Zenyatta's Height

[RuffianQueenOfRacing]

ruffian was 16.2 hands, and her silks are wrong.

this isnt very reliable.

[RuffianRunsForever16]

No, the silks are right because Zenyatta's silks on the sleeves are done the same way..the line is slanted on her's too.

[RuffianQueenOfRacing]

@RuffianRunsForever16 ruffians silks are wrong, her entire sleeve was cherry/red, not just a line!

[RuffianRunsForever16]

@RuffianQueenOfRacing O: I didn't notice that! I always thought she had a slant...something must be wrong with me then because everytime I watch the movie, I always saw the silks with a red line, not red completely.... Wow, that is some bad color and design dyslexia or something (sry for spelling) Please forgive me for that mistake.

[RunLikeAFilly]

Nobody noticed that Ruffian's silks are wrong...lol, that says something about how reliable the source is.

[AllMyHeart1025]

love her

[Giiglzzz]

zenyatta is the best

[ronnogold]

It was unusual for a thoroughbred as large as Zenyatta to be as nimble as she was; in some of her wins she got caught on the inside or in traffic (2009 BC), and she had to weave her way through. Typically that would stop or hinder the momentum of a larger horse, but Zenyatta of course made it look all look like a stroll in park. What a mare.

[RuffianQueenOfRacing]

Ruffian was closer to 17 hands!

[ZenyattaLuvr]

@RuffianQueenOfRacing wasnt she 17.1? just 1 in bellow Z is what my friend told me, she readr that biography about ruffian

[RuffianQueenOfRacing]

@ZenyattaLuvr i posted that a little while ago, and your friend is wrong, just before the match race, Ruffian was measured and weighed, she was 16.2 hands tall and weighed around 1200...

[TicinoParadise]

@RuffianQueenOfRacing - I am not disputing what you said, but I have read more online that she was 17hh as opposed to 16 1/2

[RuffianQueenOfRacing]

@TicinoParadise well she wasnt 17 hands, she was 16.2, FACTS right before the match race she was measured!!!

[RuffianQueenOfRacing]

@TicinoParadise ---> from bloodhorse!!!!

Dr. Gilman measured Ruffian and Foolish Pleasure several days before the match race, and Ruffian had the more imposing physique. Standing 16 hands, two inches at the withers, Ruffian was two and three-quarter inches taller than Foolish Pleasure, at 15 hands, 3 1/4 inches. Ruffian also was heavier than her male rival, weighing in at 1,125 pounds. Foolish Pleasure tipped the scales at 1,061 pounds

[Chut619]

hahaha i love how everyone argues over the technical height of all those horses. who cares? zenyatta's big. end of story.

[countrygirl9519]

"She's a beast!"

[johnofohu123]

Ruffian was 17 hands idiot

[SWALE1984]

Secretariat was 16.3 hands tall

[RuffianQueenOfRacing]

@SWALE1984 no he wasnt, he only seemed that tall, but it was muscle that made him bigger, he was around 16.1-16.2, he was not bigger than Ruffian, who was 16.2 1/2

[taykyl001]

LOL that was quick but she was big. Everyone targets Black Caviar, then Ruffian, mayb Secreatariat, Phar Lap was 17.1 approx. If im wrong pls correct.

[TheExoticAnimal]

Ruffian is the queen Secretariat is the king zenyatta is the princess....

[RuffianQueenOfRacing]

ruffian was 16 1/2-17 hands! 

[TheExoticAnimal]

bull shit... secretariat was bigger than zenyatta

[denabluechicken]

@TheExoticAnimal Zenyatta is taller than Sec was, but Sec was bigger yes, he was more muscular and I think had a bigger girth (although as a 3 year old Slew had a bigger girth than Sec did at 3), Remember she is a mare not a stallion so she wouldn't bulk up the way Sec and Slew did. Without a side by side comparison you can't really compare but Zenyatta's height surpasses Sec by 4"

[TheExoticAnimal]

@denabluechicken ok lol true true. but whats funny is out of all the horses secretariat had a heart that weighed 21 pounds and the average horse heart weighs 8 pounds :)

[denabluechicken]

@TheExoticAnimal isn't that crazy?? My barrel horse died at a show...heart attack and her heart was oversized too but no where near that!

[TheExoticAnimal]

@denabluechicken wow thats sad to hear im sorry for you loss. but wow that is very crazy.

[RuffianQueenOfRacing]

@TheExoticAnimal secretariat was only 16-16 1/2 hands, what made him seem so big was all his muscle!

[rcschumann]

@AdorkableLex The great Northern Dancer was also 15.2 hands, and he won both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes in 1964. The horse that came 2nd to him at the Derby, Hill Rise, was 17 hands. His time for the Derby of 2:00 flat was the record for nine years until Secretariat broke it with a 1:59 2/5 clocking - but Dancer's time is still one of the fastest ever on that track. What has your "16 flat" TB done in comparison?

[rcschumann]

@Shyfire123 Actually Secretariat was considered taller than average for a colt "to be honest", but it was his muscular build that stood out. Zenyatta was just taller than him, but had no where near his stamina, his heart, his strength, his track times and his records. But bravo on Zen for being "taller"!

[denabluechicken]

@rcschumann no where near his heart?? she only lots ONE race by a nose, and is the only mare to EVER win the breeders cup classic, she has plenty of heart, stamina and strength. How many races did Sec lose?

