How are your oldies? - Old pics make me feel sad

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Kezzabell2

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Found some pics of my mare when I got her 13yrs ago, she looks so different now

this was her after a few weeks, at the grand age of 16



3 yrs ago at 26 - still in work



and now today, at 29, retired with bad cushings! she looks so old now :( but at least she is health other than the cushings!


Hope everyone else's oldies are doing okay with the heat, she is spending 90% of her time in the barn!
 
I don't have an older horse myself, but just wanted to say that I think your mare looks great! She looks very happy in all of the pics and is a credit to how well you have cared for her over the years.

Thanks for sharing the pics and would be lovely to see everyone else's veterans! My boy is eight now but he has a home for life with me, so I hope to still be taking photos of him when he's 29.
 
Tash88 said:
I don't have an older horse myself, but just wanted to say that I think your mare looks great! She looks very happy in all of the pics and is a credit to how well you have cared for her over the years.

Thanks for sharing the pics and would be lovely to see everyone else's veterans! My boy is eight now but he has a home for life with me, so I hope to still be taking photos of him when he's 29.
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Bless you, thank you! who ever gets put off buying an old should look at my girl! Shes never been like an old girl, she would still be ridden if I had a small enough rider! I've always been at the maximum weight that she could carry so now that she's older and unfit I wouldn't want to ride her! but hopefully my light weight friend will hop on and walk out around the village with us soon! The bay in the pic is my 4yr old and hope that I will still be taking pics of him at the grand age of 29 too :)

Its nice to see how everyones oldies are getting on as we all tend to write about our ridden horses :)
 
I have 2 older horses T/B aged 26 and Anglo aged 20 as well as a 8 year old and an 11 year old.
The oldies are fine all the horses are spending loads of time in the pole barn not just the older ones they are all happy to escape the heat and the flies young and old alike are happy spending the day out of the sun and flies so I put hay in there and they are happy .
The vet came to do routine jabs last week and couldn't believe how well they all looked .
The 26 year old has a little arthritis but as he can potter about as he pleases he doesn't need any bute though is retired now .The anglo at 20 is still ridden and as game as the younger ones for a gallop on the hills he has no health issues at all.
They all have a home for life and the oldies will only leave me when they are pts.;
The vet thinks they both have many years yet.
 
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Our two 25 year olds sharing a piece of cow parsley. The black one is retired with arthritis but the other is still fit and in regular work.
 
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Aww OP she was lovely 13 years ago and she's still lovely now! Looks very happy and healthy, don't be sad looking at the photos, be proud because you're doing such a great job. :)
 
We've had Cosmo for around 22 years (nobody really remembers!) and he was a baby when we had him. He's not in the best shape as he hasn't worked in years and likely has Cushings (not tested but vet says likely) but we love him very much. He was meant to grow to be much bigger and I outgrew him very soon after he was backed... we did sell him then but he was so naughty they gave him back! He's the only one we've ever sold and only because he was so young and had a whole career ahead of him... or so we thought. He has also been to two loan homes, both of which failed to do anything with him because of his supposedly difficult character.

He is cheeky but he is very kind and friendly. Hope he has many years left in him. :)

This is him after I gave him a bath and he went straight for a roll... teehee!

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HollyWoozle said:
We've had Cosmo for around 22 years (nobody really remembers!) and he was a baby when we had him. He's not in the best shape as he hasn't worked in years and likely has Cushings (not tested but vet says likely) but we love him very much. He was meant to grow to be much bigger and I outgrew him very soon after he was backed... we did sell him then but he was so naughty they gave him back! He's the only one we've ever sold and only because he was so young and had a whole career ahead of him... or so we thought. He has also been to two loan homes, both of which failed to do anything with him because of his supposedly difficult character.

He is cheeky but he is very kind and friendly. Hope he has many years left in him. :)

This is him after I gave him a bath and he went straight for a roll... teehee!

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hahah that is the sort of thing all of mine do to me! little monkeys! bless him being so difficult! I've recently discovered how much work young horses are!! mines costs me lots in lessons at the moment
 
My 34 to looks really elderly this year, well upholstered, fairly sound and happy, but ooold. She has cushings, pyometra, arthritis and 2 winters ago looked about 15 clipped out due to the cushings and well muscled.

Last summer she looked mid 20s but the long wet winter really did for her. She's on another '1last summer' but i reckon this one really will be it.

