"How long do horses live?"

[abbijay]

This question is the bane of my life!
When i get talking to people who are not horsey I am truly grateful to those who take an interest in my hobby and my pet but this question crops up more than I care to think about. To put it in context i refer to my 17 yo horse as "my retired old boy" and the follow up question "so how long do horses live for" seems almost inevitable but I dislike that the question feels almost "and when will your beloved pet die?"
So does anyone know, on average what the life expectancy is for a horse born in the UK?
I know there have been some that have lived a long time but that doesn't interest me, I want averages, means and medians! I'd even be interested in the mode! C'mon someone smart on here must have something more than anecdotal on this.
Extra bonus points for anyone who can add credence to my oft-used reply "well big horses are like big dogs, they don't tend to live so long".

 

[PapaverFollis]

I've always just thought 21 was about the average but that might have gone up a bit. But it's not the best question as so many horses don't seem to die of actual old age.

I've spoken to two different owners of two ponies recently who made mid-forties.

 

[holeymoley]

I always reply with it depends on the animal, how long is a bit of string. Ponies tend to live longer than horses in my experience, horses I’d say 20’s and ponies easily in to their 30’s. Underlying conditions will all have a part to play though.

sorry probably the vaguest answer you could get!

 

[ownedbyaconnie]

Not long enough

 

[IngramsRoughDiamond]

21 is no age. Pretty much every horse I've known in my 30 years both keeping and working on yards have lived long past 21. My gelding is 29 and on the yard of 20 the youngest of them is 10 and the eldest is 34.

 

[Auslander]

I don't think it's possible to have anything but anecdotes really. A similar question could be "How long do people live"!
The only two on my yard that I think of as "old" are 25+ and nearly 30.

 

[criso]

The ones I've known where age just catches up with them seems to be early 30's. However many more are pts before that because of lameness or other issues that can't be managed even retired.

 

[Celtic Fringe]

I'd also guess 20s for horses and 30+ for ponies, not withstanding serious injury or illness.

A bit off topic but a while back I took my elderly rabbit to the vet who declared that he hadn't ever met a 10 year old rabbit before. He looked incredulous when I said that I'd had older bunnies so I guess many animals are living longer due to better care (and in the case of my rabbits being kept as pets rather than potential lunch)

 

[paddi22]

my first horse lived till 33.

 

[ihatework]

I generally reply that it’s a bit like humans, some die at birth and some live to 100. For ponies 40 is ancient, less for horses.

 

[scruffyponies]

Very few horses die of old age.

 

[ycbm]

I think this is two different questions.

What is the average age of death of a horse from any reason

and

What is the average age of death from old age of a horse.

I think the answer to the first question is about 15. I did a survey on the forum a long time ago and it confirmed that sort of age. Personally, I've lost ones at 15, 10, 10, 9, 8, and 4 in the last 40 years.

The answer to the second is around 25/6/7, with expected lifetime being shorter, in general, the bigger the horse.
.

 

[Shilasdair]

It varies.
Nice horses never live long enough.

And the utter bastards seem to live for eternity.

 

[Jeni the dragon]

We've only really lost 2 of our own. First was 7 and second was 31. Both ponies, and if anything I would have expected the native to live longest and the tb type not so long.

 

[Silver Clouds]

It is an interesting question- OP why don't you start a thread with a poll asking one of the two questions posed by YCBM: either 'at what age did your previous horse(s) die' (which people could enter several votes to cover as many horses as relevant), or 'how old was your oldest horse when they died/how old was your oldest horse to die from an old-age related issue?' You could do two separate threads and cover both questions, which would probably uncover vastly different answers.

I expect as others have said the average age at death would be surprisingly low due to all the younger horses PTS as a result of injury or illness, but the second question format would probably produce a figure around 30yrs.

I don't know how to set up a thread with a poll, but I'm sure someone else will know

 

[Cortez]

I believe there was a study of mustangs that found the average lifespan was 12 - 15 in the wild/feral sate. Domesticated pet animals tend to live a great deal beyond their natural lifespan. From my own experience I'd say early 20's is average for domesticated pet horses, less for working animals.

