Care of older ponies

sandi_84

sandi_84

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Right so I've been given the possible opportunity to take on an older stalking pony as a companion for my lad when we move.
I'm very lucky to be given this opportunity and am looking forward to providing a nice retirement home for a pony in it's golden years after many years of faithful service but I've never cared for an older horse before and I know that care of an older horse is going to be different with regards to possible age, joint and insurance related problems.

The pony will be in it's 20's, in good health and probably pretty fit since it's a working pony.
I only found out the very basics today (i.e breed, age and that it's a stalking pony), I don't even know if it will be a mare or gelding or if it has ever been broken to ride until I get a chance to have a proper conversation with the OH rather than a few quick txts in my break at work.

I'm looking for some tips on keeping an older pony ticking along nicely, anybody able to help with a bit of advice please?
If in the case of it being unbroken, do any of you have older unbroken companions and what do you do with them to keep their minds active?
 
What's a 'stalking' pony? Presumably it's been used for carrying deer after they've been shot?

I should think it's been broken in & would probably be best if it could be kept in very light work with nice gentle hacks.

I have an elderly Connie, he will be 23 in May. We tried to retire him but he hated it so he has a young woman who comes 3 or 4 times a week & rides, grooms & spends time with him. We still take him to the very occasional party as he loves it. He was a circus pony for a fancy dress with my niece in the summer & is going to a RC dressage clinic on Sunday. You would think he was going to Badminton the way he snorts & 'struts his stuff'.

He has as much turnout as possible, soft food, salt, linseed & a balancer, regular teeth checks & good quality hay. He's currently a bit portly but full of beans with a great coat & bright eyes. I think the winter can be hard on oldies, you just have to watch them carefully & make changes as appropriate.

Good luck, i hope that you get him/her.
 
I feed linseed and beet in the winter to my 20 something, who is still hacked regularly. He's 22 in Jan. When I had my old shettie, I took him out ride and lead until he couldn't keep up, after which he was quite happy to bumble about the fields - it was quite an enriched environment, though. I often take mine for walks - the ridden one, too. It's actually very enjoyable if you let them browse and take a camera with you to capture nice things. :)
 
HazyXmas said:
What's a 'stalking' pony? Presumably it's been used for carrying deer after they've been shot?

I should think it's been broken in & would probably be best if it could be kept in very light work with nice gentle hacks.

I have an elderly Connie, he will be 23 in May. We tried to retire him but he hated it so he has a young woman who comes 3 or 4 times a week & rides, grooms & spends time with him. We still take him to the very occasional party as he loves it. He was a circus pony for a fancy dress with my niece in the summer & is going to a RC dressage clinic on Sunday. You would think he was going to Badminton the way he snorts & 'struts his stuff'.

He has as much turnout as possible, soft food, salt, linseed & a balancer, regular teeth checks & good quality hay. He's currently a bit portly but full of beans with a great coat & bright eyes. I think the winter can be hard on oldies, you just have to watch them carefully & make changes as appropriate.

Good luck, i hope that you get him/her.
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Thank you for your reply, yes a stalking pony is one who's job is to carry deer up and down the hills on a hunt :)

"He" (purely because I can't bring myself to say it just because I don't know the sex yet :o) will be field kept with my current lad so turnout not a problem ;)
If he is broken I'd love to keep his hand in with a bit of light work, I really think giving them something to do helps keep them going :)

How often do you get your boys teeth checked? He sounds a right character :)

Thank you, me too! OH is going to try and find out some more details for me today :D
 
I think that your right, keeping them ticking over helps with their physical & mental well-being. Our old boy has been given a new lease of life with his young sharer. It's been so nice to see & he's so pleased with himself for being able to teach her things (he's a very well schooled old event pony) She thinks that he's the 'bees knees' which is of course, exactly what he thinks :-)

He last has his teeth done in Feb 13 but i've recently noticed that he's eating a little more slowly so will get the dentist out again before Xmas. They usually advise 6-8 monthly checks but it will depend & when your dentist does him for the 1st time he should let you know.

I'd post pictures but i'm clueless. Hope to see pictures of your when you get him. Is it a Highland? I've always wanted one of those :-)
 
I'd not treat him too differently unless something is up that warrants special treatment. Take a little longer to warm up and cool down if you ride him, teeth every 6 months (unless dentist says differently), lots of turnout to keep supple and mind active (but I think horses of all age benefit from this)
You probably won't be able to insure him (other than third party obviously) - so have a sensible conversation with owner and your family about what will happen if he has a major problem so you're not deciding in the heat of the moment.

