Why can't older horses act their age?

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SillySausage

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Firstly, I will set the scene....

Jacob is 20 and will be 21 in June.

He was 'retired' in July this year due to arthritic hocks, and my job on an event yard not allowing me to walk him out every day.

I broke and dislocated my finger badly at work at the end of October, due to cast my whole hand has been useless (and even though I'm out of said cast now I am VERY wary of doing it again).

Due to finger, I have moved in with boyfriend and his parents and Jacob came with me.

Fast forward to today....

Bored of him being in 24/7 and walkered twice a day (yard rules) I decided that I would just get back on.

Go to stick him on the walker for 15 mins before getting on to take the edge off him, walker was full and so I decided to just go for it (first mistake).

Tack him up and take him in the empty school and shut all the gates (great)...

Helpful groom turns out two very fresh ponies in the paddock next to the school who go for a hooly around their field (second mistake).

Cue me... Holding on for dear life as he buckaroos around the school... Boyfriend at gate looking rather shocked... Me worrying about if I fall that I'm not to put my bad hand out as it's that door it looks like I will be making an exit from... Pony stops. Brilliant... Kick on... Off we go again!!!

Eventually I had to give up and hand him to boyfriend as I just couldn't grip with my second hand :( He gave a few more acrobatics and then walked around like my dear sweet boy for ten minutes.

We walked back to the yard and he gives me that cheeky face of his... and all is forgiven.

I'm going soft :( !!!

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I think they just get worse tbh,

I could only laugh at mine charging circles round me in the field when I wanted to catch him for a lesson. .. easily resolved by pony nuts although we did have to go to said lesson with a brown tide mark :D
 
If he's in 24/7 i'm not surprized.. could you have been able to lunge him in the arena if the walker was full? And why can't you walk him every day, surely the yard should understand why you have to? Is there no one else who you can trust enough to walk him for you if it's a time thing?
Sorry lots of questions - why can't he go out? Even half an hour to blow out the cobwebs? :confused:
 
Shadeyoak said:
If he's in 24/7 i'm not surprized.. could you have been able to lunge him in the arena if the walker was full? And why can't you walk him every day, surely the yard should understand why you have to? Is there no one else who you can trust enough to walk him for you if it's a time thing?
Sorry lots of questions - why can't he go out? Even half an hour to blow out the cobwebs? :confused:
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I don't want to lunge him, he's never been particularly well behaved on it and I don't want him on tight circles due to his hocks.

I am no longer working on that yard so it's not longer an issue, hence me getting back on. However it was a 4* event yard, so massively different to the other horse's routines.

He can't go out because the fields are knee high in mud and he's just got over chronic mud fever and a secondary bacterial infection and I'm not risking it again! He is very happy to be in all of the time as he hates rain and mud and just stands in the gateway anyway. In the summer however he will live out 24/7.

Between my boyfriend and I he will now be walked out every day... :)
 
I have a 20 year old cob who is a lunatic, definately growing old disgracefully, out on hacks he's the one getting all excited thinking he will get to canter everywhere, very embarrassing as have had a few people ask how old he is and they look at me strangely when I say he's 20 and should know better :-/
 
My Marie's 23 next week, has cushings, arthritis in one hock and a cataract on one eye, but is in complete denial about all of it. Tows the YO down to the field every morning, does 0 to 60 in 3 secs as soon as she's on the grass and spends the morning doing circuits of the field trying to get her 4 yr old friend to join in. She is however foot perfect as soon as I get on her, does some of the best dressage work shes ever done in the school and strides out hacking with pricked ears.
I'm going to have to put her back into full work in Jan as she's so obviously not wanting to retire and loves her job
 
Haha! I have a 26 year old pony who has been 'retired' twice and in fact was almost pts last year due to arthritis. Fast forward to this winter my daughter has been hacking her out with me on my new horse for 'safety...' but she just keeps galloping off with daughter!!!! She is such a monkey!!!! X
 
Im in the same boat as you horse in 24/7 walking him round as school under water twice a day hes twentyone walked him around today very windy started shaking his head thats his warning im going to explode move away so i put him on end of robe he was bucking rearing cantering on the spot because he would never pull did this good fifteen mins then walked on really nice and polite. I must confess i just laugh at him my other horses would never get away with it
 
My 22 yo is a nutter. Recently diagnosed with cushings too, he was lame for 3 weeks about a month ago, and has now come right. I don't think he ll be retiring anytime soon!
 
toffeeyummy said:
Haha! I have a 26 year old pony who has been 'retired' twice and in fact was almost pts last year due to arthritis. Fast forward to this winter my daughter has been hacking her out with me on my new horse for 'safety...' but she just keeps galloping off with daughter!!!! She is such a monkey!!!! X
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Brilliant!

The mare I rode at home is coming on 22 and never had a lame day in her life. About a year ago started becoming sore and they diagnosed a horrendously bruised foot. Anyway, she was on-off lame for so long with no obvious cause that they decided to retire her.

Fast forward to this Xmas and she's back on the hunting field being terribly naughty and giving everybody a whale of a time!

