Would you buy a 23yr old horse???

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Amyree

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I have had to make the very sad decision to sell my beautiful boy as he is just too horse much for me. He has badly dented my confidence and am now just looking for a happy hacker type. I have found one who sounds perfect (havnt tried him yet so this could all be irrelevant!). But he is 23! Whilst I do need something a bit older that has been there / done that i'm not sure this is a good idea - just wondered what people's thoughts are? Thanks x
 
You won't find a shortage of buyers for an old, experienced, saint of a horse who knows his job. However, an aged nutter who has still not learned how to take care of his rider is a different proposition.
 
Personally I wouldn't.

My first horse was 16 when I had him and I had to give him up to be retired after 8 years . It was heartbreaking, and I purposely bought a young horse after that to get as long as possible out of her.
 
Older horses need more care so be prepared for this.

My girl is now 26 years old, i've owned her for 20 years (would NEVER sell). She has been well looked after, legs bandaged after eventing/ jumping and been on joint supplements for over 11 years now (she is still on them and these do add up in costs!)

Ive (in the past) had to fork out £150 every 5 weeks for shoes to keep her sound.

She is now going the best job of teaching my partner to ride, jump and gallop! I trust her with him and him with her!!

I think if you can understand how well the horse has been looked after and how many miles it has done (a little like a car!) it will cost you more, but SHOULD help your confidence.

And just so you can see my girl jumping a couple of months ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMkZZo87rNs (Winning again!!)

Im borrowing her back this weekend in a bid to TRY and qualify for Olympia showing, so don't let age put you off, there are lots of veteran classes out there for you too!
 
I have 2 horses in their 20s, one of which is in light work. The other one has health issues, so whilst sound with regards lameness etc, he is unrideable for other reasons. I've had the one who is in work for 19 years and she has been well cared for and not run into the ground - hopefully she will have another few years of light hacking in her yet!

I guess if the horse has been well cared for and is sound, then there's no reason not to buy - if the price is right. Just go into it with the attitude that you may not get all that long with him and enjoy your time together.
 
Thanks all. They are selling him because they are moving on to hunting /jumping and he needs a quieter life, which really answers the question doesnt it! They have obviously had his best years and now selling on, I agree, I couldnt do that either! And if he needs slowing down then presumably age and possibly age-related issues are staring to catch up with. No I think I will pass, thanks everyone!
 
Yes I have done a few times and would do again; for the right horse. I love old horses and many of them go on forever, however I have noticed that older horses don't seem to fair so well in the UK as they do over here so if I were you I'd give it a very good going over before making a decision.
 
silvershadow81 said:
Also, forgot to add, why is someone selling a 23 year old? (I couldn't). How long have they had them? x
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This is my first thought, why are they selling, is he sound and fit to do a job for you, are you prepared to go through the possibility that he will start to show physical problems in the future, it is the same with any horse but guaranteed with an older one that he will need veterinary help sooner than a younger one might and you will have to finance it.

I would not rule him out but recommend you proceed with caution, ask for a full veterinary history, if they will not do that walk away, if he were mine I would want to make absolutely sure you were going to offer him a really good home to see out his days, not that I would sell one at that age, then if you passed the tests I would let him go on a long term loan with a view to signing him over after a set period of time, I would not expect any more than a token £1 if the home was right.
 
JulesRules said:
Personally I wouldn't.

My first horse was 16 when I had him and I had to give him up to be retired after 8 years . It was heartbreaking, and I purposely bought a young horse after that to get as long as possible out of her.
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Re-read my post and it made me sound like a horrid person who had sold on an old horse :-(

So, just to clarify - my 16 year old was on loan from YO. It was time for him to slow down and he is now happily living the life of riley with the odd hack. I wouldn't have sold him if he was mine to sell. Giving him up was one of the hardest things I have ever done
 
I wouldn't pay more than the token £1, but if I wanted a good sensible chap for plodding round the lanes I'd give it some thought providing he had no obvious health issues. The thing is, if a horse is a really sensible chap who's done a good job for his owners for years and needs to slow down, I'd wonder why they would sell rather than loan. I'd loan one like this to the right home with full oversight, but I wouldn't sell.
 
silvershadow81 said:
Older horses need more care so be prepared for this.

