Is this old

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horseluver4eva

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Is 14 year old old for a horse. Also what is the average lifespan of a horse, i thought it was 30 or something but i read in the paper that they rarely live beyond their 20's is this right?
 
Depends a lot on breeding, confirmation and what it has done.

Some horses have had a hard life and 14 is getting on a bit.

I have a 21 year old who is going strong and a 36 year old I was still riding in the summer.
 
Depends on the horse, but no, 14 is not old. There are 18/19 year olds competing at Badminton each year and RC horses competing well into their 20s, 30s and beyond :)
 
Of course it's not old, I think last year an 18 year old horse came 2nd at Badminton, forgot his name!

Life span of a horse varies, i saw in the paper today a horse that was 51! I used to have a Connie x who lived to 33, and an Arab who lived to 45!
 
To be honest, I would say that you can not say for certain, some will go on forever and others wont even make it to 20 (I have had 2 which didn't). 14 could be old if it has been hamered hard throughout life, or not if it has barely done anything. I knew a 36 year old horse that was still out to dressage with its 3rd generation of a family:eek:. It is such a subjective area and depends on the individual horse! :D

Why do you ask???
 
Twenty years ago it was, but nowadays its middleaged. Agree with the comments that it depends on the type and what the horse has done..

My mare is going to be 14 this year and doesn't feel any different to when I got her as a six year old! For a pony particularly it is a good age.
 
it was just curiosity really and i had seen in the paper that most horses dont live older than 20 i have just got my horse i dont want to lose him yet
 
iamSanta said:
Of course it's not old, I think last year an 18 year old horse came 2nd at Badminton, forgot his name!
Click to expand...

Lenamore had 2 top 6 places at 4* last year at 18 :D

Here is my boy at 19

tamwellies.jpg


Please excuse the photoshopped wellies - I couldn't find the original :o :o
 
It's only insurance companies that see any horse over 15 as old - and they just use it as an excuse to pump up premiums!!

I knew a pony who was still working in a riding school at the age of 33! She thought she was 3! She was an absolute nutter!:D
 
iamSanta said:
Of course it's not old, I think last year an 18 year old horse came 2nd at Badminton, forgot his name!

Life span of a horse varies, i saw in the paper today a horse that was 51! I used to have a Connie x who lived to 33, and an Arab who lived to 45!
Click to expand...

Lenamore. He's trying for the Olympics too! Hes 19 now i think, and only 15.2hh ( ? )

Depends what you want to do with it and also what its done before and breed etc...
Ponies live until late 20's/ early 30's.
 
My pony is 21, and I have had him since he was rising 5. He has been n work ever since and thrives on it. He is out on loan to a lovely kid, who is having a great time with him. However, acouple of loan homes ago, disaster struck, as the people who had him were told by their vet that he was an old pony and they would have to be really careful about how much they did with him because of his joints. He was 14. As a result, they didn't do much with him, and he got laminitus. He has never had it before or since (in spite of living out on 15 acres) May I add I would happily have torn said vet limb from limb? She was trying to persuade me to have him put down, as he would neverbe up to much again. He has since pony race and jumped sj and xc with several more children/adults! Older horses rock,I have an ageing population, but you wouldn't know it to look at them!
 
my horse is 14 years old,i bought him a year ago..i bought him to do a bit of riding club jumping ,hunting and dressage..its great to have an older horse as they are settled and well used to going about to shows and in generel they behave well....i did however look into his past before i bought him, to see how much work he had done and i also got a 5 star vetting done on him to be sure he would last me a few years.....luckily my fella hadnt done alot before i got him, and i am hoping he will still be about in a few years for my daughters to ride...
 
I am starting to think that I might be sensible when I buy my next horse. If I do that, I will be considering horses up to the age of eighteen with the expectation of riding him/her until his/her early twenties and for them to live a happy retirement (with me) until their late twenties or more. Ponies live even longer. So fourteen isn't old unless the horse has had a hard life and/or health issues.
 
It's not old, but my boy hit 15 and it was like he got older overnight. Never lame before or sick, he suddenly got mud fever, damaged s tendon and now at the grand old age of 17 has arthritis. It's so individual. As said horses work hard well into 20's and some don't. Barring accidents or illness most seem to be making it into their 20's but not always working.
 
Blobby, my favourite horse at the stables died at 14, he had heart problems which made him seem a lot older than he was. We have another who's 22 and only just stopped working, but my loan pony was 36 (I think) when he retired and lived a while after that!
 
Noo, 14 isn't old at all, horses that have been well cared for go on forever these days! I know of horses in their 30's who are still chasing round the fields and having the odd ride to keep them happy. It does depend a bit on the breed & what kind of thing it has done in the past - for example, a horse which has been used for hacking probably isn't going to age as quickly as a horse who's had a busy eventing life.
We have a 20 year old who we've had since he was 4, he's not showing ANY signs of slowing down at all & has no grey hairs yet ;) We have a section a who is late 20's/early 30's and is the most energetic pony i've ever come across, showing no signs of stiffness or aches, happily bombs round the field on a daily basis and causes chaos everywhere he goes - he's been mistaken for a youngster before! Our youngest is 16, he had quite a hard going life before he came to us so his joints have suffered a bit, but we give him supplements for it and they've worked wonders for him and hes not showing the stiffness he used to.
 
aww thats good, its nice to hear other peoples personal experiences about things like this. He is only used for light hacking really so i hope he lasts a long time
 
Not old at all - in fact he would be a spring chicken compared with my three. I have a 19 year old (top left in my sig), 20 year old (grey in my sig) and 35 year old (right in my sig). All the pictures were taken in the last year or so. The 35 year old still does gentle work once a week. The 20 year old does lead rein pony club but could do a lot more if he wasn't so naughty off the lead. The 19 year old does pony club stuff etc.

I think the thing is to keep them active if their health permits. Just like humans, if they don't do anything to keep them stimulated, they will begin to shut down.

Where did you read this? And a photo of your chap would be lovely if you have one. Have fun. :)
 
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