Should a horse of 15 be classed as veteran?

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As the title says, with horses living longer and being fit to compete much later into their lives, do you think the age at which a horse is classified as a "veteran" should be raised?
Charlotte White
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I don't think wether it is called a veteran or not matters very much, what matters more is if it is classified as a veteren for a particular competition then it should be in a class with similarly aged horses. So if 15 is a veteren then I think it shouldn't be competing (eg) against 25 - 30 year old horses as it isn't much of a level playing field. Some places round here for showing have pre-veteren classes for those 15 - 19 and veteren classes for those aged 20 plus which I think is a good idea.
 
It is a very good question and having a horse who is 16 and may do the occasional veteran class this year, it is something else for us to do, so that is my selfish view! He is a racehorse who would have been broken young and raced as a two year old so has more mileage than a horse who wasn't broken until 4 or 5.

From a more balanced point of view, excepting the racehorse aspect where they will have more mileage at an earlier age, given that horses are doing Badminton etc at 17/18/19 then my answer would be perhaps it is.

Having years ago shown a horse in veteran classes from when he was about 17 through to his last show at 24, in mixed age group classes I think it must have been difficult for the judge and sometimes I would feel embarassed at beating a nice older horse but on occcasion would have been miffed at being beaten by a horse which perhaps was getting the prize for still being going at that age rather than anything else.
 
i think it should be raised. so many horses are healthier longer and looking great. My horse will be 17 this year and has only just recently developed a wither - think i started noticing it at 15 so maybe that's where it comes from for the more flat backed horse(s)? I did a local show on my old mare when she was 33. She was the oldest in the class and we came 5th (think there were 10+ in the class) mainly as the judge was shocked at her age. She wouldn't work consistently in an outline (hadn't for the first 25 years of her life so me asking her to start at 27 wasn't going to work ;)) but she had lovely paces. Horse that won was working correctly but only 18 ;):p
 
Yes I think 20

I had a pony once who was 15 and the judge didin't believe me, I knew him ALL his life so knew how old he was, but maybe I should have took it as a compliment, I was very miffed, he was cremello and it'd taken me ages to get him all sparkly, never showed him again after that
 
I agree it should be raised. When I was younger it was fair enough, you just didn't see as many older horses around but now with better food, supplements, and just generally better knowledge and care horses careers are lasting so much longer. 15 is nothing these days. I have friends still competing horses well into their 20's and they're showing no signs of slowing up.
 
I struggle to believe that in 3 years my gelding will be considered a pre-veteran! I do think it should be raised by a few years, many people will happily turn away from a horse because of it's age and having the VHS society 'confirm' that 15 is 'getting old' just puts people off further.
 
I think the age should be raised or there should be age categories for showing.

We go to watch the veteran champs at Olympia every year and I always think it's unfair that a relatively middle aged 15 yo pony is competing against a 25+ yo horse. The in hand winner this year was 15 and IMHO didn't look as good as the older horses for it's age. I was pretty disappointed with the judging to be honest but then we always are when our favourite doesn't win. :D

ETA the oldest horse in the comp, who looked fantastic was twice the age of the winner.
 
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I bet the insurance companies don't agree! Most of them class anything over 15as veteran and reduce vets' fees cover and colic cover unless you are prepared to pay extra premiums.
 
I don't think it should be raised. You see lots of older ponies about, particularly little lead reins etc. But the same cannot be said for horses that have had a more active life.
 
Tammytoo said:
I bet the insurance companies don't agree! Most of them class anything over 15as veteran and reduce vets' fees cover and colic cover unless you are prepared to pay extra premiums.
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VERY good point - if they are going to change classification the insurance companies need to buy into it !
 
depends if you are talking showing etc classes of for insurance purposes! There will be more wear and tear issues if not illness once they hit a certain age which I am sure the insurance companies would like to account for!
 
I think one is pretty lucky if one has a healthy and sound horse which is over 15 and is able to compete and travel long distances because at that age most of them will start to go downhill I am afraid. Being able to regularly ride a horse beyond the age of 15 is excellent but being able to regularly compete a horse over 15 is a serious result. I think those who keep their horses going beyond 15 are brilliant.
 
