Giving an older horse time off

NiamhB

NiamhB

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My mare is turning 15 in January and has had a great season in dressage ! before this she was mainly a hunting horse for the first part of her life , i got her aged 10 and did a bit of everything , now we mainly compete dressage and she is all the better and stronger having made the transition to pure dressage.
We currently compete at prelim and i would love to compete her another season at least providing she still feels happy in her work.

However i am currently in collage and so i give her form September - January off, normally this is fine and im all for giving horses time off, especially after a busy season.

but given her older age is there any downsides to this ? Some people have mentioned that older horses can become stiff when out of work and do not come back as well is there any truth to this ?? She is a laid-back mare so time off always normally does her good

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated
 
I have a 15 year old and he definitely didn't come back as strong as he used to. I find he loses a lot of muscle and fitness, and I'm almost starting from scratch to bring him back into work. I find it a struggle to get his dressage muscles back, especially the power back in his hind end. All horses are different though, so yours could be fine!
 
Sadly, the inability to regain full fitness as easily as you once did is one of the many downsides of ageing....happens in humans as well as horses! Wait until you're in your 60's and then you will empathise! We all age at different rates so you need to be observant of the little tell-tale signs of your horse.
 
Any things in particular could look out for ? i could probably do some work on weekends maybe some light hacking so she don't lose her fitness entirely ?
 
you can spot if she is losing topline easily enough i'd say. If prelim dressage is your main thing you should be fine. I found it a struggle to get my lad eventing fit again after a long break. And unless you need to get her quickly back into moves where she is really pushing from behind then you might be ok! You can probably see how her muscles will be affected over the break. My lad never got stuff, just weaker and unfit, and it gets harder each year to get him back in condition, so now I just give him mini breaks throughout the year. But he was doing a lot of eventing, so for prelim dressage you could get away with it, and she could love the break!
 
Could you maybe try just giving her a holiday from schooling? My 16 year old is never going to be able to return to his former level of competition after having had to have a couple of months off as he's fallen apart without the work to keep his muscles correct.

I have been incredibly unlucky and not all horses would have such a bad reaction but there is a risk with giving older horses time off.
 
NiamhB said:
Any things in particular could look out for ? i could probably do some work on weekends maybe some light hacking so she don't lose her fitness entirely ?
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even if you can do that you might keep her ticking along better. I do long and low sessions hacking in walk with my lad on weekends when he is on breaks, just to stop him losing muscle.
 
Mine is 20 and doesn't get holidays as such. Just easier weeks and the odd week off if work/weather get in the way.

At 16 he tweaked a tendon and had 3 months off. I then walked him for 16 weeks to get him fit again. Think that was the best think I could have done.

He's off the RC Champs again this year for the 9th year in a row!
 
Well yours definitely isn't old. But it was interesting that when mine had 6 months off/rehab at 19 he actually came back schooling wise etc seemingly much better for it which was something I didn't really expect at that age.
However since then no, he didn't really ever have a holiday partly for weight management reasons, partly for muscle reasons as I do think that his then excellent muscle tone kept his arthritic bits better and he seemed fine with that too.
 
Interesting thread - I gave my older boy a holiday while I had a baby, he was 15/16 and had nearly a year of me not riding him but did have someone riding him initially, probably had a clear 6 months field rest. He came back better than ever in terms of his attitude and how he feels, however he doesn't look as fit as he used to. He doesn't get quite as much work as he used to, granted, but at 17 he just doesn't build/hold his topline like a young horse.
 
My now 26yo mare had 10 months off aged 20 due to lameness, then 8 months off aged 22. Both times came back as good as she was. She loves being ridden and is very fast and keen and not ready for retirement! She is still in full work, looks amazing. She wasn't stiff before her injuries and she's not stiff now. Obviously it varies horse to horse, but I don't consider 15 old, so I wouldn't worry about it too much!
 
my oldie who is now 20 keeps on getting herself put on sick leave, with long periods of no work... each time she has come back better than the last and I haven't had a problem building her topline back up. But she has been very fit for most of her life, I think it comes back easier for horses that have been really well conditioned in the past... and she's had a really structured programme of good work to bring her back into work which helps, I'm sure.
I also wouldn't consider 15 old these days.
 
Thanks for all the responses! We just placed 3rd in the riding club national dressage championships in our grade today so shes earned a least a short holiday !

I think i will try and keep her in some light work over the winter as i would hate her to completely lose all the muscle shes gained over this season.

But all the stories of horses happily working into their 20s has given me a new perspective on horse age!!

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Mine had a year off at 15 to have a foal then hurt herself just at weaning so had another 6 months off with box rest and hand walking.

She's 25 now and has had a couple of small breaks (4-5 months off) since her baby. She's going on a hunt ride tomorrow. God help me because she's stronger than she's ever been and I have no idea how I'll hold her.
 
15 isn't old these days but I believe it's better to keep an older horse ticking over than give him a complete rest from work so I'd probably try to hack him at the weekend and give him a lunge in the week if you have access to a suitable surface.
 
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