Originally Posted by: AuriscalpiumHi,
I'm a 45 year old male and I've been learning acoustic guitar for about a year.
I have fairly small, chunky hands but to add to this I had repair to a snapped tendon in the thumb of my fret hand 13 years ago which limits my stretch some what.
In spite of all this I'm quite happy with my progress.
My question is this. With the limitations to my fret hand would I be better off exploring finger picking styles to make good progress or is there hope for me to improve my stretch over time.
Any other advice /encouragement would be greatly appreciated.

Hard to answer without first hand knowledge.

Can a person improve their stretch? Somewhat but not beyond what physics allows. I have pretty average sized hands but some stretches for me just are never comfortable. Even simple ones like the bouncing rhythm of Johnny B. Goode. That little rhythm stretch is not natural for my pinky. My pinky has always been a little dumb. It is what it is. I've never overcome it. I've learned it is a physical limitation. Not noticeable to most but a challenge for me.

From challenges come inspiration. Django Reinhardt had two working fingers. He made it work very well.

Sometimes finding that alternative to compensate becomes your style. Your unique sound.

I don't know that this answers your question but if you can't execute the maneuver the way it was done originally, find another way.

...though I have become a big fan of fingerpicking lately...Soooooo much good stuff out there.