So chuffed and has given me yet more hope for mine coming back to full work :)
 
Hate to tell you, but mine lived to 39 and was no better behaved even says before she died. 20min isn't old, he has another 20 year lifetime of badness ahead if you are really lucky!
 
I'm glad it's not just my horse!
She is 20 in February, has cushings, arthritis and keeps getting abscesses because of the cushings (only just started treatment). I'm not riding her atm because I think she's brewing an abscess (I can recognize the signs very early on now!) and I'm waiting for her to give me a better idea of where to poultice (just tubbing atm). However, she is still an absolute lunatic - she prances and jogs and leaps about when I bring her in from the field, while my sister's gelding just plods at her side, then today she had absolute hysterics while my sister went riding, and did some very impressive shouting and twirling round her stable (separation anxiety, and this is a huge improvement - a few weeks ago we were getting piaffe at the stable door, kept thinking she was going to go over it :p). She has absolutely no concept of acting her age, I've taken to calling her the delinquent grandma! She has me in absolute hysterics with her antics though, especially when she does her warding of demons act (involves lots of leaping in the air, twirling and kicking out) when my YO's shetlands try to say hello to her (she hates them with a passion and seems to think they're trying to murder her!). Honestly, I thought they were supposed to get better behaved with age.....:p
 
I love it! Mine is 20 in May next year and although yes he is a good boy when ridden - he is the type who is the same if ridden every day or not ridden for a month, he is still a right old git in other ways. He has always been 'lookey' out hacking, I just have to kick on and ignore it. He goes past things he has gone past a thousand times and he still stops and looks. He still likes to think he is 'the man' and gets very stallion like out hacking with mares as well. He has always been bargy as was able to learn his own strength long before I had him, and he still drags me around and the 'naughty stick' is still kept outside of his stable.

The only signs of his ageing are the grey hairs on his forehead, and his grey eyebrows. He is still very healthy and although slightly stiff, daily glucosamine and gentle hacking sort him out. His coat still gleams and although he is not ridden as much as maybe I should, his top line is still good. He's also become more loving as well, but I put that down to 8 plus years of ownership and being comfortable with me. He still hooleys around the field as well, and comes in totally knackered.

Old boys - love them, and I hope my old goy is still with me at 39.
 
I have had to put a bridle on my 25 year old long time retired companion boy for leading to and from the field. My 2 year old walks like a dream and I got fed up with being dragged by the Fat Friend. I know they say a victory over an animal is a hollow one but as he came through the gate today and went to take off only to sock himself in the gob and slam the brakes on, then walk back like a lamb, I thought 'Yay, I won!'
 
haha sounds like fun and games! i'd never get straight on my 27yr old if she'd been stabled for any length of time, let alone 24/7!

She's out 24/7 and when i ride, we got at full speed trot down the drive way which is almost a mile long! then we go straight into the woods for a full on bolt up the hill, just to get rid of some of the beans! then she might half calm down but she isn't likely to walk the rest of the way round!

looking forward to riding her soon but she's not been out for 2 months where she's had a lump removed from her face! now she's ok to be taken out but the weathers been too bad to clip her and she really needs clipping first!
 
I know plenty of horses I could hop straight on after several months off... Not one of these would behave if in 24/7 too! Walking more and perhaps bf on lunge line to walk round with you til relaxes if walker full again. I'd be tempted if allowed to let him loose to stretch legs and burn some energy in school if allowed.
 
Mine's in his early 20's. Every summer I tell myself that he is slowing down as he chills out, and come December as we leap and buck down the canter tracks I tell myself he's fine. He is particularly full of himself at the moment and you are right - the older they are the more tricks they learn!!
 
PandorasJar said:
I know plenty of horses I could hop straight on after several months off... Not one of these would behave if in 24/7 too! Walking more and perhaps bf on lunge line to walk round with you til relaxes if walker full again. I'd be tempted if allowed to let him loose to stretch legs and burn some energy in school if allowed.
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He's walkered twice a day already for between 20-30 minutes! He doesn't walk slowly either so he's stomps around.

I agree that being stabled 24/7 is far from ideal, but I don't have a choice about that one even if I did want him out.

They have a 'loose school' but it's very small so I didn't really think it would help that much. Might have a chat with YO about letting him loose in the big school/getting on before the other horses are turned out (they're her own horses) if he doesn't improve tomorrow!
 
Romeorider said:
Mine's in his early 20's. Every summer I tell myself that he is slowing down as he chills out, and come December as we leap and buck down the canter tracks I tell myself he's fine. He is particularly full of himself at the moment and you are right - the older they are the more tricks they learn!!
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Oh yes.... Trust me, I'm not annoyed/upset anything of the like. I'm so pleased that he's feeling well as he hasn't been himself recently with his infection, just fooled myself in to thinking that now he was getting older he might start behaving!
 
I'm of the opinion that a horse can be ridden/walked for hours a day and it will still come nowhere near a short period stretching legs and not having to think. Whether it be at standstill or full pelt in its own space and time.

I'm not having a go and understand circumstances but if a short turn out in big school before others out is possible I'd definitely be asking, think it does a world of good :) if not, even the loose school will be a change of scenery left to his own devices and probably biggerthan a stable.
 
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