Horses/ponies that age well?

ATrueClassAct

ATrueClassAct

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I am just sat next to my old ladies. Ones 26 and the other 22. However they both have aged over the years differently. Both had same environment, routine etc for all their older years. I was just pondering upon the fact that maybd some breeds age better and keep going for longer than others. My Welsh Arab is the 22 year old and she seems half her age where as the other 26 yr old seems about her age but is a pure Welsh C.
Experiences? Opinions?
 
In general there are probably breed-specific variations in longevity and how well they age, but that would be average numbers only.... I know of horses from many different breeds that have lived to a ripe old age.

Arab horses, native ponies etc probably live longer on average than for example TBs and standardbred trotters, but it could be down to use/exposure to injury.

I have heard that there is a link between size and longevity, in both horse and dog breeds
 
I was told in horses and in dog the AVERAGE ratio of heart to body size is bigger the smaller the animal and therefore they tend to live longer. I.e. Shetlands have a comparitively large heart compared to a shire. But then you throw the TB "large heart gene" into the mix and it all gets confusing!
 
My boy is a Highland x TB. It remains to be seen if he follows the Highland (longer lived) side of his family or the TB side (probably not so longer lived). Hopefully the Highland side. He is no different in his behaviour from when he was 10 yrs of age, he is now 20 yrs of age. He has a few grey hairs on his forehead and is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy ahead of me and my intentions!

Jane
 
I think (very broadly) speaking, ponies age better than horses. When we were younger, a friend of mine was still taking part in a monthly jumping league on her pony, then 30. He did remarkably well, and his decline was sudden and fast.

There's a pony where I used to ride still working a couple of times a week in a riding school at the age of 26. She is in good shape, usually only ridden by tiny kids anyway. I suspect a few more of the ponies there are 20+, as are a few of the horses. Actually, the horses are in good nick too, and I suspect it might have something to do with the routine they are kept to. They've been kept the same way for years, fed the basics, turned out when possible, and the majority seem to thrive on it.
 
This was my friends welsh x arab at 36!! She was still a handful and we would take her out on little potters in hand where she would drag you around and spook at the most ridiculous things. She was put down this April aged 37 and is very much missed :-(

photo-22.jpg
 
Is your older mare grumpier than the other one? I think attitude comes into aging a lot.

Just like in people - the grumpy ones seem to age a lot quicker than the cheerful ones. My mother and MIL are the perfect example. Both around the same age, both have had fairly hard lives (MIL was a housewife raising 7 kids, Mum had 3 kids but worked nights for 30 years) but my mum looks at least 10 years younger than the MIL. The MIL acts old - she complains and grumbles about everything but my Mum acts young, still goes to yoga classes and likes meeting new people. So I think think outlook on life has a lot to do with the aging process.
 
My pony was retired when he was 33 :) I still up to cantering on small hacks up to the day they retired him. Not sure what age he died.
There was a pony at my friends yard, who was 40-something! He died last year, or the year before though :(
 
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