What do you do with your veterans?

TJ&Ozzie

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I am interested to know what people are doing with their wonderful old lads and lasses?

I have just completed my first long distance ride with my 22 year old TB. 12 miles and he was still full of going! We only walked it but he jogged a lot of the way(all very exciting!) he barely broke a sweat so I think he is fitter than I thought he was.

What do you guys do to fitten and keep fit your oldies?
 
I just hack my 27yr old, but thats all ive ever been able to do with her because she gets too stressed when with other horses! she likes to tank off and jogs the whole way even if she's in front! i always worried she'd have a heart attack through stressing if i tried to do anything more! its a shame too as she would have been amazing at x-country, if she was the only one there haha! i still love her though!

well done with your ride, would love to be able to do things like that!
 
What are you classing as a veteran?!

Mine is 17 and just had the busiest winter he's had in a long time.. did 8 or 9 days of hunting and loved every minute of it. He's a bit creaky but he's happy and he gives hunting his all (which I can categorically say he wouldn't if it was DR or SJ, and he gets bored out of his mind if he only hacks!). ATM he has his back shoes off and is on holiday but won't be off for longer than 4 weeks, then he's back to work. I am planning to do 3x lunging/long reining sessions per week for 4-6 weeks plus one shortish weekly hack then hopefully some fun rides if the ground is OK (he doesn't get on with hard ground). All being well, he'll do a few days of hunting again next season.. fingers crossed!
 
Only stopped competing cos of injury a few years ago. At 23 we mainly hack & a bit of schooling & jumping at home. Lend her to random teenagers for local stuff sometimes. 7 yr old daughter taking her in some local stuff this year too.
 
My big lad is gonna be 20 this month and I am planning on doing my first affiliated BE at Northallerton on 28th :)

We do anything and everything...Showcross this Fri, Dressage sunday :)
 
I've got 2 veterans, 21 (22 this year) and 17 (18 this year).....my 17yr old only hacks and does the very occasional little bit of local level dressage due to an injury last year.

My 21 yr old and I, we do everything, he's full of life (*touch wood*) you'd think he was a 4yr old! We hack for miles, do quite a bit of schooling and compete at Dressage....he's a Grade B showjumper and we showjumped him competitively until he was 20, then realised he had arthritis so we've spent the past year and a bit getting that under control so he hasn't seen a fence since but may try him over the odd one this year at home if all continues to go well :-)
 
We owned Cheeky from when he was 21 to when he was PTS at 28. In that time, we competed at 2'6-2'9, did PC/ RC activities and he was the best ever jump off horse. He was nutty XC, but in a very safe way :D

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His age was nowt but a number and he lived a full and mad life. I stopped hunting him when he was too naughty to go any more aged 26!!
 
26yo pony is hacked out, and this year will be shown in hand - too loopy to do a ridden show sadly, even if it is amusing for everyone else!

28yo TB no longer ridden really, but as a 24yo did go on a 'fun' ride that was not much fun for me, as spent all the time jogging. He would be a complete PITA to do showing or anything with (as well as having totally buggered legs!)
 
My 17 y/o has recently returned to competing (after a bit of a break last year). He does novice dressage with the sharers and accompanies the youngster to showjumping classes. He goes x-country training, is the companion horse for any novice hacks and loves a good sponsored ride. He is at a perfect weight and fitness level and I still cannot believe how he has managed to come through winter so well ... I'd almost say it was his best winter since he has been with me (7 years)... Touching wood big time!
 
Try to explain to her that she is 21 not 2....espesically like tonight when she comes in from the feild trotting side ways like and idiot and the just turned two year old walked in like a puppy!

she schools and hacks out and does a little bit of jumping. also does 12 mile plus sponseredd rides.

xxx
 
Everything! Rising 20 in May, he is teaching me showjumping and crosscountry and a bit of dressage though it bores both of us. Lots of hacking, the longer and faster the happier he is.
He had a few gentler happy hacking years before I appeared and everyone tells me he is happier and looks better now.
 
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