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

[BBP]

39 - welsh b - perforated ulcer in eye (failure of ulcer to heal possibly caused by undiagnosed Cushings)

30ish - Polish Arab - put to sleep due to arthritis affecting quality of life.

25 Thoroughbred - PTS as melanoma caused neurological issues

(Small pony Mid 20’s Welsh a - acute sudden liver failure)

(My border collie died at 16, got her the same time as the Welsh b above, and lost her 16 years later within a few months of each other)

 

[splashgirl45]

22 year old half tb struggling to get up in field so made decision before he couldnt get up PTS
35 year old cob lameness due to sidebone and ringbone PTS
24 year old half trakhener stifle arthritis PTS
25 year old warmblood cross, advanced cushings on 4 prascend daily and levels still not controlled PTS
these were all mine,
friends horse 29 year old cob tendon sheath injury hind leg causing mobility problems PTS

 

[Cocorules]

26 arab x welsh colic

 

[rara007]

Not sure what you deem a small pony- we've have 4 PTS here, none have just 'died'.

1. 8YO hanno 16.3 (broken coffin bones, was taken on to give it field rest, never came right)
2. 10YO welsh B 13.2- recurrent colic
3. 11YO PBA- 13.1 DJD of fetlocks and coffins
4. 24YO Welsh A 10.3 - no teeth/EMS/ulcers

Our retirees are 21 and 26 and in workers 10, 17, 19, 8, 8, 7, 5

 

[Rowreach]

My average comes out at 15 but that includes two (a very hardy hunter and a broodmare who was breeding into her twenties) who made it to 26, and two who were pts at age 4 (one with a brain tumour and one with advanced navicular disease).

I am a "day too soon" person, and a great believer in quality of life, so potentially some of these horses would have been alive longer with someone else.

 

[timbobs]

1. Aged 15, kissing spines and lameness
2. Aged 27, arthritis/old age

Both were TB’s

 

[Pippity]

Not mine, but ones I've known well:

14 - 15.3hh PRE - headshaking
22 - 15.2hh ISH - colic
22 - 17.1hh Shire X Trakehner - field injury
18 - 15hh Welsh Cob - colic
3 - 15hh ArabX - grass sickness

 

[cornbrodolly]

Interesting thread; these are some of mine and OH s over the years:
1 20 heart problems cob
2 23 arthritis in hock TB
3 1 accident on concrete, damaged neck WB
4 18 infection [broodmare] TBx
5 12 laminitis [ hunting fit ,mid winter ,prob tumour on heart] WB
6 29 arthritic growths on knee after kick 2 decades earlier cob
7 24 heart/lung problems cob
8 23 arthritis/tendon problems in front legs gypsy cob
9 4 red worm damage [ bought her as a very poor 2 yr old ] WB
10 5 fractured leg WB - [bought as a very poor yearling - we dont learn our lesson!]
This makes a low average of 16 years, but from old age probelms as opposed to catastrophic accidents etc its up to 23. And cobs last longer, they must be tougher! So, please someone send me a beautiful new cob , since number 8 my icon] was PTS in October I havent anything to ride.....

 

[Escapade]

My own horse was 15, suspected Marie’s disease and ongoing lameness.

I’m a groom and we had a bad patch a couple of years ago.
4 - colic
9 - broken neck
24 - pts as couldn’t keep field sound
13 - dropped dead

others I knew:
18 - colic
29 - found dead in field
32 - pts age related
9 - pts heart issue
20 - broken leg

 

[StargazerLily]

24 yrs, 15.2hh, Welsh Cob x Welsh Section D Gelding, PTS - heart failure.

17 yrs, 16.1hh, Danish Warmblood Gelding, PTS - colic.

 

[*LAB*]

20 years old - My own TB mare PTS due to ongoing lameness

 

[Chuffy99]

4yo welsh cross colic
6yo Welsh c lame on 2 legs wouldn’t box rest
5yo Welsh b tumour in anus
27 yo arthritic Welsh b
10yo Welsh d cross melanoma caused by untreated sunburn
14yo Welsh a laminitis
7yo Welsh b navicular

 

[poiuytrewq]

38- colic
13- A whole host of little things that made him miserable
8 - Blindness
23- arthritis
22- Breathing issues/Asthma



edited to say these are my own horses. I just noticed you asked for any known. Sadly working in racing i know too many, mostly fractures, all under 8/9 years

 

[McFluff]

From my youth, friends horse 18, ex-racer died in field
Mine, ex-racer, 15, kissing spine (couldn’t keep field sound)

I don’t have the details to be accurate for this, but there is a pattern at a friends yard. All welsh d (pure or crossed) - lost a couple at 4 to grass sickness - rest all go into late 20’s or 30’s.