Yes it should be raised, I have seen so many horses in their twenties (and even late twenties) still jumping etc... and not looking or acting their age at all! However I have also seen some horses in their early twenties and they DO seem old, so I personally would class a horse a veteran aged 20
 
OWLIE185 said:
I think one is pretty lucky if one has a healthy and sound horse which is over 15 and is able to compete and travel long distances because at that age most of them will start to go downhill I am afraid. Being able to regularly ride a horse beyond the age of 15 is excellent but being able to regularly compete a horse over 15 is a serious result. I think those who keep their horses going beyond 15 are brilliant.
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:eek::eek::eek::eek: :confused: There are grade A showjumpers who are over the age of 15, I believe John Whitaker's Welham was 17 when competing in the OLYMPICS

If a horse has no injuries or ailments associated with 'old age' they can carry on competing well passed 15 - as the entrants in the Veteran Championships at Olympia show every year.

ETA Welham was 15 at the 1996 Olympics...but still proves my point.
 
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For showing, 15 is too young to be a veteran. I think 15 to 19 inc should be 'mature', then 20 plus as veteran. Also, ponies do much better than horses in their teens, particularly lead rein ponies.
I showed Markie as a verteran all last season, he was placed every time and the only ones that beat him were 15 year olds! As a cob, he is extemely good for his age, one weekend last year he did a hunt ride on the Saturday, XC on the Sunday then the following weekend went showing (got into champs too!). In that veteran class, they combined it to inhand as well, how is a judge meant to do that fairly?
However, Markie shares a field with a warmblood the same age as him. The warmblood is really showing his age, he is an ex grade A SJ and would have worked very hard as a youngster. If he were to go in the show ring he should be against horses who have had similar lives, imho
 
It's 18 in EGB. The top 6 in the veteran trophy in 2011 were all competing in distances of between 80km and 160km, and were aged between 18 and 22yo.

Horses are only just reaching their prime at 15.
 
OWLIE185 said:
I think one is pretty lucky if one has a healthy and sound horse which is over 15 and is able to compete and travel long distances because at that age most of them will start to go downhill I am afraid. Being able to regularly ride a horse beyond the age of 15 is excellent but being able to regularly compete a horse over 15 is a serious result. I think those who keep their horses going beyond 15 are brilliant.
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:confused: I would consider myself most unlucky if I had to retire my horse from ridden work at 15 years of age.
 
nikicb said:
Thanks for raising the question. I think it should be higher. With the cut off at 15 years, my mare, who at 35 is still in light work, has been a veteran longer than a non veteran and I know she's certainly not unique!
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^ This

'Retired' my boy last Feb aged 36.

Did local showing veteran classes and felt really discouraged when competing with 15 year old 'veterans'. Some shows don't split the class as per the VHS qualifiers.

Some of the judges comments were 'he's a bit stiff in his movement'. Really :rolleyes: I wonder why that is
 
OWLIE185 said:
I think one is pretty lucky if one has a healthy and sound horse which is over 15 and is able to compete and travel long distances because at that age most of them will start to go downhill I am afraid. Being able to regularly ride a horse beyond the age of 15 is excellent but being able to regularly compete a horse over 15 is a serious result. I think those who keep their horses going beyond 15 are brilliant.
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What rubbish! I have one currently 31 years old, who competed regularly (affiliated dressage) well into her 20s!

15 is no age these days!
 
i entered a veteran show as it said from 15 years upwards and although we made the best show and were told this by the judge the judge also said they she was putting the 25 year old lead rein scruffy mucky pony in first as it was a proper veteran. if you are allowed to be in a class you should be judged equallity to the others in the class. if we didnt class as a veteran they should have raised the age limit.
 
I thought that pre-vet was 15-19?
I personally think it should be kept as a separate class to the veterans.

I also thought that vet classes were supposed to be judged on the condition of the animal based on its age? ie: a 24yo in better condition for its age than a 19yo or a 30yo.
 
My mare is 15 this year and she's very active. We still do lots of fun rides and regualry hacks for 3/4 hours at the weekend, she's showing no signs of slowing down yet :)

So yes I think that 15 is too young to be considered veteran, especially in ponies.
 
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