When is a horse old

needadvice

Throw your thoughts in on this one when would you consider a horse old and what would that mean for you and your horse.

May I ask why? You have asked a very broad (and perhaps a leading?) question. I would be wary of answering it without more info about why you are asking this.

convert

Depends on what you want .....

needadvice

In no way a leading question. I'm being deliberately open to spark a well informed debate on the subject, leave it be if your not comfortable to discuss it.

MDFM

needadvice wrote: »

In no way a leading question. I'm being deliberately open to spark a well informed debate on the subject, leave it be if your not comfortable to discuss it.

All depends on the individual horse, no 2 horses are going to be the same. Age is immaterial when comparing one horse with another..imo.

convert

I think it's a bit too broad to discuss as it stands.... I think if you narrowed the focus a little more it might be able to spark off more discussion than it stands at present. I.e. maybe if you asked when is a horse too old to ride, or when is a horse too old to do strenuous work.
However, in my opinion, a thread like this is more than likely going to end with the same conclusion: it depends on the horse and what you want to do. As with people, horses age at different rates, and it is consequently virtually impossible to give advice on when a horse is old; one has to look at the horse's well-being and physical, as well as mental, health in order to determine it's 'old'.
Moreover, perhaps in this case 'old' isn't the correct word to use here; maybe you would be better to ask when should a horse not be ridden or worked anymore? Don't forget, some young horses may develop illnesses/diseases which may prevent them from being ridden, while 'aged' horses may be worked for many years. Again, if you made your question more specific it'd be possible to comment on something like this in more detail.

MDFM

convert wrote: »

I think it's a bit too broad to discuss as it stands.... I think if you narrowed the focus a little more it might be able to spark off more discussion than it stands at present. I.e. maybe if you asked when is a horse too old to ride, or when is a horse too old to do strenuous work.
However, in my opinion, a thread like this is more than likely going to end with the same conclusion: it depends on the horse and what you want to do. As with people, horses age at different rates, and it is consequently virtually impossible to give advice on when a horse is old; one has to look at the horse's well-being and physical, as well as mental, health in order to determine it's 'old'.
Moreover, perhaps in this case 'old' isn't the correct word to use here; maybe you would be better to ask when should a horse not be ridden or worked anymore? Don't forget, some young horses may develop illnesses/diseases which may prevent them from being ridden, while 'aged' horses may be worked for many years. Again, if you made your question more specific it'd be possible to comment on something like this in more detail.

Agree 100%

fits

I think its an interesting topic though. I have a 19 year old mare whom I am quite sure has a few good years left in her. However some people (who breed horses, but dont ride) think she's way over the hill and fit only for the knackers yard. To say I am a bit frustrated with this is an understatement. Should I not at least ask her? ( and by ask I mean bring her back into work and see how she responds to it)

convert

For some horses, 19 may not be too old at all. My mare was 17 when she had her first foal, and I know there are many people who have bred from mares when they were 20, though they did make sure that the mare(s) were fit and healthy before being put in foal.

fits

I have hopes of hunting this mare for a couple more seasons if she's up to it. (although this season is out). She's a hardy cob type.

I was using a pony that was well in to his 20s, however we have a horse at the moment who is 15 and is over the hill.

Kind of summing up why this is far too broad a question and can't really be answered apart from; depends on the horse

kerrysgold

A horse is officially supposed to be "aged" at 15 + I think.

I suppose it really does depend on the horses job. i.e. NH racers tend to be retired around 12 years old as it's such a strenuous job, whereas dressage horses are only really just reaching their prime around that age. A hacking or kids horse/pony could be any age as long as it's fit as it doesn't really have to do anything strenuous. Some horses also mature at different rates, like a breed such as the Lipizzaner matures quite slow whereas thoroughbreds mature fast.

In general though, I think most horses can work well into their 20's as long as they are kept in good conditions. a lot of older horses don't seem to even develop a sway back if they are kept fit. Shetlands make great kids ponies even into their 30's.

fits

So what are the signs of a horse being 'over the hill' then? Infection prone? Poor condition? Stiffness?

EMZ0907

sometimes i dont think there is signs?there was a older mare in my yard(24) who was semi retired....just went out on hacks,good gallops and the odd small jump or two.she was as fit as anything and the one day just dropped dead.everyone was very shock because she wasnt stiff or sick or losing conditon.it was so sad such a shock.

i think also it can depend on personality of the horse, not always the breed there is 2 geldings i ride regularly both the same age(16), one you would think is a 3 year old whos had too much oats the other you would swear is 103!so obviously they both do different amounts of work and tasks.although the latter(the 103year old:p)is completely fit and healthy, he has just decided that he is no longer capable of doing certain things(like xc etc). i think its really important to know your horse and when s/he is telling you they are getting on and need to do less:rolleyes:

then again there is the obvious signs, lack of condition.stiffness and weightloss. one mare we put into complete retirement started to become very stiff,she also was difficult to keep the weight on.we then retired her set her out to the feilds and not a bother on her!runs around with all the others and is as happy as any with no weight problems!:D

but as you were all saying it really depends on the horse what you want from them and the likes!:cool:

fits

Well I'm delighted to report that my mares behaviour over the last week definitely does not add up to 'old'. Plenty of life in her yet

needadvice

Well guys that is precisely the type of debate I set out to spark and you prove that indeed there is no definition of old age just good health and fitness. Thanks.

convert

That's a pretty short reply. As the person who started the thread, have you any other thoughts, points, etc. that you'd add to the above?

needadvice

Ok but we might be at risk of taking all this a little too seriously it was meant in a very lets just chat about this kinda way. Somehow it was thought that I had a reason for the question I perhaps needed to explain that I don't have a reason but lately have noticed alot of people considering their horses older than necessary in terms of capability. So it was interesting to see would you generally feel as I do that you can't pin it down to years. And yeah the responses do show that it isn't about years.

I have alot of respect for the older horse his experience and attitude is usually way better than the greener junior horse.

When is a horse old?
For me and I hugely emphasise that its all very individual.. A horse is old when they cannot maintain condition like they used to tire twice as quickly, Recover from exertion slowly and tend to be stiff when worked initially. For most well cared for animals thats a long time coming say 22,23. Even then the right care can still mean light work leading to a happy retirement for many years.

I apologise Convert for any rudeness you felt from me.

convert

Just re-read my post now, and it comes across as a little snappy... sorry! That wasn't my intention, I was actually just curious as to your views on the subject. I think you've pretty much hit the nail on the head with your view, though...

needadvice

No apology necessary. Texting and posting can be vulnerable to misunderstanding.

downboy

When I was in the pony club we travelled to the UK Championships. Our team of four 14hh - 14.2hh ponies had a combined age of over 80 and all went clear on the cross country (we were also the smallest ponies in the competition!)

One of the ponies had been retired at 18 years old and had started to go downhill rapidly. Turns out he was depressed and was happily brought back into work a year later and competed at a very high level until he was 24.

We competed on these ponies in 1994 (they were all around 20 years old) and I know that 2 of them are still alive and happily retired today!!!!!

needadvice

You see thats fantastic I'd always pop my kids on aged schoolmasters Ive the height of respect for them.

andy2854

depends on the horse