I was just curious how many of you ride older horses? I have a 26 (soon to be 27 in may) year old Paint Mare. She has been X Rayed recently with no signs of Arthritis, she still has plenty of energy to finish the trail and the vet says that the fact that I am still riding her is probably why she is in such good shape. But, I get to feeling a little guilty sometimes about riding her so much.

I have other younger horses to ride but just like her better than the rest.

So, how old are your old horses..that you are still riding???

I have an old QH/Welsh cross that has been 26 for the past 3 years....I just can't bear to let him be any older! He still goes on rides, just not hilly ones.  He has had several bouts of founder in his later years, and has recovered well and still does fine on trails.  We just take it slow (we like to putt along anyhow) and avoid big hills or muddy days with him.  I think using older horses is the best thing for them.  It's just like with old people...use it or lose it as far as bone and muscle mass.  Ole Lucky will take care of any rider and while he can't do as much as he used to, he is still ridden regularly with limitations that WE place on him.  I'm sure he'd trot all day to keep up with the gaited horses, and I'm sure he'd gallop across any field we asked him to...but we just don't ask it of him anymore. 

Amanda

This question is sort of on topic.  In talking about older horses I am wondering what supplements or "senior" type feed gives the best results.  I recently acquired a 19 year old TWH who has plenty of get up and go but is a bit thin.  His teeth are in good condition and he doesn't drop much feed at all.   We feed Purina Horse Chow 100 to our younger trail horses and have great results with it but I know the seniors have special needs.

Thanks,

JacciB

JacciB

As my vet said any feed they will eat is a good one.  I was told that older horses don't need a SR feed as long as they are able to eat hay and are holding their weight.  My old girl(25) is on SR feed because she can't eat hay, but my old man (22) is just on hay and a bit of sweet feed. Just enough of the sweet feed to mix the corta-flx with and he is a bit fat right now.  We don't ride much when it' cold, I'm a cold weather wimp.

Totally agree with above comments-keeping an older horse active is very good for them. I'd feel gulity if the horse was clearly lame or sore or anything else that indicated this was doing more harm than good. It would appear in your case, its not. Horses need to have a job even if its outsdie babysitting weanlings.

BTW- soybean oil is very good an older horse as it adds fat to the diet increasing claories without increasing grains fed. helps with joint health and hoof growth as well....

Have 2 retiree's... a 25 year old cutter, and 22 year old halter , you can still use them, no really hard work or bute needed, but they trail ride fine! 

At least 10 friends have older horses and they still camp and trail ride with them.  It really depends on the horse, what kind of riding you do, etc 

One rode her QH until he was 33 - he was gray as could be, but still loved to go out on the trail.  He passed away last summer at 36...

I think Senior feeds depend on your horse's needs not age.  If your older horse can still chew, has his teeth, and is an easy keeper, then normal grain would probably be okay.  Save your cash!  But the senior feeds are softer, more palatable, and suited for more geriatric horses who need the extra help with calories and digestability. The feeds I get are low carb (Buckeye Senior GC)because my old guy has both cushings and insulin resistance and is prone to founder.  I love buckeye feeds, I travel 45 minutes to the only feed store that carries it.   Do you know they make a feed with Glucosamine and Chondroitin built into it?  It's cheaper than separate supplements.  They make senior with G & C as well.  It's perfect for the older arthritic horse.  It's pricey but it does work.  My mare had a click in her stifle or hock area and it stopped after a few months on grow & win with glucosamine & chondroitin.  MMM mmm good feeds!

Amanda

I remember seeing Milne bring his horse to Region 4 CTR rides. His arab was 28 years old  and doing a 40-50mile CTRs every other weekend.  It caught West and died.  But that horse at 28 years old was still actively competiting and winning and doing 500-600 competive miles each summer. Who knows how many conditioning miles. ( I think Milne was in his late 70's too boot ,  What a pair)

Old just depends on the horse. Just this fall I sold my son's 30+ year old gelding to another family a little ways from here who needed a teacher for their daughter.  I had to warn them that they needed a fast walking horse to keep up with him, cause he can outwalk every other horse I own.  He was 100% sound and healthy, and think it's due to the fact that he has great big well-balanced feet, and spent almost his entire life in a string of horses touring people through the Rockies.  Lots of walking and aerobic exercise obviously worked for him.

The old boy, Danny, had all of his teeth, but they were worn down too short to grind hay.  We discovered this when we were trying to figure out why he kept losing weight - I'm sure he was at death's door, he was so thin.  To put the weight back on him we used alfalfa pellets, canola oil, and a pelleted senior feed.  An equine nutrionist worked out the balance for us.  She said that as he gained his weight back, slowly drop the senior feed, then slowly drop the oil, until he was only being supplemented with the alfala pellets. If the only problem he had was his teeth, then this should work.  Sure enough, in 6 weeks he went from a rack of bones to FAT!  We actually had to limit his alfala to keep him from getting obese.  So, from my experience, if you don't need senior feed, why use it?  If hay, water, and mineral does the trick, go with it.  And who cares how old your horse is - it's just a number.  If they can do the job, let them.