What is a 'normal' age to lose a horse?

ycbm

ycbm

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I see a lot of posts which suggest that people expect their horses to live into their late twenties or thirties. My experience over more than forty years has been that most horses are dead long before this for one reason or another.

Can we do a poll? I'll keep count because the poll feature on the forum isn't up to the job.

So, if you can spare the time, can you list the age of all the horses you've known when they died, and whose age you are sure about when they died, and we'll count up what's actually 'normal.

Please don't include small ponies, which often live a lot longer than horses, or foals. Or horses in jump racing, where the death rate is far higher than any other horse activity and will skew the figures. Please only include horses you knew personally, whether owned by you or not.

I think this is important, so that people who lose their horses earlier don't feel they have failed in some way.

So I'll start.

1. 20
2. 4
3. 10
4. 8
5. 11
6. 26
7. 7
8. 8
9. 16
10. 13
11. 7
12. 5


So the average age of death of all the horses I have known die has been 13ish. I've had the impression for some years now that the average across the country is about 15.

Thanks for your help.
 
1 horse at 15 (field injury)
1 horse at 17 (arthritis and Neuro problems)
1 horse at 12 (accident out riding - horse spooked, fell into a ditch, never came right and not the type of horse to be a happy hack or retired)
1 horse at 8 (crap conformation and fetlocks dropped completely and legs were shot)
1 horse at 18 (owners financial problems)
1 horse at 32 (old age!)
 
Good poll. Presumably this includes ones put down for various reasons such as my first horse broke his leg in the field.

1. 15
2. 14
 
My TB was 15yo when he died due to complete freak field accident. My fell was 17yo due to colic.

I've known a fewretired racehorses to leave this yard and die within a year - mostly due to colic. Most aged 6-8yo, one was 13yo.

The bosses old boy was 28yo when he died due to old age. Again pure TB racehorse.
 
dixie said:
Good poll. Presumably this includes ones put down for various reasons such as my first horse broke his leg in the field.

1. 15
2. 14
Click to expand...


Yes, please include all reasons. I might try and do an injury/illness split some time later.
 
1. 13 (dropped dead on a hack)
2. 9 (laminitis)
3. 8 (pts neuro/behavioural)
4. 10 (twisted gut before the days of surgery)
5. 17 (pts tendon/severe lameness)
6. 25 (pts age related heart condition)
7. 6 (pts field injury)
8. 22 (pts arthritis)
Making the average to be 13.75

Eta reasons - I know lots of others but not sure of their ages
 
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19. Idxtb - arthritis ( had done a lot of hunting and team chasing
21. Arab x TB - freak field accident
4. WB - had problems with tummy from 9months old . Colic
 
This makes me sad :( . My mare is now 17 and being 16.3hh I am hoping and praying she carries on for a good few years yet. I feel like I am on borrowed time with her.
 
I missed my 'dropped dead on a hack'.


6.


This is really interesting folks, keep them coming.

It looks like it might cluster, too, if we get a big enough sample. Any statisticians want to help with the analysis?
 
1Cob 15hh Age 20 (catastrophic field injury)
2 Welsh A 12.2 17 (laminitis)
3 Clydesdale 16.3Vet said in her 30's (old age)
4 Welsh DxTB 24 15.2 (suspected stroke)
5 Appaloosa 33 15.3 (old age)
6 Shire 6 17.2 (suspected cushings syndrome/founder)
7 Clyde 11 17.2 (suspected burst tumour)
8 IDx 11 16.3 (cellulitis)
9 Coloured cob 31 14.3 (old age)
10 Westphalian Kalt Blud 23 16hh (cushings tumour)
11 Appaloosa 22 15.3 (cushings tumour)

Average age 21 (all our own horses)


What did the ones on your list die of ycbm?
 
