ReviewAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI2021
Growth and Bone Development in the Horse: When Is a Horse Skeletally Mature?
Review in Animals : an open access journal from MDPI, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 37 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of Mare Age and Number of Foalings on Body Morphometry, Udder Morphology, Milk Yield, and Milk Composition in Kushum Mares.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Morphological Characterization of Turkish Ambling Horses.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Circulating Elements in the Bloodstream of Growing Foals: Focus on Heavy Metals and Bone Remodeling Across Growth Stages.Biological trace element research · 2026Article
- Serum Osteocalcin and CTX-I in Fit-to-Race Thoroughbred Racehorses: Reference Intervals and Associations with Demographic, Training, and Lameness-Related Factors.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Growth Performance, Milk Productivity, Productive Longevity, and Milk Composition of Mugalzhar Horses.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Born to run? Associations between gestational and early-life exposures and later-life performance outcomes in Thoroughbreds.Equine veterinary journal · 2026Article
- Advances in Equine Genomics: Decoding the Genetic Architecture of Morphology, Performance, Behavior, and Adaptation.Molecular biotechnology · 2026Review
- Article
- A retrospective study of radial fractures in racehorses in California, 2006-2022.Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc · 2025Article
- Antipredator behaviour in semi-feral horses: innate response and the influence of external factors.Animal cognition · 2025Article
- Effects of clodronate disodium on endocrine regulators of calcium in yearling horses.Journal of animal science · 2025Article
- Factors determining the survival or mortality ofBiodiversity data journal · 2025Article
- A Retrospective Study on the Status of Working Equids Admitted to an Equine Clinic in Cairo: Disease Prevalence and Associations between Physical Parameters and Outcome.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Article
- Changes in plasma metabolite concentrations and enzyme activities in aging riding horses.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2024Article
- Radiographic Appearance of the Fore Digit and Carpal Joint in the Mule Foal from Birth to 3 Months of Age.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Article
- Exploring the Influence of Growth-Associated Host Genetics on the Initial Gut Microbiota in Horses.Genes · 2023Article
- Longitudinal Training and Workload Assessment in Young Friesian Stallions in Relation to Fitness, Part 2-An Adapted Training Program.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Article
- Internet Survey Evaluation of Demographic Risk Factors for Injury in Canine Agility Athletes.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Within the lay literature, and social media in particular, there is often debate about the age at which a horse should be started and introduced to racing or sport. To optimize the welfare and longevity of horses in racing and sport, it is important to match exercise with musculoskeletal development and the ability of the musculoskeletal system to respond to loading. The justification for not exercising horses at a certain age is often in contrast to the scientific literature and framed, with incorrect generalizations, with human growth. This review provides a relative comparison of the growth and development of the horse to the descriptors used to define growth and development in humans. Measures of physeal closure and somatic growth demonstrate that the horse completes the equivalent of rapid infant growth by weaning (4-6 months old). At approximately 11 months old, the horse completes the equivalent of the childhood phase of growth and enters puberty. At 2 years old, the horse has achieved most measures of maturity used within the human literature, including the plateauing of vertical height, closure of growth plates, and adult ratios of back length:wither height and limb length:wither height. These data support the hypothesis that the horse evolved to be a precocious cursorial grazer and is capable of athletic activity, and use in sport, relatively early in life.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.