 

[Marigold4]

I think if a horse or pony gets past seventeen, then it has a good chance of living to a fine old age, but what if you take into account all the racehorses, for example, that are pts from injury or lack of talent, dressage youngstock that aren't quite right, random field accidents, colic, dangerous temperaments, surely the average must be much much lower. According to Race Horse Death Watch there have been over 2000 horse deaths in the last 5000 days related to actual races - god knows how many if you include training and colic. And they all die young, so must have a big effect on average?

So 17 IS pretty old?

 

[Marigold4]

I have just worked out an average for all the horses I've owned over 30 years and it is 17!

 

[ycbm]

https://forums.horseandhound.co.uk/threads/what-is-a-normal-age-to-lose-a-horse.758643/

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

I think if a horse or pony gets past seventeen, then it has a good chance of living to a fine old age, but what if you take into account all the racehorses, for example, that are pts from injury or lack of talent, dressage youngstock that aren't quite right, random field accidents, colic, dangerous temperaments, surely the average must be much much lower. According to Race Horse Death Watch there have been over 2000 horse deaths in the last 5000 days related to actual races - god knows how many if you include training and colic. And they all die young, so must have a big effect on average?

So 17 IS pretty old?

Racehorse Death Watch doesn't always get it right. I have told them to remove 2 horses off of their site in the last 10 years because yes the horses were injured at the racecourse but they were not dead. We took them home, patched them up and found them new homes.

Saying 2000 horses in 5000 days sounds more impressive and horrific. But if you break it down it's 153 horses a year out of 12,000 horses in training per year. A very small fraction.

 

[Buster2020]

Growing up I seen big horses live in there 30s . There was a 17.3 horse in a riding school that I used go to he was 40 years old . He died coming up to his 41 birthday .

 

[awelshandawarmblood]

I always have 30 set in my head for both horses & ponies - but the bottom line is not long enough!

 

[Marigold4]

They definitely CAN live to be 30, but is the question slightly different? What is the average age of all horses? Sure, if you have lightly hacked ponies, they live to a ripe old age, but do competition horses?

 

[hobo]

Another question how many of you have had a horse die ie not put down? Mine have all been put down 2 x 5 years , 3 x mid twenties.

 

[Batgirl]

I tend to say late twenties like getting to 90. Most people asking this question mean 'old age' like asking how long does a dog or cat live (dogs 13 yrs, cats 15 yrs) . In m experience they aren't interested in the nuances of injury, breeding etc.

 

[LadyGascoyne]

And old horse to me is 25+.

Ancient is 30s.

That doesn’t mean I expect my horses to make 25+ but then I don’t consider myself to have died as old horses. Naturally, prey animals don’t tend to make old age.

 

[PSD]

I had hoped my girl would be with me into her late twenties however she crossed the rainbow bridge and the age of 11 which is no age.

I think (from experience) most horses can live until their late 20s but obviously there are those with health issues that don’t make it that far. My yardowners first pony lived until he was 42, he was pts 2 years ago after age got the better of him and he just wasn’t comfortable anymore. He had the biggest teeth I’ve ever seen ? was only around 11.2, never looked a day over 20 either.

 

[ycbm]

Another question how many of you have had a horse die ie not put down? Mine have all been put down 2 x 5 years , 3 x mid twenties.

I had a horse just short of his sixth birthday drop dead on a hack. I've seen one old horse, one eight year old and one unknown age die out hunting. Someone else I hunted with found her two year old dead with a broken neck. A friend lost a foal at 7 weeks to an infected fly bite.
.

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

Only the good die young, as the saying goes, which is why Shitlands live for-effing-ever..!!!!!! ????????

 

[SpotsandBays]

Ahh this topic scares me. My first pony is now approx 30. The past couple of years she’s really started showing her age so I know we’re not that far away... (although her behaviour and attitude says otherwise!)
I do hope that she just passes away naturally but I feel like that’s unheard of nowadays.