When is it time to stop?

Dizzleton

Dizzleton

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As you may know, I have a Belgian WB Gelding called Disney.

It's coming up to his 21st Birthday on the 13th April and I'm wondering if he's near retirement? ( :( )

I bought him when he was 16 yo from a lady who owned a riding school where he was mainly taken out SJ at a low level - No bigger than 1m classes. And previous to that he was briefly used for dressage; so he's very low milage.

Currently he's being ridden around twice a week in our outdoor (this is mainly due to the snow and poor weather) but this will increase from now onwards. We usually just stick to hacking or dressage where I've trained him to Ad Med / Adv with some lovely canter pirouettes thrown in too. He loves his job and is always full of beans - which is sometimes too much!

Besides ridden work he is stabled at night and turned out during the day in winter and out 24/7 in summer. He doesn't have a grey hair on him and holds his weight very well - even after such a poor summer and lean winter.

Thankfully, he's never lame, injured or sick and currently has no illnesses or ailments apart from a slight dust cough in winter.

But the one thing that always sticks in my mind is that he's nearly 21. He's an old man even though he doesn't show it. Am I being over cautious or should I slow down to just hacking?

The following pictures are from later summer 2012 through to yesterday

TAKEN YESTERDAY AFTER A RIDE
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TAKEN LATE SUMMER 2012
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I think he will tell you when he wants to start slowing down. Looking at him i would not have put him at that age!! he looks great and is obviously loving life :)
 
would carry on as you are. if he is happy then carry on. 21 is no age at all. i saw on olympia there was a driving horse on the 4 horse driving that was 22 i think and still hurtling round olmypia., if fit and healthy and they enjoy it carry on.
 
He lovely and he certainly doesn't look his age.

Forget his age though, if you think of him as old, he will be old. Keep him active and busy and he'll stay fitter and healthier.
These days 21 is nothing.
 
He looks fab, not that i think 21 is overly old :) Like others have said he will give you signs when he wants to slow down looks happy at the moment though :)
 
You'll know when its time to stop, as long as he's happy in his work then keep going. I think if they're able to be kept working into their older age they tend to age better. Our 27yo pony is still ridden 1-2 times a week by us to keep him going, and looking at him you wouldn't think he was over 15. :)
 
Keep going until he says stop. I competed my old boy right up until his last summer, when he was 28ish (although he could have been older apparently, we went with the youngest age it was possible for him to be and ignored the missing chunks of his life!). He loved it- he'd not had a gentle life- he teamchased at Open when he was 19, did all PC teams and hunted lots. But he liked being useful and loved showing off.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1077314420187.2014065.1446041645&type=1&l=147ddc0175
He's the bay in these photos :)
 
Quite frankly he looks in better knick than a lot of horses pictures posted on here. And just like his saddle cloth Wow - he's a stunner, and doesn't look his 21 years.

He'll tell you when it's time to slow down.
 
You may well find if he retires he gets old very quickly where as if you keep him in work he'll carry on for years. If he starts being stale in his work or lame clearly you need to think again but I'd guess that will be years and years away for something with low mileage.

The eventer Lenamore was 19/20 at last years olympics and poped round nicely. 21 is no age really if they are in good condition and well looked after (as yours clearly is).

20 is the new 15 didn't you know!
 
Horses have their way of telling you when they want to stop :p I'd keep doing what you're doing but you know him well so you will know if he is no longer happy. Personally I think keeping them going is good for them! As long as he is healthy and happy who cares about his age :)

He looks amazing for his age anyway so I certainly wouldn't be worried, like you say he hasn't been hammered so I'm sure he has plenty years left in him! :p
 
While he's still healthy and enjoying himself - keep going!

The only thing I would say is to keep his age in mind when considering which surfaces to jump/go fast on and also make sure you spend plenty of time warming up and cooling off to help minimise injury.
 
Snap! I've got one of those who looks the spit of yours! Sadly he's retired due to arthritis but was grade A so had a bit more mileage.
He'll let you know when it's time to slow down as did mine, but until then carry on! He looks amazing for his age!
 