 

[scats]

17- colic four years after colic surgery
27- liver disease
18- complications from penile cancer so called it a day
13- navicular, kissing spines, arthritis, grass allergy- called it a day

 

[Nudibranch]

1. 26 pts arthritis
2. 13 pts neuro
3. 30 pts probable organ failure (PPID sufferer)
4. 13 pts severe infection
5. 19 pts PPID unmanageable despite Prascend
6. 25 pts laminitis complications
7. 29 found dead in field
8. 4 pts severe colic
9. 15 pts arthritis
10. 9 pts hunt accident
11. 16 pts field injury

 

[oldie48]

28 TB colic probably due to lipoma (15.2)
19 Connie x TB Stress laminitis (14.2)
12 Welsh x TB suspensory ligaments wouldn't stay sound (15.2)

 

[Surreydeb]

1 at 27 - navicular
1 at 25 - recurrent lameness

 

[Archangel]

1. Arab x NF PTS 36 years old age (owned since 4)
2. Arab PTS 29 years liver failure (owned since 3)
3. Arab PTS 30 years old age (owned since 17)

Full sisters and daughters of 2 & 3, bred by me
4. Arab PTS age 14 colic
5. Arab PTS age 24 PPID/IR complications

 

[Buddy'sMum]

30ish - ArabxHighland, colic
3 - TB, broken leg
21 - PBA, colic

Currently have a couple of oldies, 27 and 26 (both PBAs), who were chasing my 2-year old round the field today like a pair of eejits so *fingers crossed* they're going to be with us for a while yet.

 

[AdorableAlice]

28 RID owned from a 3 year old, hunted until he was 22. Old age caught him.
13 RID 18 hands, got through colic surgery but stomach ruptured 8 days later and he died in the hospital. Owned from 6 months.

Those 2 went within 10 days of one another and I do wonder if the stress of losing his mate caused the colic. The big fella was very upset and unsettled when the old boy went.

29 Welsh D, owned from 6 months, showed signs of mini stroke so I let him go before I found him down.

29 Welsh A companion pony, fine at 6pm pts by 8pm severe colic.

 

[silv]

Mine

1- Standarbred 22yrs arthritis
2- TB 18yrs colic
3- Appaloosa 22yrs cushings
4- Sporthorse 13yrs aneurysm

Friends
5 - Standardbred 30 yrs old age
6- TB 30 years old age
7- Appaloosa 13 yrs broken leg in field
8- Clydesdale cross 14 yrs complications with foaling
9- TB 26years old age
10- Warmblood 18yrs colic
11- Cleveland Bay cross 25 old age
12- TB- 7years Grass sickness
13- Sporthorse 10 years fractured pelvis accident
14- Warmblood 10 years degenerative bone disease.

 

[JoannaC]

My mare was pts at 15 due to inflammatory bowel disease, came on suddenly in June was gone in the July after having surgery which I wish I hadn't put her through.

 

[Britestar]

16 aneurysm
27 Neuro
12 GS?
30 laminitis
26 cancer
18 systemic laminitis after tie back surgery. Tragic
32 colic
24 colic
24 lymphoma
32 Neuro.

Mine are all pretty long lived

 

[fornema]

Lost 2:

3yr old - fatal injury rupturing diaphragm
16yr old - kick in the field

 

[pansymouse]

1. Mid 20s died in her sleep
2. Mid 20s heart attack
3. Mid 20s heart attack
( all pre passport so precise age never known)
4. 27 colic

 

[Mule]

23 ISH mare. Pts due to cushings related infections

 

[darli]

Homebred Arab gelding - 22 Cushings and liver issues.

 

[OldNag]

Welsh B 19 laminitis/PPID
Welsh mix mid 20s mixture of PPID/EMS and probably something else.

 

[Wagtail]

1. 16 melanoma
2. 13 broken hock
3. 3 broke free whilst being lunged and broke neck
4. 13 broke leg in field
5. 16 colic
6. 12 broken femur
7. 19 cushings, chronic laminitis and tendon injury
8. 13 internal melanoma strangulation of bowel
9. 20 cushings/ laminitis
10. 10 fusion of fetlock bones