It's sad but i bought a veteran at 15 almost 20 years ago and we've had so much fun. Only thing im gutted about is im pregnant and if i let her go b4 winter gets hard she won't see the baby. Selfish to keep her for that really.
 
NellRosk said:
Aww OP she was lovely 13 years ago and she's still lovely now! Looks very happy and healthy, don't be sad looking at the photos, be proud because you're doing such a great job. :)
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Yes, this completely!

I have a 14yo Tb who won't make old bones, probably won't even be put through the winter tbh so when I see pictures of happy healthy oldies like yours I just feel devastated for him that he won't still be with us then even if by some miracle he gets to a stage where I think he will comfortably get through the winter and be a pasture pet. Sorry to hijack, we've only recently come to this realisation, still trying to come to terms. Of course the aging process is always poignant, it happens so slowly and yet in the blink of an eye. Be proud though coz your oldie, and all the oldies on this thread, looks lovely and I am sure you've got many happy days left together xx
 
This thread makes me sad, I love all your oldies but mine isn't so good. I got him at 19 as a happy hack, he is now 24. I loaned him out to one of my best friends 18 months ago when I got too pregnant to ride, but he is coming home tomorrow as his going down hill quite quickly. The vet thinks I should just bute him up for the summer but I'm not sure that is in his best interests. He hasn't been lying down as much and struggling to get up so I think it's time as I would hate it if one day he couldn't get up and he had an undignified end, he doesn't deserve that. I know the time has come, I just do. So he is going to have a few days at home and then next week I shall make the decision. I didn't have him as long as you guys have had yours but has been the most special person in the world, I owe him everything and he owes nobody anything.
 
skint1 said:
Yes, this completely!

I have a 14yo Tb who won't make old bones, probably won't even be put through the winter tbh so when I see pictures of happy healthy oldies like yours I just feel devastated for him that he won't still be with us then even if by some miracle he gets to a stage where I think he will comfortably get through the winter and be a pasture pet. Sorry to hijack, we've only recently come to this realisation, still trying to come to terms. Of course the aging process is always poignant, it happens so slowly and yet in the blink of an eye. Be proud though coz your oldie, and all the oldies on this thread, looks lovely and I am sure you've got many happy days left together xx
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Oh skint1, that makes me really sad, you poor TB :( I hope he comes good and makes it another few years for you! have you tried having him living out 24/7 to see if that helps?
my mare was stabled 20hrs a day when I got her, after one winter in, I could see it just stressed her out, so she's lived out for the last 12yrs, with lots of good rugs, up until 2 yrs ago she never had a field shelter, but that has been a god send the last 2 wet winters! and she is sooo much happier and healthier having lived out! don't think she'd had made it this far had she been stabled at night!
 
BWa said:
This thread makes me sad, I love all your oldies but mine isn't so good. I got him at 19 as a happy hack, he is now 24. I loaned him out to one of my best friends 18 months ago when I got too pregnant to ride, but he is coming home tomorrow as his going down hill quite quickly. The vet thinks I should just bute him up for the summer but I'm not sure that is in his best interests. He hasn't been lying down as much and struggling to get up so I think it's time as I would hate it if one day he couldn't get up and he had an undignified end, he doesn't deserve that. I know the time has come, I just do. So he is going to have a few days at home and then next week I shall make the decision. I didn't have him as long as you guys have had yours but has been the most special person in the world, I owe him everything and he owes nobody anything.
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Oh BWa, I'm sorry to hear about your boy too! :( Hopefully once he is back home he might pick up a bit! does he have any shelter where he's been? maybe the heat isn't helping? mine are honestly in the barn every time I go to the yard, the pop out for a bit whilst I'm clearing the field of muck but soon make their way back for shade!!
 
Thanks Kezzebell, he is lord of the shelter! I have just read my previous post back and it looks like this decision is based on his ability to lie down but there are other health issues too, his hind legs are puffy, his quarters are wasting and on Monday his gums were very pale so I think his liver/circulatory system is starting to give up, he just isn't comfortable in himself and I don't want him to suffer.
 
