Bit shocked re my horses age. What do you think?

[kinnygirl1]

I have had my pony for 6 months. He was an irish import so didn't have a passport, the dealer who imported him and sold him to me had to get one done for him so it has an estimated foaling date of 2006, which makes him 5 this year....right?

So had the vet out yesterday for a routine rasp and check of his teeth. Vet says no way is he 5, he is 3 and a half, 4 at most! He showed me all his teeth whilst the gag was on so I could understand how he came to that conclusion.

Feel a bit shocked. Worried that I have been doing too much with him if he is only 3 and a half. Done a bit of dressage, mostly hacking, jumped some tiny fences. He seems fine. BUt worried about him now. Also am entered for a dressage comp on Sunday and people at my yard are saying I can't take him now. Has this ever happended to any of you? What do you all think?

Thanks for reading

 

[Mince Pie]

Doesn't sound like too much for a youngster, although you do your comp and then turn away for the winter if you wanted to.

 

[domane]

Quite common, I'm afraid. Happened to me 30 years ago... bought a 5yo that turned out to be only 3. Most of us Joe-Public's don't know how to age a horse by it's teeth so are open to being duped. It happens and now you know so it's up to you what you want to do. Personally, I would err on the side of caution and perhaps give your horse the winter off and then bring him back into work next spring... but that's just me. Don't feel bad - you can't change the past but you can shape the future. He sounds like a lovely, mature boy not to have given you any grief for the past 6 months if he's that young

 

[kinnygirl1]

Thank you - he is amazingly tempered, especially if he is only 3 and a half. I have even had my 8 year old daughter riding around on him(shudders, he is 3!) - he is for her in years to come and it was his kind nature that we fell in love with.

I think if this winter is like the last there won't be much riding anyway so he will prob have most of it off with maybe just some light hacking at weekends. Will that be enough rest for him to mature a bit? I have never turned any of my ponies away before - but never had one so young before!

 

[be positive]

It was very common, but not so much now with most having passports.
I would do the competition, you have prepared for it and it will make no real difference to your pony. Give him the winter off or just do some less demanding work than you may have planned.

 

[Kadastorm]

i had my mare vetted for licensing in a riding school and she had a passport and microchip. the first time she was vetted for this, the vet checked her teeth and didnt say anything but came to me after and wanted to look at her again. he said that she wasnt the pony on the passport and her teeth showed she was 2 1/2 maybe 3. i told him she had a chip and he scanned her but couldnt find it and then told me to seek legal advice as the pony i had was not the one on the passport.
I was devastated and had not long been out of hospital after being quite ill so i was weak and emotional. we got my normal vet out the next day who looked at her teeth and said he was wrong. she said some horses mature slower than others and that on one side my mare still had caps that made her look like a 2 yr old but the otherside showed she was a rising 4 year old. she also scanned her and the chip had moved but she found it - the correct horse.

what im saying is, dont worry too much about being aged via teeth - they arent always right. i know in your case you dont have a passport to go by where as i did.

i also had the worry i had broken my horse in as a yearling/2 yr old and was so scared i had done too much (even though you could tell she wasnt a yearling when i bought her!) . the work you are doing sounds fine, it isnt too strenuous, so dont worry too much.

 

[kinnygirl1]

Kadastorm - that's really interesting as I had him vetted when I bought him and that vet(a different one to yest) concurred with the dealer that he would be 5 this year.

I am just so attached to him - don't want to fry his brain. He has been such a good boy and I don't want to spoil him! I am keeping him come what may but somehow the idea of owning a 3 year old is more scary than owning a 5 year old if that makes any sense?

 

[cob&onion]

I would just carry on but treat him like a newly backed baby 3yr old he could well be. Just reduce his work load ie jumping and fast work and just stick to gentle hacks and maybe a schooling session once a week, would probably do this till the start of summer than just introduce the jumping etc slowly.

My TB was sold to me as a 6yr old and she was infact a 3yr old too

 

[dumpling]

Same as me. I got sold a 6 year old when he was in fact rising 3.

I'd perhaps look at the rules of your dressage as most ridden classes state that the horse must be over 4 years old.

 

[maggiehorse]

we have a hombred 2 yr old (june baby) who has got his corners already which age him at at least 4 so its not an exact science i,m afraid

 

[brown tack]

My old mare is 25 but she still hasn't had her 11yr old teeth changed/groove grow etc. Time and time again ive been told that she's younger then she is and the grey is in fact a tad of roan .

I've known her for 18years and she certainly wasnt a foal when I had her.

 

[tinap]

Could have been the other way - my mate bought a horse with passport age at 12yrs. Went to get it microchipped but vet found one in there. Came back as a different horse & was 23!!

 

[shadowboy]

Happened to me some years.ago. mine ended up with altered growth plates and hock fracture... needed 12 months off and 2000 pounds of scintigraphy scans.

 

[Moggy in Manolos]

My friend had a very similar experience. I was lucky as the gypsy we purchased from said she was 2yrs old and she clearly seemed to be, we checked her teeth and placed her at about that, vet confirmed when we got her home.

Thing is, you have done these things with your boy now, it was not your fault, it is quite common that the horses are sold as older, or the reverse. It does not sound like you have gone overboard. As suggested, perhaps give him some of the winter off, just ease off.
Try not to beat yourself up about, and let the people on your yard panic if they like, there is no need for a complete knee-jerk reaction. You now know so do what is best with the information you have here on in.

