Retiring Horse

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Lissie2

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Just curious: at what age did you retire your horse and what were your reasons/signs? My Arab is 26 this year, has Cushings and mild arthritis. He’s just gotten over an impaction colic and is under weight now due to this. He was only lightly ridden anyway. Seriously thinking about retiring him x
 
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Archie retired in May 2020 at the (passported, vet and dentist suspect he's older) age of 24. He'd only really hacked and done fun rides with very limited jumping for 10 years before that due to foot problems and they got to him in the end. We stopped riding during the first lockdown - not putting pressure on the NHS and all that and when we tried to start again he just couldn't cope. He's now naked, hairy, muddy and fat and has turned from Victor Meldrew into a giant cuddle monster. It's like he was put on this earth to be retired and he's finally found his niche.

Monty retired in April 2021 at the age of 25 when he damaged a suspensory ligament. He was still hacking, doing riding club dressage and the odd small jump at this point. The vet said there was no reason why we couldn't bring him back into work after a year off but we didn't think it was fair to do that to a 26yr old. Having said that, he doesn't seem to thrive on retirement like Archie does so we might see if a short walk hack once or twice a week perks him up a bit if he's still sound (he's been totally sound since September) come the spring.
 
My old lad was still going strong at 24 when a field accident meant I had to have him PTS. He was still competing on the county circuit.
B is probably heading for full retirement now at 19. He is not right behind and I'm currently in 2 minds as to what to do. Vet states he's field sound but that isn't enough for me, but vet seems to think that is enough as he's only currently in light work (hacking). So we are in a bit of a stale mate going round in circles.
 
I've got a couple who retired in their early 20s, one because she kept injuring herself in the field and we'd both had enough of rehabs, and the other who generally "slowed down" a bit and stopped enjoying her work as much.
both stepped straight into retirement without a backward glance. they live out and i mostly just check they are the right way up and bung them some hay. they're gradually going feral.
 
One thing to bear in mind is that some horses will benefit from a bit of regular light work to make sure they keep using all their muscles and stay in reasonable shape - if yours has arthritis he may be one of these. Could you have a chat with your vet (who presumably knows the horse fairly well) and see what they think? I'm sure they'd think it was a reasonable question. And does your horse still seem to like his work? I think that would be the big question for me - if the horse is enjoying pottering about I'd carry on. If he doesn't seem keen I'd retire and see how it goes. That's what I plan to do with my current one anyway (fingers crossed he stays healthy and happy until he starts to creak a bit)
 
My old boy is 28 and I'm 76. We potter about 2-3 times a week for 30-45 minutes, either in the school or along the lanes and tracks. Usually in walk or a slow trot. We both enjoy it (he's still proud of his ability to teleport sideways at warp-speed, due to seeing a killer spider lurking under a leaf) and I think it's beneficial to both our mental and physical wellbeing.
 
I retired my TB at 21. She made it very clear she didn’t want to be ridden, neither of us was having fun so I just made the decision. Looking back I probably could’ve looked into her behaviour and tried to figure out why she didn’t want ridden but I don’t regret my decision and we were both happier without the stress.
 
Mine retired at 20. Vet 1 said to stop due to arthritis. I asked him about walking her out in hand for variety and he wasn't keen. My more usual vet 2 disagreed, but by then she had stopped being ridden for three months and I absolutely knew it was the right decision for her to have stopped despite what vet 2 said. She was living out with good shelter and company and was really happy. She was to pts when she got colic at 28. She wad also diagnosed with cushings shortly after the arthritis diagnosis and although that was managed it also got hard to keep weight on her as she got older.
 
My two are both retired to injury’s, my mare was retired at 6 she tore her DDFT and had some other complications with it, she is now almost 26!
then my gelding I bred and unfortunately had a field accident as a youngster which meant he could not be ridden so I have never even sat on him and he is 15 this year!
I don’t have much luck!!
 
Lissie2 said:
Just curious: at what age did you retire your horse and what were your reasons/signs? My Arab is 26 this year, has Cushings and mild arthritis. He’s just gotten over an impaction colic and is under weight now due to this. He was only lightly ridden anyway. Seriously thinking about retiring him x
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We retired our 26 yr old cob after a bad colic episode and the associated wieght loss. She lived for another 5 yrs and was pts for something entirely unrelated after an apparently healthy few years. We got her back up to weight but found that she needed more feed tomaintain her weight after having previously been a good doer.
 
My last one was 31 when he died and I never retired him, although obviously he went into much lighter work as he got older. Towards the end I would say we were doing light hacking probably three times a week. I'm sure he was full of arthritis and he was on daily bute for the last year or two of his life but he still really enjoyed going out so we carried on.

I think it's horse dependent and if your horse still enjoys pottering around then it's probably good for his arthritis to do so. If he's not that fussed anymore then I don't see any harm in retiring either. My current one also has arthritis and is a happy hacker. Once he stops being happy on his hacks that will be when he retires.
 
Don't they get mopey when they see the others being 'chosen' though?
One of mine is definitely not up to regular work any more. His hocks won't take it. He is however, much happier if he is ridden from time to time. I am very lucky to have a selection of children who appreciate his enthusiasm and gentle temperament... and don't weigh very much.
 
My one retiree was retired aged 16 due to arthritis in one foot (Rotated pedal bone from laminitis as a younger horse eventually led to v mild arthritis - but she is a TB so apparently it hurt like nothing on earth!). She would love to be ridden again even now, but has accepted that having no weight on her back is best for her foot, so she keeps herself busy nannying the younger members of her herd instead. She could carry a child’s weight with no issue, but is much too sparky even at 23 to do that!
 
My horse was slowing winding down and not enjoying his work like he used to. He was telling me, so he's in retirement at 21, I will take him for a hack in hand 2 x a week.
 
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