Anyone found out their horse is older than they thought?

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Bedford Joy

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I was recently gifted a thoroughbred mare as a quiet hack and was told she was 16 but I have just been sent her passport and it says she's 19. I feel a little dissapointed as I feel she may be too old for what I wanted to do with her or do you think she will be okay at whatever age? She's ex polo and was going uneven in the school at the riding school where i got her from hence why they wanted to find her a quiet hacking home. She's a lovely mare but I'm guessing I'll have to inform the insurance company will it make much difference to my policy?
 
If she's fit and healthy I don't see why you can't use her for what she was sold as.

I presume you haven't had her long so Id definitely contact them as she's clearly not what they advertised her as. No legal info I can provide but would be worth asking someone in the know.
 
Many insurance companies will continue to insure for vet fees into mid twenties so long as you insure before their 20th birthday. My daughter's little cob mare is 19 years old and still active (just recouping from a tendon op). She does a bit of everything, dressage, XC, showjumping, fun rides and hacks.
I wouldn't let 3 years put you off - 19 years is no age. My advice would be to stick her on a good joint supplement like Equimins Flexijoint to help her aging joints remain mobile and ensure a good diet and enjoy her. School work is quite hard on a horse, hence she may have suffered at the riding school. Horses can work high into their 20s and beyond :)
 
This would upset me if it were a horse I had just bought. I worried a lot that Olive was older than 10 when I bought her but the vet and EDT say her age rings true. Mind you I would only have been disappointed as it means less years to have with her.

There is a 19 year old mare on my yard and boy I have never seen a faster, quirkier, more energetic horse in my life. She competes in every discipline and loves her work, refuses to stop out on a hack but that's a different issue.

Sad she is older than you thought but no reason to think that she might not go on for years!
 
Thanks guys, she is totally sound now. I've had her checked out. It was the schooling she struggled with but hacking she's always been fine. She's such a lovely sweet mare
 
I bought a pony who was advertised as 14, but the passport said 16, despite the owner arguing she was 15!

I suspected she was older however and when the equine dentist saw her he said she was 20+.

She's been a fab pony for my little boy and we have had her nearly 3 years. She will retire with us and live out her days here.

The only niggle I have is that we paid over the odds for a 20 year old laminitic pony, however, she has actually been worth every penny at around a pound per day!

If the horse has been given to you I would just put it down to experience. Hopefully you will have quite a few happy hacking years. I was given a horse aged 16 who I eventually retired from ridden work at 23 and we enjoyed some great times together. Again, he will live here for the rest of his days.
 
My friend did. Got a pony that was 12 according to its passport. She went to get it microchipped 2 years after getting her & the vet found a chip in already. They got the details & found out she was actually 24 & had a different name to her passsport. They rang the number that was registered to the microchip & the woman that answered was shocked the pony was still alive as she had sold it at 16!!!

No-one knows how the pony managed to have a passport that was done years after the microchip & no record of it was in the new passport. The vets that marked it up denied that they didn't check for an existing microchip
 
I was told my boy was 12, but turned out he was 17. He was imported, and had a fake passport - I only found this out after I managed to trace his breeding through his brand. To be honest I don't care - he is FAB, and can outlast many of the younger horses on the yard for stamina and sheer joy in life!
 
Yup, we thought he was 14...turns out he was closer to 18 when he died.

Age had nout to do with it though, he was very sick. He could have gone for years longer.
 
Yes, some years ago. I bought a so-called 11-year old TB mare for LDR. However as soon as I saw her passport, which came with her the day she was delivered to me) I saw she was in fact 13. I rang the owner, who professed to be amazed. I said I would be stopping the cheque, so she knocked £300 off her price.

The insurance company weren't worried at all, and there was no increase in their rates. She was a complex but very dear horse. I did a bit with her but her legs were never up to much, so I hacked her quietly, retired her when her legs demanded it, and she had 2 years as a very spoilt field ornament before dying at the age of 20.

The moral is - and what I didn't do, was to properly peruse the passport before taking delivery. It was a case of "Hello, here's the mare, here's the passport, goodbye!" Interestingly she'd been vetted and the age question hadn't been raised by my vet.
 