My companion pony is c20 and very happy just being a horse - he plays a lot with the big horse in the field, he has no teeth so is living on grass nut soup which works really well for him.
 
HazyXmas said:
I think that your right, keeping them ticking over helps with their physical & mental well-being. Our old boy has been given a new lease of life with his young sharer. It's been so nice to see & he's so pleased with himself for being able to teach her things (he's a very well schooled old event pony) She thinks that he's the 'bees knees' which is of course, exactly what he thinks :-)

He last has his teeth done in Feb 13 but i've recently noticed that he's eating a little more slowly so will get the dentist out again before Xmas. They usually advise 6-8 monthly checks but it will depend & when your dentist does him for the 1st time he should let you know.

I'd post pictures but i'm clueless. Hope to see pictures of your when you get him. Is it a Highland? I've always wanted one of those :-)
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Aw he sounds fab! :D
Thanks for the advice, will chat to my dentist when I get him so she can come have a look-see :)
Yes Highalnd Pony! :D:D Soooo excited, I've always wanted one too! :D
OH was thinking about that and the fact that a Shetland may need kept in starvation paddocks/kept seperate for feeding etc so he went on a Highland Pony finding expedition :D He's a very clever man ;)
Don't worry I'll be overloading everyone with pics of our new addition as soon as we can get a field sorted :D
 
Sorry another bump, hoping for some more helpful tips please?

Anyone know the score as to veteran insurance? Is it worth getting, would I be able to get it for a free horse with no vetting?
 
We have a 23 year old and an 18 year old and keep them living out.The 23 year old has just started to need her teeth doing more often than every 12 months,and has devils claw to help her joints.She did look ribby after last winter,despite ad lib hay and hard feeds,so gave her barley/linseed rings which really helped.Other than that,she looks and acts like a much younger pony,is ridden 6 days a week,hunts,hacks,goes to PC,does games,jumps and is fit as a fiddle.

I'm looking forward to seeing a picture of your new pony and reading a bit more about him.
 
Forgot to say,both are insured for injury only and it is about £140 a year,one with Scottish Equestrian and one with NFU. The 18 year old could be covered for medical as well,but they wanted Cushings tests and there were exclusions because he has melanomas,so decided to do injury only.
 
Polos Mum said:
I'd not treat him too differently unless something is up that warrants special treatment. Take a little longer to warm up and cool down if you ride him, teeth every 6 months (unless dentist says differently), lots of turnout to keep supple and mind active (but I think horses of all age benefit from this)
You probably won't be able to insure him (other than third party obviously) - so have a sensible conversation with owner and your family about what will happen if he has a major problem so you're not deciding in the heat of the moment.

My companion pony is c20 and very happy just being a horse - he plays a lot with the big horse in the field, he has no teeth so is living on grass nut soup which works really well for him.
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Sorry Polo'smum, I completely missed your post! Thank you :)

mirage said:
We have a 23 year old and an 18 year old and keep them living out.The 23 year old has just started to need her teeth doing more often than every 12 months,and has devils claw to help her joints.She did look ribby after last winter,despite ad lib hay and hard feeds,so gave her barley/linseed rings which really helped.Other than that,she looks and acts like a much younger pony,is ridden 6 days a week,hunts,hacks,goes to PC,does games,jumps and is fit as a fiddle.

I'm looking forward to seeing a picture of your new pony and reading a bit more about him.
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Thanks for the insurance info both of you, good to know your oldies are still going strong and doing well for themselves :) Still no more info as OH couldn't call today but will update as soon as I know more and will definitely post an update with pics as soon as we get "him" :D Still ridiculously excited, was giggling like a little girl all day yesterday and today ha ha! :D
 
I had a 35 year old who thought she was closer to 35 months half the time.

I found blue chip was Fab at getting that last little bit of weight on.

It's tricky, I got her when she was 24 so I can't think of anything I did specifically because she was old. I did have stable chaps to keep her legs warm in the stable in the winter, but she was very free moving for her age.
 
hnmisty said:
I had a 35 year old who thought she was closer to 35 months half the time.

I found blue chip was Fab at getting that last little bit of weight on.

It's tricky, I got her when she was 24 so I can't think of anything I did specifically because she was old. I did have stable chaps to keep her legs warm in the stable in the winter, but she was very free moving for her age.
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Thank you :)
 
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