Look, last weekend I hacked out my young horse with good friend - who came out on her very sprightly 33yr old - who is hacked out at least 3 times a week.
She said it would do him good to have a steady one as the day before had been a bit wild with quite a few sharp canters etc.
He was competing till 5 yrs ago & only stopped as they thought he ought to have an easier life.They have had him since he was 4!
He is full of beans, loves life & looks damned good for his age.

I'd say keep on doing things, tho dont max him out on hard or on over-soft ground.
Plenty are still out hunting at that age :)
 
He looks amazing!

If I was his owner I wouldn't be hammering him any more, would be picking and choosing the right ground and not jumping anything overly high but you know him the best.

Gorgeous!
 
mcnaughty said:
He looks amazing!

If I was his owner I wouldn't be hammering him any more, would be picking and choosing the right ground and not jumping anything overly high but you know him the best.

Gorgeous!
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Thanks :) I don't jump or gallop him about, he's only ever hacked and does dressage :)
 
He's lovely and you clearly take good care of him. I certainly don't think he needs to retire but no harm in being considerate about surfaces/fitness/diet etc
 
Friend is still doing endurance pleasure rides on her 26 yr young tb. More time is spent doing early fitness work so it can be taken steadier, & the early walking work goes on for longer, mainly lead from a ridden horse at the start to help her condition after her winter break before carrying her rider. Her feed has changed with age, but there is no sign of arthritis & she adores going out still. She gets such a kick from overtaking other horses (horse that is not rider) who are often under half her age.
 
Some horses who are 21 are old, yours is not. If he still enjoys being ridden, schooling, dressage, whatever you are doing with him then continue doing it. He looks really well on it & I believe that horses stay younger if you keep them in work. I've seen too many horses being retired because they have reached a particular age & not because they can no longer work. When this happens they seem to age in the field & go down hill quickly.

You horse looks in wonderful condition, looking at him you would never dream that he is 21 so whatever you are doing together continue to do it because he's thriving on it. :)
 
This is my little Arab Mare at last years Arab Marathon

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She is 23 then and she had already won an endurance race. She is a fit as she was 10years ago and continues to enjoy herself.

He will tell you when he is ready to retire
 
I had a 22 year old mare on loan for a while. She was full of life and she hacked out 4-6 times a week with some light schooling/jumping thrown in on the days we werent hacking - she was fitter than some of the youngsters on the yard and in really good condition. I entered into the veteran class at a show and the judges were surprised at her age!

I would say to keep going if he is enjoying it - I am sure he will let you know when he wants to slow down!
 
As others have said, I would let him tell you when he's ready for a quieter life. He's a credit to you. :)


My high mileage 26 year old is ridden 4-5 times a week, including schooling and the odd hoon round the woods / fields, does VHS showing classes and is still bouncy, keen, sound and supple. All the time he says he's still happy with this level of work then we'll keep doing it.
 
badminton2jpg.jpg


My old boy on the Badminton ride at 24. (The grey hair in his mane was due to sweet itch rather than age and he'd been like it since the age of 13.)

He died very unexpectedly due to colic at 27 and although he'd slowed down, he was still hacking out once or twice a week for half an hour. As everybody said, he'll tell you when it's time. My sign was Eb refusing a jump at the age of 25 for the first time ever. He went straight to the vet for xrays and had arthritis in his knees so he started slowing down from that point on.
 
Keep going if he has no problems just old age! We had a pony ridden up to 34 years then retired fully. Obviously at the end it was a walk round the block. PTS 37. Exercise was just changed over the years to fit in with what he could do.

Another PTS at 7 so no rhyme or reason.

Each is different as long as he enjoys it probably best thing to keep him in good condition/healthy muscle.

Stunning pictures. Lovely horse.
 
Great piccies - I'm erring on the side of keeping him going - they are big physical animals and need the exercise to keep everything in order - why stop?

Biased of course! Here's a piccy of my mare showing off when turned out for the first time with my daughter's eventer - my old dear was of uncertain age but she is definately over twenty five here and went on another eight years before popping her clogs inside ten minutes all by herself - lovely way to go - if you have too!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1stclassalan/8424564392/
 
amymay said:
Quite frankly he looks in better knick than a lot of horses pictures posted on here. And just like his saddle cloth Wow - he's a stunner, and doesn't look his 21 years.

He'll tell you when it's time to slow down.
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This,

I think he's looking fantastic!
 
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