 

[mymissmegan]

This happened to me, I agree with the others, don't worry too much
Look at it this way, you get two extra years with your po!!! What a wonderful result!!! X

 

[MurphysMinder]

I think even equine dentists are loathe to age horses too precisely because discrepancies can occur. Our old pony shows a difference of several years from one side of her mouth to another, more than one dentist has pointed it out. I wouldn't worry too much about your horse, maybe just give him a slightly easier time work wise through this winter.

 

[mymissmegan]

This happened to me, I agree with the others, don't worry too much
Look at it this way, you get two extra years with your po!!! What a wonderful result!!! X

 

[madeleine1]

id take him to the dressage as the vet said 3 and a half to 4 and the other said 5 so honestly hes 4 and a quater if u average it out. the venue and you cant prove otherwise. then rest in the winter as you probably would anyway and then bring back into work slowly as you probably would with a 4 or 5 year old. hes young either way

 

[Spotsrock]

Don't worry about ur daughter riding him. I've known some very mellow 3 year olds as compared to some loopy older horses. Doesn't sound like way too much work.

 

[Kat]

I wouldn't worry too much vets aren't always that accurate about aging horses so don't take what has been said as gospel.

You could try tracing his history to help you work out his age, or you could take a few more opinions and average them.

I know a few people who have had shocks about the age of their horses. One person who knew pretty accurately how old their horse was had wildly different ages given by vets and dentists making the horse about 7 years older or younger, the most accurate aging from teeth he had for that horse was from a dealer.

 

[jeeve]

It was very common, but not so much now with most having passports.
I would do the competition, you have prepared for it and it will make no real difference to your pony. Give him the winter off or just do some less demanding work than you may have planned.

agree with this dressage test is not going to overface him

 

[Cortez]

I'm surprised your horse doesn't have a passport as most horses over here have them now, and a commercial transporter will not carry horses without paperwork. As others have said, accurate aging by dentition is very hit and miss, about all you can reliably say is "very young" or "very old". Don't worry about overworking, it doesn't sound as if you've done all that much really. A lot of 3 year olds will have hunted in Ireland, and they certailny don't get mollycoddled the way they would do over there in England!

 

[dafthoss]

Just a quick question how would you approach some one to tell them you think this has happened to them? said person is totally unaware and believes what they have been told.

 

[kinnygirl1]

I'm surprised your horse doesn't have a passport as most horses over here have them now, and a commercial transporter will not carry horses without paperwork. As others have said, accurate aging by dentition is very hit and miss, about all you can reliably say is "very young" or "very old". Don't worry about overworking, it doesn't sound as if you've done all that much really. A lot of 3 year olds will have hunted in Ireland, and they certailny don't get mollycoddled the way they would do over there in England!

Hi - yes the story goes that he had hunted in Ireland before he came over! Is that quite common for a 3 year old then?

Interesting what you say about the passport thing - not knowing much about it, I just accepted what the dealer said on that. It is a very reputable dealer that I have used before. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

 

[Cortez]

Hi - yes the story goes that he had hunted in Ireland before he came over! Is that quite common for a 3 year old then?

Interesting what you say about the passport thing - not knowing much about it, I just accepted what the dealer said on that. It is a very reputable dealer that I have used before. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Yup, I'd say the majority of ISH types (i.e. not TB's) probably hunt as part of their early training. There is a saying here "Break 'em on a Wednesday, hunt 'em on Friday", and it's not always said in jest either! The idea (wrong!) is that following the rest of the field will teach them to go, and steering and other optional things will just sort of happen later. Another saying: "The best thing about an Irish horse is that it has survived the Irishman".

 

[kinnygirl1]

Just a quick question how would you approach some one to tell them you think this has happened to them? said person is totally unaware and believes what they have been told.

Hmm - you could say "just been reading on HHO forum about a girl who bought a 5 YO that turned out to maybe on be 3" might sew the seed? Or just be direct and say "have you ever asked the vet how old he thinks he is?" If someone had said this to me I would have taken it on board. I am glad I know even though I know its not an exact science.

 

[abina]

Ageing horses as so many people have already said is not an exact method, use it as a guide line. I had a horse here that I had bred - infact I was present at the birth so also knew the exact time ! and yet at my vetting for the annual licence for RS the vet aged him completely wrong, and even questioned me on the matter ! I was all for getting the photo album out and video film for proof and to put his 'little' nose back in place!!

However what you have said, seems like he has been perfectly ok, you sound and seem to be a caring and responsible owner and I'm sure if any problems with him doing the work that you have asked would have been questioned by yourself, regardless of knowledge of age. So enjoy your pony, give him an extra long holiday and start planning some nice things for next summer !

And don't let other liveries spoil your pleasure ! Your horse, your choices. simples. xx

 

[Cadfael&Coffee]

"The best thing about an Irish horse is that it has survived the Irishman".

LOL!!!! how true haha

 

[dafthoss]

Hmm - you could say "just been reading on HHO forum about a girl who bought a 5 YO that turned out to maybe on be 3" might sew the seed? Or just be direct and say "have you ever asked the vet how old he thinks he is?" If someone had said this to me I would have taken it on board. I am glad I know even though I know its not an exact science.

Thanks we have tried the whole lets see how old my pony is by looking at his teeth and another persons pony, with a bit of hinting to look at its teeth. But its not working every one who sees it says its not 4 but theres no YO or YM to tell her for definate and its passport hasnt been checked so I'm worring about vaccinations too.

Forgot to say good luck with yours at least you know now and are taking responsibility, good luck with what you decide.