Those of you with older horses

Vikki89

Vikki89

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At what age did/will your horse start slowing down and then retire?
I know every horses is different, thats why im asking for your experiences.
One of mine is 17 and still loves his jumping, were going out competing (local shows) occasionally over the summer and someone at a show last week asked how old he was the other day and said he looks more like seven :)
His previous owner thinks he will hate retirement when the day comes as he loves his jumping so much.
 
Mine was hacking, jumping and showing when he was 17.
He's 25 now and pretty much retired, apart from the occasional 10 minutes in the school or a quiet amble round the block. But he was still lunging, schooling and going to shows long past 20. Yours still has lots of miles left, I expect! :)
 
Yan at 30, last year :)

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Yan at 21, so as you can see she has slowed down a bit...

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We have not been out this year, mainly because the lorry has been off the road. I don't think we will be jumping again, but may well pop out to a couple of show classes, and maybe do a clear round if she wants to :)

I really think that it all depends on the individual horse. They will soon let you know when they need to have a slightly easier life :)
 
Hi there Vikki89,

17 is YOUNG, you will have many years more fun yet!

I tried to retire my elderly chap when he was 21 but he was so miserable I brought him back into work as a hack until he was 24 - when he was getting a bit stiff.

He is now 29 and happily enjoying his retirement, so I would agree they let you know when they are ready to retire - when I first tried my lad wasnt ready but a few years later and he was happy to retire and is still enjoying being a lovely pampered field ornament.

Every horse is different - you will know when your horse wants to slow it down.

Gem
 
My beloved Woody was hacking up to 30 and it really kept him interested, supple and moving. He died at 33 following a tendon injury he did pratting about in the field with the others!. He was still showing and enjoying himself well into his late 20s and attended the local meet at 30, where it took 2 big strong men to help me hold him and he was all for hunting for the day!! Big Kev is 22 now and, whilst no longer doing much in the school, he is fit, well and hacking 4 times a week.
Keep 'em moving......
 
Kelly's 16 now and hasn't changed a bit in the 5 years I've had her - the only reason I am starting to limit what I do is due to the rotation in her feet, however we have had good news and we may still be able to jump :) we are aiming for a championship qualifier veteran in hand class in october!
YO's ID mare who I'm jumping is 18 and although her joints get a bit clicky she said she's going as good as ever :)
 
My old pony was happily winning 70-75cm pony club team stuff when he was 20! He sometimes was a bit stiff, and we had to be really careful about not overdoing it, but we also did a couple of 80-85cm teams (also not quite so successfully! had a few stops, so decided he couldn't really manage that anymore). He's now being loaned to a little girl, he's 21 this summer, and still loves his jumping! Thankfully she can't jump very high, so works out well in the end!
 
My friends pony is 35 and still acts like a loony, she is a 14.2hh arabxwelsh. Not ridden now except occasionally by grand children
 
The grey in my siggy was 35 last month - we still hack and he still insists on jogging along. :) He also likes a canter but we keep it shorter now, more for my peace of mind than his. :D

I retired him from competing in his twenties but only because I had my bay mare (also in siggy) coming along behind to compete instead.
 
there's a mare at my place who's 30 this yr. she's been taking it easy since the winter, jst hacking once or twice a week now. she's quite stiff in her legs and is on bute, but the gentle exercise keeps her supple, although tbh, her mum reckons she'd wouldnt care if she wasnt ridden, she's quite happy just mooching about the field eating all day!. my boy is 14 and i hope and pray he will go on to be in his 30's and still ridden. i only bought him last yr and he'll be here to stay for the rest of his days. i do wish he was younger as now i've found him i want him forever! however, i figure that by the time he is 30, i will be 50 and be ready to slow down myself!!! although i suppose you could say he is in semi-retirement now. his past life he was competed, jumped, pony clubbed etc etc. now, he's a hack with once in a blue moon tiny jumps and the odd show. and he is ever so ever so spoilt!
 
I lost my boy Charlie at the age of 22 this June he was going very strong until last winter were he developed arthritis in his hocks. Up until this point he was still jumping, showing, hacking out and acting like a 4 yearold. He eventually had to be pts due to cancer of the gut. Vet said if he had not had this he would have been able to have had steroid injections in his hocks and could have carried on being ridden, but he was too ill to be able to do anything.:(

Anyway in my experience the horse tells you when he wants to slow down, I think its best to keep them as active as possible, my only regret is I didnt put Charlie on joint supplements earlier but at the end of the day this wouldnt have changed much.
 
shhhhh... just don't tell him how old he is.... (well thats my theory anyway :D) frank is 17 now, he doesn't know and I dont plan on reminding him ;) :)

The only diff I have made for his age is making sure his flatwork is as good as it can be as I think it is more important for him to work his muscles properly. Apart from that life as normal, can't wait to hunt him again this year :)
 
My mare is 20, I am just bringing her back into work for hunting after a year or so off due to my circumstances. She feels fine, touch wood..
 
My TB is 18 and I retired him a month ago, he has arthiritus in his hocks, we tried the steroid injections but they didn't work for him. He is crippled in all four legs now he always struggles in the winter so I'm not holding out much hope for him this year.
I'm making sure he has the best summer ever, in case I have to make that decision for him this year.

He is by far my favourite and it will break my heart to lose him.
 
33. And he didn't slow down, he just got injured (arguing with the newbie). He's still batting around the field 2 years later, and pulled my arms out at a recent show.
 
