Following all the 'Old Horse' posts, lets celebrate the oldies!

MrsElle

MrsElle

Well-Known Member
Joined
21 November 2008
Messages
6,183
Location
Back Where My Heart Is :)
Visit site
I am a huge fan of older horses.

I got Ellie on loan in December 2008 when she was almost 27. She was given to me in June 2009 and retired in July 2009.

In the 7 months I had riding her she gave me so much. She gave me back my confidence in horses and in myself and for that she will be looked after and mollycoddled to the end of her days.

Today the 11 year old girl I childmind told me that Ellie was the best horse in the whole world, ever! Ellie has also given this little girl confidence with horses and this little 11 year old will happily lead 16.2 Ellie around. Ellie lowers her head so E can brush her face and mane and E loves Ellie as much as I do.

So, lets give a big hurrah for these oldies who can still give so much joy and love!
 
ditto this, i bought an elderly lady after losing my confidence , and although i only had a few months of riding her til she took ill, she gave me so so so much.
miss her lots
frown.gif

but hurrah for the oldies!!
 
i have taken on a 28 year old dartmoor as a companion for my dappy sec A, he has a home here with me till the end (only because he is badly showing his age now in this cold weather) i love him dearly although he is a smelly, snot filled git.
but for many an older horse is just what they want/need not everyone wants to make a quice buck out of a horse or run it into the ground.
 
Lucy is atleast 20 not that anyone usualy believes that. She didn't start doing endurance till she was 16 and regualy did rides of up to and inclu 80km. At the last meet of the season last year Lucy was still up the front pulling my arms out at 7.30pm the masters horse (who was only 7) was tired and he kept asking me how old Lucy was as if he didn't believe me then he proceeded to tell everyone. Then at a show this year we won the handy pony class later that day the judge of the handy pony saw me in the veterans class and i hurd her say "look theres my winner, How old is it?!
shocked.gif
). But the best complement (in a strange way) was when i took her to liphook in Nov and the vet there couldn't believe how old she was either he said he would have believed me if i had said she was 10.
grin.gif
and i thought she looked poor.
Age is just a number and the only thing stopping Lucy now is her illness (not that she thinks it should!)
 
Agree 100%! The yard where I keep Suzi is mainly oldies. Megan is 33, fully retired now but spent her life until mid 20s at a riding for the disabled riding school. Beau is early 20s and still ridden by a young girl. Danno is 29, fully retired irish thoroughbred (my 70 yo mother in laws' horse and so the bain of my life as she can't manage to do a lot for him at the moment due to the weather). He's grumpy as hell, tries to bite you if he can (well gum you anyway!) and stomps around the box, but I love him dearly (don't you tell him I sad that cos he's well 'ard and doesn't do cuddles!
wink.gif
) frightened the living sh1t out of me when I first met him! And then there's my Suzi, the baby at only 16.
 
The best horse I could want. He's badly behaved, bullies you mercilessly for polos, bites the farriers bottom (every time, nothing will stop him! Luckily more a 'nice bum' feel than a bite) and is unstoppable. We've won so much together, including the junior working hunter award, best allrounders, most improved and countless rosettes. I've had crashing falls and amazing triumphs. Whe I got him I swore I'd never jump again- within 2 months I'd done a hunter trial and that summer we won SJ classes! Love him to the moon and back, and he's the most gorgeous horse ever. He's now 26 and is younger at heart than ever!

The last show we did (won one class by 3 seconds and the next by 8 seconds, lol)
SJ3-4.jpg

SJ5-1.jpg

Those jump off piccies so thats why we look a bit rushed!

Cheeky107.jpg

Cheeky109.jpg

Cheeky105.jpg

SJ1-1.jpg

Derbycorner.jpg

Trak.jpg

Blackwaterpallisade.jpg


Picture overload, but he is way too lovely not to!
I was 14 when I got him and he was 21, nearly 22- unusual mix but he really suits me and manages to keep any ego cut right down yet win a lot because he's so competitive. Doesn't do dressage anymore though as some judges don't like the way he trots- he doesn't entirely track up when he's stressed/ tensed.
 
Love the oldies.
We will have Juno til the end of her days, she is now 24 and have known her nearly 20 years! Gone through everything you can think of together and when her time is up she will do her last job and go to the hunt. Iam not sure if we would get permission to bury her, but we did with our old companion Miri who was 36 and had hunted and worked in a riding school for 24 years!! He went to horsey heaven on 11th September 2001 at 2pm, little did we know at the time so were hundreds of Americans. RIP.
 
