling, after I competed in the EMM Youth Edition in 2011. Since then, I have turned her out to pasture to let her "chill out"; coming from completely wild to completely tame within 90 days is hard work, and she needed the breather!

I went out to pasture just the other day to see how she was doing, and she's really grown up! She's only two years old, but she's as broad across her back as any medium-sized horse! I'm planning on breaking her in the summer of next year, when she's 3. I can't imagine how much bigger she'll be by then!

Jasmine hasn't gotten much taller, but as far as thickness goes, she's twice what she was at this time last year. The herd she comes from is rumored to have a fair bit of Percheron blood, and I am definitely starting to see the similarities. For one thing, my formerly black mare is turning grey!

My older sister's Mustang, Docs Golden Allegro--who is 4 this year--is her complete opposite. Whereas she is short and broad, Allegro is tall and lean--not unlike a Thoroughbred.

Watching my family's Mustangs grow is just another example of how unique and diverse each herd is. Every Mustang has their own story, their own bloodlines, and every single one grows up differently!

Growing up: How mustangs grow differently

Like any other breed of horse, mustangs come in all shapes, sizes, and personalities. However, one big difference between most domestic horses and mustangs is how they grow into those sizes!

The average Quarter Horse (and most domestic horses) reach maturity at 4 or 5 years old; the size they are by then is generally the size they will stay for the majority of their lives.

Mustangs, on the other hand, are known to grow until they are 6 to 10 years old! I remember one particular Mustang mare that had come through the Trainer Incentive Program (TIP), who arrived for training at 7 years old and was roughly 14 hands. I saw her again 7 or 8 months later, and she was nearly 15 hands! Talk about a growth spurt!

Unlike her, however, most mustangs' growth rates slow as they get older. Like any normal horse, most physical changes occur when they are young, but then continue to steadily mature until they are fully grown--at whatever age that might be!

This raises another question: If they grow for so long, how big will they be when they're finally matured?

It would be funny to think that Mustangs grow up to be 15 hands at 5 years old, and then just keep getting bigger! But actually, Mustangs are of a very average height, if not even considered to be short.

Most Mustangs rarely exceed 15 hands; the majority of Mustangs measure between pony-sized to 14 hands. Of course, as with any breed, there are always exceptions! Our local holding facility once had a gelding that measured 18 hands!!


More information concerning the Trainer Incentive Program is available here:  http://www.mustangheritagefoundation.org/tip.php