What determines how long a horse will live?

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Stormhillpilgrim

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Hi guys,
I was just sitting here having a think about horse ages and obviously then started to wonder what age my boy would live to?
It comes to all of us I know but, what do you think determines how long a horse will live?
Breeding?
Lifestyle?
Size?
Would just be interested in your opinions and maybe I can then roughly work out when he will go to.
Thanks
 
Pretty much the same as determines how long a human will live. In human terms you can have a whole generation of one family live well into their nineties, the next generation can start to snuff it in their early seventies and the generation following can start to die off in their early twenties - or at least that's how our family has gone on both my side and my husband's side. Our grandparents were very long-lived, our parents went surprisingly shortly after them and my generation suffered deaths from natural rather than accidental causes in their early twenties :(

ie, it's how long is a piece of string. It's probable that your horse's age at death will be somewhere between 15 and 25.
 
Stormhillpilgrim said:
Hi guys,
I was just sitting here having a think about horse ages and obviously then started to wonder what age my boy would live to?
It comes to all of us I know but, what do you think determines how long a horse will live?
Breeding?
Lifestyle?
Size?
Would just be interested in your opinions and maybe I can then roughly work out when he will go to.
Thanks
Click to expand...

Yes, all of those. When 30 years ago a horse or pony in its mid-teens was old. Most were lucky to live to see their twenties. A 30 year old was almost a freak. I think good dentistry, worming and lighter work has made a big difference (I always laugh about some peoples' idea of what hard work for a horse is!). Breeding and size are related I suppose. Hence a Shetland will generally outlive a 17hh horse by many years. A TB is old at 20,even it never raced whereas pony's still have plenty of miles left in them at the same age. I read somewhere that back in the days of working heavy horses, many didn't make it much above 7 years old because their legs went, particularly during the Victorian obsession with bigger and bigger shires etc. Later I read somewhere else, that the bone density of a shire is identical to that of a shetland but look at the weight difference so that makes good sense. Lastly, veterinary medicines have made a huge difference. I can remember when Pracend first came on the market. At one time ponies didn't live long enough to get Cushings! Now it is considered pretty common.
 
Hi Jemima*askins & fatpiggy,
Yeah things have changed a bit! I remember when I was still at a riding school and never really knew how old the ponies were and to be honest, didn't really ever think about it.
I had my first pony when i was 11 and she was 6, sold her 7 years later as couldn't afford to keep her anymore. I then didn't ride for 4 years and was offered an ex-steeplechaser on full loan. He was nearly 14 and I remember thinking, blimey that's a bit old, will I have him long lol! I had him till he was 22 and he was quite a large chap at 16'3hh but, as most ex-racers he hadn't had the easiest start to life so did well really.
I now have a 17'2hh Oldenburg, who has had a pretty darn cushty life from dot 1, he's never been pushed too hard, always well looked after and pampered (he's a complete diva lol). He's just turned 12 but, I would expect him to outlive my last boy because of the more relaxed lifestyle.
X
 
The problem is that you can't control luck or bad luck in terms of freak accidents. My old girl went on to 35. I would love more than anything for Cam to do that (he's currently 6), and he is well cared for and I try to look out for his safety as much as I can. But you never know what's round the corner so I just try to make the most of every day while he is happy and healthy.
 
Steady work with the horse correctly prepared, schooling to keep the muscles working correctly, regular worming, dental work and keeping the right weight is a good start. Feeding good quality forage. It helps if the hooves are given a rest from shoes once a year.

Some of it is avoiding things that might harm, like avoiding musty hay or ragwort in the field and having a good farrier who keeps the feet correctly balanced.

Some breeds live longer than others, and some horses die early no matter how much care is taken. It is now much more common for horses to work into their late teens and 20s. I can remember the uproar when Mark Philips rode a 14 year old round Badminton, he was virtually accused of crueltly - that is quite normal now.
 
In Kazakhstan they believe that it's down to the cannon bone, some of you may be familiar with this little adage'-

"if the cannon is strong his life will be long,
if the cannon is shunted his life will be stunted'

i'm not even sure exactly what it means but they swear by it.
 
Really don't know but we had an part bred arab who was almost 35 when she died and was fit and healthy and still ridden until she was 30, my welsh d x mare was poorly from about the age of 16 and was eventually PTS at 21. I also know of a sect a pony who is in her late 30's and is still happy and healthy. It's the luck of the draw I guess just like us humans.
 
I feel that attitude towards lions is very important too! :D

<sorry, sensible answers have already been given, just bumping as this thread is interesting>
 
Read your post ,and thought absolutely spot on. Then checked the poster and was not surprised , merely pleased to hear from you again.Where have you been hiding JG!
 
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Mike007 said:
Read your post ,and thought absolutely spot on. Then checked the poster and was not surprised , merely pleased to hear from you again.Where have you been hiding JG!
Click to expand...

Just busy coping with the bad luck part, Mike.

To illuminate my points rather better. I have lost 3 horses this year - which is very bad for me! Two were foals - one died at 36 hours - congenital problems, and the other at a month old - actual cause (other than that his kidneys were shot to hell) not really known. And then there was my 22 year old stallion, who went down VERY fast with an acute colic that didn't respond to the first round of treatment - and his heart gave up while I was waiting for the vet to come back to PTS.

But before Christmas, I will HAVE to PTS at least two mares - and possibly another 2. They are all over 20 - but their problems go back to early neglect of teeth. Their teeth were BAD when I got them (at between 8 and 10) and although they have been done regularly since, the early neglect means back molars are loose, front incisors abnormally worn, etc etc - and keeping condition on them is pretty near impossible.
 
"My generalisations are - the thicker the legs the longer they live, the taller they are the shorter they live. "

That is pretty spot on! If anyone knows the work of Dr. Deb Bennett, from the USA, she says that ponies are "over engineered" by nature which is why they remain sound and healthy, compared to horses. Anything above 15.2 is designed by man, not nature. In general it is down to life long care, but there are always nasty things lurking around to get them, just like people.
 
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