What do you think is an old horse

8+ = not a youngster
16+ =Id call a mature horse
20+= I'd call a veteran
25+= an older horse " he's an older gent"
30+ = an old horse
 
16! Good grief. I'd expect something to start feeling the effects of life about 20, I wouldn't deem them old till at least 25! I always find the cut off for veterans a bit amusing, mine was much better at 16-20 than he was at 12 when I bought him
 
I think some views of what's old haven't quite caught up with how much better horses are doing into later years. I'm guilty of thinking an older horse is 15+ But that doesn't mean to say they can't continue to be healthy and active until much older than that. Depends whether you equate old with bad health I suppose.
 
For large horses 16 would be getting on a bit, 20 would be old and 25 would be total retirement for most. 30 would be a miracle for most :D You could add 5 years to those ages for a pony.

Mine is 22 and he's in good nick but I treat him much more carefully than I would have 10 years ago.

If I were buying personally for what I'd want to do I doubt that I'd look at anything much over 10years old. They may be fab at 16 but the likelihood is age will soon catch up with them.
 
I'd agree re buying, I got 11 years with mine not missing a beat but it still doesn't seem long enough, we were just cracking left half pass having got the right sorted ;)
 
ester said:
I'd agree re buying, I got 11 years with mine not missing a beat but it still doesn't seem long enough, we were just cracking left half pass having got the right sorted ;)
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It wasn't regarding buying it was just that she's got a 6yo. And asked me what age mine was I said eleven and she said that was old.
 
depends on the horse, some 18 year olds have had a hard life and appear old. my mare made it to 31 and if it wasn't for the cushings, I think she'd have happily gone on for many more years! cushings really messed up her immune system, poor old thing.
 
I got my JA pony when she was 18. She was still showjumping and winning pretty much every class she went in until she was 26, beating horses 20 years younger than her. The key to our success was that I never treated her as if she were old. She was kept as fit as my friends young horses, on the weekends we weren't competing, she did farm rides of up to 10 miles jumping everything. As a 26 year old, she did a 13 mile ride and was the only horse not sweating and still jogging sidewards at the end.
She did her last showjumping comp as a 27 year old, and won.

Sadly a week or so later I found her having a fit. Concerned for hers and my safety, I decided it was best not to ride her anymore. The life just left her once she stopped working and she went downhill rapidly. We never saw her have another fit. Within weeks I had had to put her to sleep.
 
scats said:
I got my JA pony when she was 18. She was still showjumping and winning pretty much every class she went in until she was 26, beating horses 20 years younger than her. The key to our success was that I never treated her as if she were old. She was kept as fit as my friends young horses, on the weekends we weren't competing, she did farm rides of up to 10 miles jumping everything. As a 26 year old, she did a 13 mile ride and was the only horse not sweating and still jogging sidewards at the end.
She did her last showjumping comp as a 27 year old, and won.

Sadly a week or so later I found her having a fit. Concerned for hers and my safety, I decided it was best not to ride her anymore. The life just left her once she stopped working and she went downhill rapidly. We never saw her have another fit. Within weeks I had had to put her to sleep.
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I am so sorry, Scats. At least she has a long and happy life she enjoyed.
 
In traditional horseman's lore anything over 11 is "aged". An old horse....depends on the horse: I've ridden many a sprightly 20+ year old, and seen 14 year olds that were crippled with arthritis, etc. Most of mine work well into their late teens-early 20's, but I would describe anything over 15 as old.
 
I think that because of the age that some horses are getting to these days, people are getting an unrealistic view of what age their own horse is likely to live to. At worst, this is making some people keep their horses going after they should have been let go. The truth is that most horses die of something or are put down before they reach 25, and only a very small proportion are in work at 25.
 
cobsarefab said:
It wasn't regarding buying it was just that she's got a 6yo. And asked me what age mine was I said eleven and she said that was old.
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I was replying to sussexbythesea.

ycbm I think I am swayed by being very used to ponies, which are a slightly different beast in age terms.
 
ester said:
ycbm I think I am swayed by being very used to ponies, which are a slightly different beast in age terms.
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Very, very. I expect my ponies to outlive me. I'll be very surprised if I don't get to decide the fate of my big boys. Thirty is common and forty not that surprising for a pony. Closer to what nature intended in body size, I think?
 
For me, I'd expect most horses to start finding it a little harder to hold their weight and needing a bit more care from around 20 onwards. This is also when I'd expect age-related conditions to start showing up, so I would call 20 plus 'old'.

A lot of this is based on my own experience though, so I think that explains why views differ so widely. My little pony gelding is at least 24 now, and whilst he still has a great quality of life at the moment, he seems to need a bit more care with every year that goes by. Keeping him looking like this takes a lot of time and effort these days, whereas a few years ago, his management needs were far less time and money intensive.

7727E39A-901A-43EC-B6B1-C3EBADA665BD.jpg
 
cobsarefab said:
After being told by so many different people different opinions on this I'd like to hear some of your opinions for me it's 16yrs+
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Who cares? He's your horse, you love him & he does what you want of him. I have 3 horses, the eldest being 19 years. He's incredibly fit, he showjumps BS & is normally placed in 1.00m - 1.05m classes. Over the last few years we've dropped the heights of his classes ti look after him. He competes BD at Novice & again either wins or is placed. He hacks out alone or in company, he is a marvellous horse, he's our horse & no one believes his age when they are told. Age is just a number!
 
I am still waiting for the day that we have to work a bit to hold his weight. I thought we might have hit it but it seems that was more just the level of work he was in given how he was this spring. I was very pleased to see ribs in the latest update pic from mum! :D He does need a bit more care though, mostly the application of suncream, mum loves having him home!

It always surprised me how surprised people were with what he was doing at 22/23 but I suspect that was because they were more used to horse timelines. He does look a bit older for doing less work and losing his topline a bit.
 
Toby_Zaphod said:
Who cares? He's your horse, you love him & he does what you want of him. I have 3 horses, the eldest being 19 years. He's incredibly fit, he showjumps BS & is normally placed in 1.00m - 1.05m classes. Over the last few years we've dropped the heights of his classes ti look after him. He competes BD at Novice & again either wins or is placed. He hacks out alone or in company, he is a marvellous horse, he's our horse & no one believes his age when they are told. Age is just a number!
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Well she doesn't act her age and she's technically a pony. She'll work for as long as she wants to and she loves our ground work now and enjoys being lunged.
 
I have : 25, 21, 2 x 20, 16, 9 and 6.

The 25 yrs old is looking a bit grey around her face, but still likes a gallop around the field and a hack out. At 23 she came back into full work and competed at the RC Champs coming 2nd! She'd been a happy hacker for the previous 8 yrs.

One of the 20yr old is still in full work doing everything I ask of him. No one believes his age. He wasn't broken until 5yrs old and is steady low mileage.

In March we lost a 31yr old. He was hacking until 2 weeks before.

It's how you look after them, and a bit of luck.

I don't consider any of them 'old' just a little less young.
 
I used to think a horse 20's was but then I still have my little pony who is 41yrs. I know that she is a bit of an exception to the rule and well into her retirement but she is still rode on occasions when friends children come around. She is vey well known in the area as was passed through most horsey families locally over the years before finishing with me.
 
My girls are 16 and 21, which I'm immensely proud of as I never thought either of them would see old age, they had so many veterinary issues when they were younger. The older one was days from being PTS 10 years ago. Since they have entered their "mature" years the only time they have seen a vet is for their vaccinations; I know things could change very quickly, but I'm just happy to have two oldies to my credit when I least expected it!
 
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