My girl is now 26 years old, i've owned her for 20 years (would NEVER sell). She has been well looked after, legs bandaged after eventing/ jumping and been on joint supplements for over 11 years now (she is still on them and these do add up in costs!)

Ive (in the past) had to fork out £150 every 5 weeks for shoes to keep her sound.

She is now going the best job of teaching my partner to ride, jump and gallop! I trust her with him and him with her!!

I think if you can understand how well the horse has been looked after and how many miles it has done (a little like a car!) it will cost you more, but SHOULD help your confidence.

And just so you can see my girl jumping a couple of months ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMkZZo87rNs (Winning again!!)

Im borrowing her back this weekend in a bid to TRY and qualify for Olympia showing, so don't let age put you off, there are lots of veteran classes out there for you too!
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Your mare is fab - love the way she doesnt take advantage when the rider is nearly unseated! My 6 year old would have been off with me! The benefits of older and kinder horses!
 
Amyree said:
I have had to make the very sad decision to sell my beautiful boy as he is just too horse much for me. He has badly dented my confidence and am now just looking for a happy hacker type. I have found one who sounds perfect (havnt tried him yet so this could all be irrelevant!). But he is 23! Whilst I do need something a bit older that has been there / done that i'm not sure this is a good idea - just wondered what people's thoughts are? Thanks x
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You can get a lot out of older horses confidence wise and ideal for hacking. I rode my older mare until she was 21 (injury which meant lots of working "properly" to get her ridden again resulted in me retiring her) and she was all the things you would want in a hacker - sensible on roads, went on her own, not particularly spooky, didnt need riding veery day but still lively enough to have a proper blast if you wanted it. Try him out and see if he feels right but go in with your eyes open, your ridden time with him could be limited.
 
If you've lost your confidence he could be ideal provided he is sound enough for what you want to do and he is a fair price. I have a 25yo who is still up to a good days hacking.
 
A young horse can fall of the lorry on the way home and need to be perminantly retired so age doesn't guarantee anything. But being over 20 does come with increased risk. If the price is sufficiently low to reflect the risk and you are happy/ financed well enough to a) retire for many years after what might be a shortish period of time or b) PTS when s/he becomes unridable then why not?
 
Polos Mum said:
A young horse can fall of the lorry on the way home and need to be perminantly retired so age doesn't guarantee anything. But being over 20 does come with increased risk. If the price is sufficiently low to reflect the risk and you are happy/ financed well enough to a) retire for many years after what might be a shortish period of time or b) PTS when s/he becomes unridable then why not?
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Totally agree
 
Iv got a 17yr old, 20yr old and 22 yr old and all 3 are fab and go on really well but my 4 yr old is a bloody nightmare health wise and as much as I love him some days I do think " why am I bothering" but I couldn't sell him with his issues so in my mind its keep or pts and as I can manage his issues its a no brainer but he takes more looking after then all the others put together.

If healthy go for it but I wouldn't be paying for one at that age.my 22 yr old was given to me a few years ago. " free to good home which was on a local Facebook page" some can get good homes.

Polos mum, you are so right it was only 2 days ago that a horsebox left our yard and had a crash a few miles away and a very valuable young colt was thrown out onto the road as the side ramp was taken clean off. It was a well known professional transport company. Colt is very bad in hospital
 
Depends totally on the horse. My old guy was still riding at 32.. once he got to 30 I didn't ride him in the winter, but that was more about me than him, he was still perfectly capable of a good run out! I bought him at 19 because I wanted a schoolmaster that knew all the moves dressage wise. He was amazing at taught me so much. We used to do really well at the Veterans.
 
My mare is 30 and we still hack out once a week somtimes twice its my choice not hers lol, the only advice I would give is to have the horse vetted to check for stiff joint (bound to have a bit of stiffness I am talking bad over worn joints). And ask sellers if they will provide vet history, I dont regret one moment of buying an older horse, I have had 10 wonderful years so far with my mare. Once she does retire I feel she will have earned her time just being loved and fussed, good luck on finding the right horse for you x
 
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