>>> Anyway, I have experienced what would be considered late growth, in many Icelandics, sometimes it is muscle development - widening in the chest and filling out through the body - and other times it is definitely growth in height. I have seen them finish growing at 7 and it can be horses born in Iceland or here.
Skjoni has definitely put on muscle since he's been here, maybe partly due to maturity, but weight-lifting big old Cary probably hasn't hurt either. The height seems to me to be another issue. For your reference, since you knew both of them, Falki and Skjoni were virtually the same height when they arrived in 2004. Falki is a year older, and his height is the same as it was then - 13.25-13.3-ish. At the time they arrived Skjoni appeared a good couple of notches smaller than Falki though, in all the critical areas - chest, cannon bones, pelvis, ribcage.... Falki maintains the edge in the pelvis and cannon bones, although Skjoni was never a small horse since we've known him. Skjoni has gained on Falki a good bit in the chest and shoulders though, and he's passed him in height. Obviously, they are both big enough horses to carry some weight, so this isn't anything critical to how we use them; it's just an odd observation that I wouldn't have expected. And I'm just terribly relieved that it's worked this way, since Skjoni and Cary are such a strong pair - nice that Skjoni has "risen" to his job. :) I'm glad to hear you've seen similar. Karen Thomas [EMAIL PROTECTED]