My daughter's pony, Brie, who is around 30 (no one knows how old for sure). She can be a right grumpy git but she behaves like a 10 yeard old and my little girl thinks she's the bee's knees.!
smile.gif
 
Just wanted to say Nosurrender you horse is stunning
smile.gif


Not as old as every one elses, but I bought Ben last year because I'd had a few really bad falls, he is 19 14.1hh welshie and my confidence has soared, I did 7 pleasure rides with him last year he is fab!

pleasureride220809014.jpg
 
My first horse was an arab x he was aleast 20 years old when I had him, he was grumppy and could buck a good 8 foot, but he has made me who I am with horses now!!!!!!!! Can not thank him enough. So yeeeaaahhh to oldies!!!!!
grin.gif


We also have a 22 year old KS TB x he keeps my 5 year old in his place. (until food come's into it, he's a fat cob!!!!!!)
 
My old girl is 28 and I have had her for 20 years now. She is still as much of a tart as ever. And loves to have a good scratch and and good brush. She is the sweetest mare to handle.
 
I will have owned my 21 year old for 12 years this year and we have had some fantastic times together. Even now as the oldest member of the group he can still be the cheekiest and most mischievious and likes to regularly put the young ones in their place. Here are a couple of pics of the little tike:

DSC_0685.jpg


benji9-1.jpg


We've had 2 other veterans previously that we sadly lost in 2005 and 2006, and they both brought us an enormous amount of pleasure both in their younger days and as they were growing older. Thanks for putting this post up Mrs Elle, its so nice to see pics of other peoples oldies and recognising that veterans are just as important as their younger counterparts!!
grin.gif
 
I have a 20 something year old, that ive ridden for 11 years and owned for 9 of them he will be with me for the rest of his life. he is grumpy and stubborn and i love his bones!
he still enjoys a gallop on the beach or round the woods. He looks fab for his age.

samnov2009.jpg


photo taken just before the snow set in and been unable to ride for 3 weeks and 2 days now!!!!
 
Mister Monty is about 30 now but we will never know his exact age. I've only had him 3 years and loaned him for 2 before that. No one believes how old he is since he looks so well!!

He does act his age a bit sometimes since he is doddery now and a bit stiff but I still hack him out and he still enjoys trying to kill me occasionally!

SS100224-1.jpg
 
We have a little old lady who has babysat every youngster we've ever had! She's approx 30 yrs old now (we're not 100% sure, she's been in the family for years & with friends before that!) and enjoying a well earned retirement tho is a complete diva and likes things her way but hey, who are we to argue with her, she's given us years of pleasure, has been an absoulte treasure and was a gymkhana machine in her day! She's earned a quite life & the chance to live out her days with a family that love her...more than anything!
So, here she is, Foxy-Lady we salute you!
Picture125.jpg

Picture049.jpg

Picture046.jpg
 
I adore my older horse....Desi is in his 20's.....had a broken leg a couple of years ago but made a full recovery thankfully, and is back in full work.

He's PBA....full of character and life...taught me so much. I wish he was 10 years younger so I could have him with me for longer, but he lives a pampered life of riley and is wearing well bless him.

DSC_0446-1.jpg


DSC_0453.jpg

100_1314-1.jpg
 
Give me an oldie any day! I wouldn't swap my 23 year old for the world. He came to me looking for a quieter life having sustained an neck injury which limited his eventing career (he was competing at intermediate). He's the perfect all-terrain vehicle, is bright and lively, has manners to burn, has taken me to medium level dressage and given me a thoroughly enjoyable 10 years. Once his days are finally over I will have to give up because I don't think I will ever be able to replace him.

declan-hickstead2004.jpg
 
I am extremely lucky to have William who is 25 and who was 17h2 but whose back now about 16hh!. He has had a varied life, from National Hunt racing (came 3rd in the Aintree Foxhunters) to being mum's MFH horse, to my pleasure hack (eventful to say the least!) to nannying the youngsters. He rules the roost, likes his routine rather than yours, still gets you with teeth every time you touch his rug although can no longer do more with his hind legs than wave threateningly. He refuses to enter his stable until he has walked past it, checked our everyone else and then turned round and then he'll go in, he snoozes all day in summer and his best mate is my 36" shetland whom he stands over when it rains. He had surgery about 2 years ago for a hock wound and really went down hill afterwards but after 6 months of tlc he was back to 100%. He is retired now as he started to find it difficult to walk down the steep hills here and went down on his knees twice so I retired him. A happy boy with so much class and character, a real once in a lifetime horse. And he'll still try to come over the stable door if he hears the hounds nearby!
will3.jpg

will2.jpg

will1.jpg
 
Wow all of those oldies look fab! I got my horse last year and he is now 16. I thought that he was in the oldie category but am now hoping we have plenty of years of fun together. Will never sell him x
 
Anglebones- than you so much. Its been hard work to make him look fab but he's worth his weight in gold and though he eats us out of house and home doesn't powe us a penny
laugh.gif
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top