[rcschumann]

@denabluechicken Zenyatta raced much smaller mares to win 18 in a row. Then she beat a turf horse to win no.19 and lost to an average horse (compared to the likes of Tiz, Zapper and other 21st cenury greats) in no.20. Sec's two losses at two can be discounted. He got bumped almost to the ground in the first, but still finished fourth. In the second he won but got dq to 2nd for bumping (many people feel he was robbed). He proved his 3 losses at three were flukes by blasting the field cont...

[rcschumann]

@denabluechicken and setting track records after each loss. At Wood Memorial he had a painful abscess, and came third - later at the Derby he killed the field and set a still standing track record. At Whitney he had an illness with fever and lost to Onion - later at Marlboro Cup he killed a field of SIX champion older horses and Onion, setting a world record for 1 1/8. At Wood Memorial he subbed at the last minute for Riva Ridge on the slop, while preparing for MOW Stakes on grass cont...

[rcschumann]

@denabluechicken a week later; he lost that race - later at MOW Stakes he killed a field of older turf horses in his first race on grass, and set a track record. Secretariat was an unmatched champion who showed the most versatility on the track, winning in so many different ways. I only compared him to Zenyatta because people on here were making a big deal of Zen being taller. Northern Dancer was 15.2 hands and his Derby time (2:00 flat) is faster than Zen at Churchill by more than 2 seconds.

[rcschumann]

@denabluechicken Btw, no way did Slew have a bigger girth than Sec. Secretariat had a bigger neck (a huge neck!) a bigger girth that needed an extra-size strap, and a bigger overall build. He ate as much as two racehorses and his heart size was probably the largest ever. He was basically a monster - but a good-looking one!

[FireontheHorizon15]

@rcschumann No horse within the 20/21th century could compare to Secretariat for his accomplishments.

[Starlilica]

OMG She's tall!

[pseudo140972]

Big Lady!

[juska256]

Oh my god! She's huge!

[xxcrystlecityxx]

ruffian was 17 hands! and she still had heaps more to grow!

[Venckman]

@xxcrystlecityxx Actually, no, she was 16. Probably would have grown some more if she had lived, but probably not another 1 1/2 hands.

[xxcrystlecityxx]

@Venckman no she was 17, she was bigger then secreatiat who was 16, and bigger then most colts who were racing and they were around 16 or 16 1/2

[Calieroy]

@xxcrystlecityxx Uh no. Theres are FACTS not some stupid hunch you take off a movie clip sweety :P

[xxcrystlecityxx]

@Calieroy who said anything about a movie clip!?

and btw its NOT a hunch its FACT that ruffian was 17-17 1/2 hands!

:D

[NicoleAndBandit]

Dang, she's bigger than Secratariat. - Those were my exact words when I saw this. Haha.

[rcschumann]

@NicoleAndBandit No, she's just TALLER than Secretariat (not "bigger"). Sec was more powerfully built, clocked faster track times (including THREE seconds faster than Zenyatta at Churchill Downs for 1 1/4 miles) and set track and world records, one of which might never be broken. Still think it's funny that Zenyatta is taller than Secretariat?

[BackstretchUnderdog]

@Shyfire123 Yes, but he was taller than both Citation and Man o'War. Oh well, it's what's inside that matters most ;]

[BackstretchUnderdog]

Yes, but Zenyatta is also twice these horses' age.

[BPoudrier]

Great and invincible horses come and go throughout the decades. There will always be the next great race, the next great horse. For me, having my own horses for nearly 40 years, Ruffian will always stand out from the crowd in my mind and heart for the softness and femininity in her eyes and the true courageous heart and racing ability that made her so completely loved by all. She was a mare who could run the balls off of any Stud in the game. Rest in peace sweet girl. U R forever in my heart.

[thistleccr]

@BPoudrier Well said. I have to agree with you. She will always be number one with me.

[LopeForestLope]

@BPoudrier i couldnt agree with you more! Sometimes I think that Zenyatta is Ruffian come back to finish what she started! ;)

[Kostly]

Her and that Churchill Downs home stretch are going to be good friends after Saturday. LOL

[Spoelstral]

Benny, I have to respectfully disagree - Ruffian was only 16 hands tall, maybe 16-1, that's documented. In 1975, that was HUGE for a female, not so much today as the breed is changing rapidly. Otherwise, I agree whole-heartedly with your comment on Ruffian - she was one of the true greats. Just how great we will never know.

[bennytherotty]

Actually, Ruffian was almost the same size, about 17 hands. Physically, Zenyatta reminds me a lot of Ruffian. Ruffian may not have been the greatest racehorse of all time, but she had the greatest will to win. She never let a horse get in front of her, led in every race she entered, and set track or stake records in every race she entered. And even in her final race the jockey had a hard time pulling her up because she refused to concede, and tried to keep racing on three legs. R.I.P., Ruffian.

[bubblinbrownsugar616]

DAMN!!! She's taller than Secretariat?!?!?

[lovetheponies]

QUEEN Z is an Amazon beast! She takes your breathe away... I love her so much. She has such confidence and charisma!!

[Beatlegirl4eva]

I`d like to see a side-by-side comparison of her and Mine That Bird, lol

[Venckman]

@Beatlegirl4eva You see them running together on the clubhouse turn in the BC Classic and it looks like a little pony running next to a Clydesdale. Or a T Rex. :)

[Kostly]

@Venckman LOL yep. She makes even males look smallish. She has heart and personality to match.  :)

[RuffianRunsForever16]

haha Queen Z is superior in every way.... Long Live the Queen!!

[sabrinaburdynski]

wow