All these were PTS

Mine....
27 old age.liver failure
6. Grass sickness
26. Old age, unsteady on legs
28. Old age, general decline
18. Navicular, both fronts
18. Arthritis, both hinds

Other people’s....
23.probably cancer
22.old age, stumbling
12. Internal infection
19. Field accident
20. Old age
21. Possibly womb cancer
4 grass sickness

I know 3 others all over 15 and one approximately 8
 
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I genuinely have to think quite hard of horses/large ponies I have known not make their early twenties. So I would certainly 'expect' anything I owned to make that.
Our two are 25 and 19 ATM
 
I’ve only owned one I’ve lost
21 - PTS advancing cushings /QoL

Others I’ve known of closely/well
6 - PTS post op colic complications
3 - PTS limb growth deformity
9 - ruptured artery, found dead
20 - PTS aging/finance
22 - PTS aging
28 - PTS aging
22 - PTS aging
11? - PTS foaling complications
25 - PTS aging
18? - PTS accident/broken leg
8 - PTS behaviour
11 - PTS post op lameness complications
6 - PTS gastric/autoimmune condition
17 - PTS colic
9 - PTS arthritis
16 - PTS cancer
9 - PTS broken leg

And lots of others I’ve vaguely known PTS for various old age reasons and generally in the 20-25 bracket. The ones I’ve seen put down a bit older I personally wouldn’t have kept going that long
 
nikicb said:
1. 35 - my mare, old age.

(Still going at the moment - 1 small pony 26, 1 middle sized pony 25). x
Click to expand...

I should add that my mare was 3/4 TB 15.2.


In terms of clusters, I tend to think that there must be a spike around 6/7/8 years when work is stepping up and the ability for the horse to cope is tested. Once they get past 10 and are sound, apart from freak accidents or unexpected things like colic, there shouldn't be any reason really for them not to go well into their 20s and beyond. Purely my gut feeling, not based on any scientific data. It will be interesting to see your results. x
 
1. Aged 10, PTS eventing, broken leg. 17 hands.
2. Aged 27. Old age. 14h pony.
3. Aged 23, old age related. 14.1 pony
4. Aged 31, Old age, TB.
5. Aged 20, Cushins related. 15h, eventer/happy hack
6. Aged 16, companion pony, no illness, just didn't want her to be on her own.
7. Two ponies, together, aged around 30, old age.
8. Aged 14, temperment issues, 14h
9. Aged 21, liver failure, 14.2h PC pony
10. Aged 6, Navicular. 17h dressage horse
11. Aged 19, Colic, dressage/SJ horse
12. Aged 20, Field injury, dressage horse
13. Aged 10, complications following fetlock injury, dressage horse.
14. Aged 15, lameness, TB.
 
1, 14,2 gypsy cob 26, weight loss / lethargy & decided not to try investigating at her age
2. 15hh Welsh cross 7, abcess in abdomen
3. 15.2 gypsy cob 27, arthritis
 
Arab 20 - retired after field accident, pts with cancer
TB - 23 broke leg in field
Welsh A 26 - pts
Welsh C - 28
Arab - 26 pts
Arab - 24 pts
Welsh A - probably over 30
 
I have had 3 pts, one was 28 he had cancer, one was 33, she got down to roll and couldn’t get back up and the 3rd was 17 and was pts due to being dangerous. I have a 30yo and a 27yo at the moment who are still going strong.
 
1st loan pony, 14 hh Welsh cob cross: aged 35, fell asleep in the field and never woke up

2nd horse, 15hh no records breeding likely tb cross: aged 18, impaction colic

3rd loan pony, 13hh welsh cross: aged 38, went to sleep in the field and didn't wake back up

4th horse, Welsh D x Cob: aged 4, catastrophic tendon injury :(

To add, 9 horses at my yard are 20+. The youngest is 20, oldest about 28. The other two younger ones are 6 and 14.

My mare now is only 4 and I hope to have her for a very long time :)
 
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I’ve only ever owned ponies but mine lived to 27 and 29. The first one had an awful life before i got him (in his late teens) the second was kept in the lap of luxury since she was a baby so I don’t think there’s any link there either.
 
This is rather an eye opener for me as have only ever lost 3, all age related
Pony aged 34
Anglo Arab 29
Part bred Arab 31
 
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