What percentage of horses have long Ridden lives?

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canteron

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Just thinking about this as a friends 11yo has just been diagnosed with terminal lameness. She has always looked after it beautifully and taken great care, but it is a nerve thing.

One of mine became too unsound to ride at 14 and my other has intermittent lameness issues at 16.

We see horses of 19 going round 4* events, but in all honesty what percentage of horses are still riding sound in their late teens, is it 10%, 5% or 50%? What is your best guess.
 
Not many in the UK from what I saw when I lived there. Over here in north America loads! Literally. But then over here a great majority of horses live out 24/7 and are never shod ever in their lives. I think these are the two main attributes to keeping horses sound for far longer in their lives. The hard feed here is different too and a lot of people don't feed much at all throughout the horse's life. It is very common here to see 20 and 30 year old horses riding out regularly and many still competing. None of the ancient horses who live on my farm are unsound and they still go out on trail rides.
 
In Colorado, we had horses working well into their 20s. They were shod, for the most part, and some lived out but others only lived out during the day.

So I don't know why. It is an interesting question, though.
 
Spring Feather said:
Not many in the UK from what I saw when I lived there. Over here in north America loads! Literally. But then over here a great majority of horses live out 24/7 and are never shod ever in their lives. I think these are the two main attributes to keeping horses sound for far longer in their lives. The hard feed here is different too and a lot of people don't feed much at all throughout the horse's life. It is very common here to see 20 and 30 year old horses riding out regularly and many still competing. None of the ancient horses who live on my farm are unsound and they still go out on trail rides.
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That's really though provoking and interesting you think it is the care primarily not the work or riding style. Do you think it is really practical for the majority of horses to go barefoot in the uk. I am guessing where you live horses are bred for soundess of feet (rather than pure performance attributes)and you have more access to off road riding, rather than the emphasis on jumping, schooling, racing we have here?
 
canteron said:
That's really though provoking and interesting you think it is the care primarily not the work or riding style. Do you think it is really practical for the majority of horses to go barefoot in the uk. I am guessing where you live horses are bred for soundess of feet (rather than pure performance attributes)and you have more access to off road riding, rather than the emphasis on jumping, schooling, racing we have here?
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I honestly don't know for sure. It's something I've pondered over a great deal. All I can say is I've lived in the UK and I've lived in Europe and I've lived here in many parts of north America and it's here that really stands out for me. Interestingly enough, a great many of the old horses I personally know, were backed and riding out at 2 years old and are still going strong after 20-30 years. I keep thinking I have the answer but it's never as simple as that is it. Yes you could well be right that the bloodlines we have over here play a critical part of soundness/good feet, and maybe the hacking/trail riding terrain is similar but slightly different. We don't pound around on tarmac roads if that's what you mean. A lot of riding here is off-road and a lot of the roads are dirt roads and even on the main roads there are huge wide dirt verges (think bicycle lane) so we're usually on them rather than on the actual tarmac/asphalt/concrete. There is just as much jumping, schooling and racing for sure done over here lol!

So there you go, I don't know the answer but I do personally know an awful lot of very old horses who are still up and running and doing their thing.
 
I recently lost my 32yo, at 30 she was still enjoying being ridden (although I had scaled it down), and I did have a little mooch on her (just in walk) a few months before she passed away.

At 25 she was still working well could do shoulder in, work in a outline, when she was 21 she was winning championships (unaff).

She was an arab :-)
 
I have had four ponies/ horses in my life. Three mares and a gelding.
First pony (mare) ridden until in her thirties - never lame apart from one injury with a wire fence.
Second pony - mare 14.2 - won riding club cup for the horse with the most points at 23. Ridden until nearly 30 when she died. Again never lame or unsound apart from one kick that broke a splint bone and then she was sound again within days..
Third horse (gelding and TB) Regularly lame through cuts, twisting his shoe and standing on the nail, getting kicked etc. Diagnosed with cancer at 8 and died at 14.

Fourth horse (mare) 17hh shirexTB still being ridden jumped and going on sponsored rides doing XC etc full of life. Sound and happy at 22.