Kezzabell2 said:
Oh skint1, that makes me really sad, you poor TB :( I hope he comes good and makes it another few years for you! have you tried having him living out 24/7 to see if that helps?
my mare was stabled 20hrs a day when I got her, after one winter in, I could see it just stressed her out, so she's lived out for the last 12yrs, with lots of good rugs, up until 2 yrs ago she never had a field shelter, but that has been a god send the last 2 wet winters! and she is sooo much happier and healthier having lived out! don't think she'd had made it this far had she been stabled at night!
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He lives out in 24/7 between April-November, he's only ever been stabled at night in winter but I'd certainly consider it. I could move him to the farm where my mare lives, if he is comfortable as a pet I'd give him as many years as he could have but right now he needs bute just to be comfy out in the field and from what I can gather the vets don't feel further intervention will help. I think I might make a thread about it, I don't understand what's happening to him and why I can't seem to save him . It's his hock joints, they're so stiff, despite medication, supplements etc, if anything they seem worse. Sorry to hijack the thread guys!
 
This is my oldie. He is 20, an ID cross. I nearly lost him last year to laminitis, and to be honest it has aged him a lot. We still go out for light hacks though, he is lovely to ride. He's on turmeric for arthritis in his hocks, it's helped a lot.
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Here's mine (the bay). She's 21 and despite some arthritis and a back injury that retired her she's still fairly feisty! She's aged, dipped back and a little stiff but when stabled can put away more hay than my two 6 year olds and can still be suitably batty. She taught me to ride after a long break and I've had her since she was 6 and despite the battiness is a proper lady - my two young ones could def learn a thing or two from her!

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Here's my old boy who is 37 years old. He had a very hard winter this past winter as we spent most of it enduring -30c temps and the snow and ice arriving in November and not really leaving until May was tough on all of the horses, but especially the old ones. I wasn't sure if this might be his last winter but nope, he's perked up and looking terrific once again. He still rides out, is totally sound and game for anything. I'm very fond of this old boy

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I have quite a few older horses living on my farm, most in their late 20s-early 30s who are still ticking along happily.
 
FrostyFeet said:
Spring Feather-your boy is gorgeous and looks nothing like 37!
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He was backed at 2 years old, competed and worked cattle for most of his life. He's a grand old boy and so many people in the area know him and can't believe he's still alive :) Actually I can't believe he's still alive either lol!

Your girl looks very nice too, as do the others on this thread. So nice to see older horses still ticking over and loving life.
 
Depends on what you call old this pony is 20 and still runs jumps and has a ball the grey one is the old girl the black one is the lethal one
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My old girl at 26 (we bought her when she was 23/24)
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A fuzzy 30 year old, still hacking out daily and just starting to learn half pass!
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And the last photos I have of my gorgeous girl, flirting with my new boy, just before she was put to sleep. A little frail and having rapidly lost weight at the grand age of 39.
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Miss my little girl but so happy I had an oldie! I hope I'm sharing photos of my bonkers black pony when he is 40...I'll be looking a lot older than he will with the stress of keeping him that long!
 
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Aww I love seeing all your well loved oldies!

When I bought my gelding, he came from unknown history (we think a polish import) and he was aged as being between 12-15. I had him 9 years so we aged him roughly at worst 24 - 25. We sadly lost him through a case of colic, the head vet wanted to speak with us the next morning to inform us he aged him as being more 35 +! I felt a tad gulity as I was still hacking him out to get some weight off and control his EMS. However he loved his hacks out and his speed walks around the countryside! Im not 100% how to post photos so I cant share his black beautyness with you!

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My old boy is approx 24-26 vet isnt really sure, had him since February and he is the love of my life. He was neglected and we have slowly brought him back to health and he is now even being ridden lightly. He loves his little job

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My 25 year old welsh B is doing ok. She has a lot more flecks of white in her coat this year but not around her eyes or face yet.

She has cushings which we've managed well so far, however I believe she lot another tooth recently as she suddenly started struggling to eat enough grass to keep her weight up. She lost a fair bit of weight so she now has a big trug of soup each day to supplement her grass intake. Must admit that I'm fairly worried about how she will cope with Winter. I think hay will be off the menu but my vet is coming next month so I'm going to try and get a plan in place for managing her through the Winter.

She is still sound although her knees and hocks are beginning to get a little stiffer these days and she needs a bit of Danilon on very cold/wet days. She is mostly retired but my youngest daughter rides occasionally.

She is my first veteran and I struggle sometimes knowing that each day that passes is another day closer to her leaving us. Just absolutely love her with all my heart.
 
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