Crispin was retired after a field accident from which he never really recovered. (accident at 21 and retired at 25) He was still doing dressage at 21 but after the accident he never came back to competition. He became increasingly manic to ride and was not only a danger to himself but a danger to other road users.

Ricky told me he had had enough when he was about 23.I stopped eventing him at 19 as he was pecking on landing quite frequently (old problems coming back to haunt him) plus he had a really nasty virus and i had had a bad accident. I continued to hack him out but he stumbled frequently and was reluctant to walk on the road. We would be trundling along and i would suddenly realise we werent on the road anymore! We were on the verge. Then he became difficult to catch. He would gallop away to the other end of the field. This was a horse who loved work and loved people so I listened to him. He just didnt want to fo it anymore. He was not a lazy horse but I really believe he was telling me it hurt to be ridden.

Should add he was written off with LOU at 6! So he did well really!:)

I dont think there are any fixed rules tbh. If they still enjoy working then carry on. If at any point you think you or the horse is at risk or not enjoying it then stop.
 
My old man was retired at 26 (he's 28 now) one of his back legs started giving way and he bucked as we went into canter on his last hack, so i decided that was it. He is now happily a companion to my other horses, one of which is 18, you wouldnt know his age but bearing in mind his age i do watch what i do with him, i dont push him as much as i would if he was younger
 
Mine is 18, and much the same as when I bought her 9 years ago, haven't even begun to think about slowing down yet!
I do make certain allowances for her age, I was supposed to be doing a xc pairs with a friend a couple of weeks ago but as the ground was like concrete I pulled out.
I also like to keep her quite fit as at her age I think it helps, also she used to have a bit of a holiday for a few months during the year but now I don't do that as I think I risk injuring her by letting her down and bringing her back into work - so now her work level stays consistent through the year, we may have a few quite weeks where we leave any schooling out and just hack.
 
My 24 year old looks stiff in the field, but as soon as I'm on her she pulls my arms out their sockets!! (not appreciated by my whiplash!!) she does feel the weather/ground though and I am v careful about such things with her.

My old boy, who passed away due to colic at 23, well, he jumped double clears every class for the last 2 seasons, but once again we were careful about the ground, he had supplements, and natural balance shoes - he had, had a v hard life before he came to me though :)

I think each are individuals and need to be treated as such. Just keep listening to them and you'll know when they are wanting/needing to slow down. :)
 
Sunny's 24 with only one eye + RAO from Summer Pasture disease. Hacked out gently 2 or 3 times a week. Will happily do a walk and trot dressage test. Free Range privileges at the yard and a bugger for going up and down the barn aisle whipping the covers off other horses' dinners and eating them. He's even broken into the YO's feed room and ripped her feed sacks open. He can squeeze through any barrier (hedge, fence, ditch, you name it) to get to better grass the other side, usually taking the entire herd with him. Still does his "I'm A Dangerous Stallion" bit (arches his neck, tries to look sexy) when he meets a new foxy mare, old reprobate! Tried to get my new rescued shetland mare's phone number today - poor lass had only been unloaded from the trailer about an hour! Every horse is different and I think a lot depends on the work levels/experiences the horse has had in his youth. Conformation comes into it too. Sunny is quite short backed so even as his muscle tone has dropped his shorter "wheelbase" has meant he has coped with all sorts of riders (ex riding school) without too much damage. He's definitely slowed down a bit but a million miles from retirement yet!
 
Unless there is something physically wrong, or the horse has had a hard life/ bad conformation, i don't consider a horse as reaching an age where i would seriously think about retirement until about 20. I think for most horses, 17 is still young, although it obviously depends on each individual horse. They will let you know when they are ready to retire. I ride a 26 year old who thinks she is still 6, is sound and full of life and loves going out on hacks (and not ploddy ones either). I think for many horses, retirement before they are ready can speed aging up. Gentle exercise is good for them, same as humans.

Obviously, some horses will need to be retired much earlier, but i think you will know when it's time.
 
ive just brought a 14 year old who was sold as she was bored in a riding school doing 5 hours a week. i now do 6 hours a week schooling or hacking her and then compete twice a week when i get chance. she loves it and if i want her ears to stay forward and her not to stress at me (she is one stroppy mare) then i have to work her untill she says shes had enough fun, which can be a while.she was a BE british eventer (prenovice with a bit of novice) when she was around 8 to 10. and now ive been jumping her at 1.15 and she loves it. i cant see her slowing down for a long time even when i tell her she has to.

try and let the horse tell u what it wants but i think untill you get to 20 i wouldnt even bother worrying about it
 
Mine is 31 he feels the ground when its hard/stoney, otherwise he's ok, I don't jump him anymore, he loves jumping, I have popped him over a jump at a fun ride if there's a photographer and ground permitting.

He has slowed down but still enjoyes hacking and going to the beach with my friends horse who is 18, he is smaller but they look alike so we call it the twinnys outing or OAP's on tour !

We were at the beach the other day and a lady who'd brought her daughter down to train for long distance riding, said oh you should think about doing some, we both said, do you realise how old they both are ha ha she was shocked !

I think you know when its time to retire, unfortunately mine doesn't help himself and is at the front encouraging the others to gallop around, then he's lame ! silly boy
 
My old boy is 30 (we think, we are not sure) this year. 2 years ago he clear 5ft 2 happilly in the paddock while we were jumping. I have had to slow him down now as he is more prone to injury and his tendons will not stand up to the amount that he wants to do which is sad but thats old age for you!

Let your horse decide when to slow down.
 
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