From my very statistically invalid sample it would appear that not having a TB or a gelding is the way to a long ridden life!!

75% of my horses have been ridden and sound well into their twenties.
 
hoggedmane said:
I have had four ponies/ horses in my life. Three mares and a gelding.
First pony (mare) ridden until in her thirties - never lame apart from one injury with a wire fence.
Second pony - mare 14.2 - won riding club cup for the horse with the most points at 23. Ridden until nearly 30 when she died. Again never lame or unsound apart from one kick that broke a splint bone and then she was sound again within days..
Third horse (gelding and TB) Regularly lame through cuts, twisting his shoe and standing on the nail, getting kicked etc. Diagnosed with cancer at 8 and died at 14.

Fourth horse (mare) 17hh shirexTB still being ridden jumped and going on sponsored rides doing XC etc full of life. Sound and happy at 22.

From my very statistically invalid sample it would appear that not having a TB or a gelding is the way to a long ridden life!!

75% of my horses have been ridden and sound well into their twenties.
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hogged mane, I am interested in Spring Feathers thoughts that management and in particular shoeing may have had something to do with useful life span, I am just wondering whether your horses where all shoed all their lives?
 
I would be really interested in the statistics as two of our horses have had to be retired at 15/16
I would have loved for them both to have gone on for longer and I'm very envious of those who are still able to compete on older horses.
 
canteron said:
hogged mane, I am interested in Spring Feathers thoughts that management and in particular shoeing may have had something to do with useful life span, I am just wondering whether your horses where all shoed all their lives?
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I'm afraid they were all shod. In fact first two were always cold shod. Current horse has had a crack down the front of both front feet until my farrier managed to get rid of them over the winter last year. and I'm not sure she would go barefoot. I have always kept them out as much as possible - currently out 24/7 except for a few hours a day eating in winter and hiding from flies in summer. I feed forage based food wherever possible and thinking about it the TB had the most cereal based feeds due to him not being a good doer.
 
I'm from the States and not trying to say SF is wrong but there's an awful lot in shoes back home too. Especially in the H/J sect. Some live more of a 24/7 existence but not all. And lets not forget in the show hunter world lots of horses compete on bute. It's allowed. Joint injections are routine and referred to as oil changes. Ever see one of those go wrong? I've seen 2 go wrong. Dead horses. So I don't think it's fair to say the horses stay sounder longer. NA is a big place. Yes I have seen lots of actual sound oldies in work back home as well as here. Just from my experiences Ireland isn't really a sentimental place. And odd few take pride in their oldies but not many.

Me personally I have an 18 yo that's sound for easy work after being given a death sentence at 9. That were the nature of his injuries. He's also a TB. He hates living out 24/7 so he's either in during the day or night depending. He gets nothing special management wise. I have a 9yo mare that's been a bit pottery hear and there. A sound 7yo and a sound (obviously) 3yo that isn't started yet. A 14 yo ex broodmare that was hurt before I got her, pasture accident. She is sound and does light work. My 7yo has been sound through multiple attempts to kill herself as well.

I will agree with SF on the tarmac aspect. I do a little rw as I find it good for building the bare feet but I only walk and it's a max of 30mins. Not saying it's wrong and it does have it's benefits but I don't think hours on roads per day is ideal. That's just my own theory.

Terri
 
About 80 % of mine have worked well passed their teens the ones I have owned and the ones I have bred but they have always been barefoot, fed a high protein low carb/sugar diet, worked appropriately lived out 24/7 in the main
Oldest still ridden was 33 he was shod all his life as when I moved he was 12 and I left him with a friend as I couldnt afford to take him with me
Only ones to die young were in accidents one fatally with a car and another died of liver failure at 2 after becoming addicted to conifers and died of alkaloid poisoning She went through wire, post and rails, mains electric and jumped over a stable door to get to it so it was a true addiction she didnt care what got in the way she was having the conifers. By the time the vet had diagnosed her she was too far gone to move to a different area
 
My guess is no more than 50% I said to a vet nurse at hospital with my friend a few weeks back that I reckoned only 50% of horses over 16 hands die at a natural lifespan and she completely agreed.