In answer to your title, no, the opposite! Bought my boy as a 6 yr old to find he had only just about turned 3! Tiny little baby teeth
 
My first horse was advertised as an 8yo, this was in the days before passports were compulsory. Also being very naive, it wasn't something I even thought to disbelieve :eek:

When I had him vetted, I wasn't there, but the vet rang me within the first 15 mins & said "This horse isn't 10yo" errr, no, he's 8 isn't he? After a long time umming & aahing, he eventually said he was probably between 13 & 17, so I asked him to continue with the vetting; I ended up buying him as despite him being older than I thought, he was still the horse for me.

I had the dentist out, who said he was 19. I've had this dentist age him for me on 3 or 4 different occasions over the years, and he's always put him at the same age, so I'm pretty certain he's right.

So now I have a 29yo, but he's still fabulous :D I retired him from competing/jumping about 4 years ago, as he started stopping, he still loved it but he'd never been a stopper, he was telling me he couldn't do it anymore.

I had been thinking about fully retiring him as he has a recurring ligament/tendon injury, but I don't think he's ready to hang up his boots yet, when I tack up the "new boy" he gets very grumpy & sulky, so once I'm recovered from my injury, he's going to be the one I get my riding muscles back together on :)

Sorry very long post but to say 19 is no age as long as you take good care of them, no one can believe my boy is 29 as he looks so good & full of life :D
 
Yes, my TB mare was sold to as 18 last year, found out this week she is closer to 25 :o. She has a mysterious past, with an unreadable lip tattoo and no passport. I am investigating but in the meantime enjoying every spooky minute with the old drama queen :)
 
Thanks all, the riding school got her from a polo yard and they have given me such a wonderful gift in her so I don't have an issue with them as the manager had said she'd not seen the horses passport. The owner of the yard held the passports so I can understand why that happened but I contacted the lady at the polo yard who had owned her previously and had retired her to the riding school has given me a little bit if info on her but originally said she'd raced but when I asked for her racing name suddenly said she hadnt raced and she'd been thinking of another horse entirely !! I asked more questions and asked if she could send me on the original passport which she said she thought she had as I wanted to trace the mares history she stopped answering my questions so sadly it looks like I may never know who bred her or what dirt of life she has had which is come thing I love to do and indeed something that has been easy to do having owned ex racers in the past. I've contacted trainers and breeders for my other TB ex racer and had some wonderful replies so with her I know whst happened in her life from the moment she was born. It's wonderful being able to build a picture of a horses life previous to living with you but sadly I guess I won't be able to do this with my new girl. Thanks again for all your replies ..... Xx
 
Bedford Joy said:
I was recently gifted a thoroughbred mare as a quiet hack and was told she was 16 but I have just been sent her passport and it says she's 19. I feel a little dissapointed as I feel she may be too old for what I wanted to do with her or do you think she will be okay at whatever age? She's ex polo and was going uneven in the school at the riding school where i got her from hence why they wanted to find her a quiet hacking home. She's a lovely mare but I'm guessing I'll have to inform the insurance company will it make much difference to my policy?
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That was naughty but yes of course is she is healthy etc many ride horses into early 30s we had one 37. Ridden normally until about 30-32 then just a gentle walk. Stopped a couple years before PTS.
 
My lovely little cob was 14 according to his passport when I bought him, but when my I had him vetted he was well into his twenties! :eek:

You would never have known, he looked fantastic, and went on to give me several years of the most fun, safe hacking ever .... really miss him.
 
Oh yes!! Bought as an eight year old imported passport, when dentist came out he aged him at 25+ . We have had him 4 years with high vet bills and re-occurring lameness (Navicular) but we have had some great summers and we love him as he is very gentle and loving, no trouble and easy to keep but yes some days I feel very cheated not only for me but him too. He is with us for keeps. x
 
Ageing by teeth is very suspect, so I wouldn't rely on that. Nowadays most horses have a passport and/or microchip, but I would say that they are as old/young as they feel. My friend has a rising 30 year old mare that is as good as ever - she doesn't know (or care) what age she is.
 
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