I have never put down a horse due to old age. I've put down for these reasons.

Blind 4 years
Colic 17
Wobbler 10
Crazy dangerous behaviour 10
Kidney failure 15

I held my friend's daughter's mare , kissing spines, 8 earlier this year and will soon be doing her gelding, 7, which has DSLD with ataxia. Last year we did a 22 year old TB mare who had not been in work for eight years, spavins.
 
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I wonder if its not our roads in the tarmac sense that's the problem, more that many people in the UK have moved away from from hacking (largely due to roadwork becoming more bloody dangerous with modern cars and arrogant motorists, so still roads just in a different way, lol) and moved more towards arena work on surfaces? I think "trail" horses and hunters tend to have longer working lives than performance horses, but that might not necessarily be because they're sounder, it might just be these jobs are easier to keep doing when not 100% sound.

Answer: Don't know, these are just some thoughts. :)
 
Equilibrium Ireland said:
Just from my experiences Ireland isn't really a sentimental place. And odd few take pride in their oldies but not many.


Terri
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I agree with this. I have a 21yo and a 19 yo and they are the oldest the farrier and ED look at, and have been for a number of years. I have had both since they were 2yo and born. I'm afraid I thought of the PTS option as they are jus field ornaments due to our lack of time, and I think it's unfair to just leave them out at nothing. They don't breed anymore either, adn I feel sorry for them being jobless. It is incredibly rare to see something over the age of 15 that is not a childs pony over here.

But it is changing, horses became more of a hobby than a business during the recession and more amateurs are getting into it, for better or worse (I am one of them!).
 
I've had my old boy since 3 and he's only been unable to be ridden last year at 19. Sadly its an field injury that aggravated an old weakness from a Cross Country fall where he damaged his stifle. A bit disappointed to have him out of work so young to be honest but these things happen.

With previous horses I have ridden and competed them well into their 20's. One was competing right up until the weekend before she was put to sleep, due to a brain tumour, at 28 years old :)
 
I have 2 eighteen year olds who are still healthy and sound. They are only lightly hacked out and live out 24/7 which probably helps. Hopefully will still be hacking them for a few years yet.
 
Ah yes Terri, the hunter/jumper world is a different kettle of fish for sure and hunter barns are run quite differently with often very little turnout and injections routinely for this or that. It's poles apart from how I keep horses and although a number of us in my area do compete, it's secondary. I guess I know far more people (English and western riders) who are trail riders rather than competition people though so maybe that's why.

Flame, valid points. I don't know the answer either tbqh, it's all guesswork :)
 
I've lost:
1@10, broken leg
1@25, ex racer TB, a combination of age related factors. But considering we bought him in his younger days to shoot him (he really was a wreck) he didn't do half bad really. We retired him at 22 due to liver failure.
1@22, ex racer TB, yesterday in fact :( Again, a combination of age related factors. We never really worked him - he was a top P2Per in his time but his front leg conformation was horrendous and we figured we could work him and have him break down again, or he can be a companion and hopefully stay sound. He was an excellent companion and babypony mentor for a number of years with us and we will miss him.
1@35+, shetland, a combination of age related factors. She retired at 30ish.

I think I may have to make the decision for my 27yo arab before winter sets in too :( Again, a combination of age related factors. He was competing in endurance up till 23yo, and was still doing pleasure rides up to a couple of years ago. We still toddle out now - he's stiff, but sound.

I don't think we do anything special with ours. They live out, they have been shod or unshod depending on workload, and we don't do a lot of schooling on surfaces (don't have a school for one thing).
 
My TB is 25, still in light work. Was a successful eventer until I bought him aged 11, since then done mainly dressage and hacking. He's always been shod until recently when I had his back shoes off. My friend had a TB PTS at 33, he was still being hacked out into his 30's and looked fab for his age. IMO good conformation helps to keep horses working into old age + a lot of good luck!
 
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