10
Mar
A horses health and soundness dictate retirement more so than age. Some horses will compete into their 20s yet some have to retire at 7 due to injury or wear and tear.
But its not easy.
How old do you retire a horse. At what age is a horse considered a senior. How do you retire a horse. Some horses will compete into their 20s yet some have to retire at 7 due to injury or wear and tear.
Most are in their late teens before youd consider retirement but theres really no exact time. There is no set age for retiring your horse. Some horses have physical conditions or diseases that require an early retirement.
Other horses can be ridden late into their life without issues. As a general rule most horses should stop being ridden between 20 to 25 years old. In an ideal world there would be a simple you should stop riding your horse at X years of age but this is by no means an ideal world so there is no one answer that fits all.
Instead there is a range of factors that need to be taken into consideration before deciding if now is the right to retire your horse. Finding the right place to retire your horse depends on his needs ability to continue exercise and your budget. There are also retirement facilities that work like nursing homes for equines but youll still be paying similar fees to a boarding facility.
Your senior might be limited in what he can do for you but he might have much to give a different type rider. Consider leasing him to a. The horse owner weighs our inputalong with contributions from friends trainers blogs chat rooms and magazine articlesand makes the decision.
But its not easy. What may be retirement criteria for one horse may be less of an issue for another horse. The two most common causes of retirement are old agediminishing physical capabilities and ongoing unresolvable lamenesses.
In these situations the writing is on the wall. Some horses dont take to being in a field and left to do their own thing. OH rides a horse in his twenties that has been brought back out of retirement because horse didnt like it.
That horse likes to canter. And some horses it seems die younger just like people and it is no reflection on the yard - A yard can have ponies over 30 and yet one need to be retired at 16. Sometimes deciding when to retire your horse is an obvious decision.
An injury or personal situation may force you to transition your riding horse into a pasture ornament. Sometimes the decision isnt as clear. Some horses fade into retirement.
Today there are many different options for horse retirement. When the winning thoroughbred stallion retires he may spend a number of happy years as a prolific stud. Some companies will only cover horses over a certain age for injuries so you would not be able to claim for treatment relating to certain conditions such as arthritis that are common in older.
By age definition senior horse has been defined as 15 years of age. Due to improvements in veterinary care and nutrition horse routinely live 25-30 years of age some into their 40s. It is not uncommon to see horses in late teens and twenties performing at high levels.
Can a horse with arthritis still be ridden. If the horse is healthy sound kept on a regular exercise program given any needed supplementstreatments. Then there is NO age limit.
As long as the horse still enjoys their job and can handleexecute it theres no reason they have to quit. Ive helped see to the retirement of a number of top performers including my wife Danas 19-year-old world champion working cow horse Brother White Preacher. Based on my experiences and using Danas gelding as an example Ill share advice you can take into account when its time for your horse to retire.
Ill base my comments on show horses because those are the. The two most common reasons for retiring your horse include old age and ongoing lameness. Its simple- the horses body is no longer able to keep up with the demands of being ridden.
Its the most practical and humane thing to do. However there are other factors like behavioral issues and intermittent health conditions that can make things tricky. Retiring a horse too soon could mean.
Its not uncommon for horses to live beyond 40 years of age and the oldest horse ever Old Billy lived to the age of 62. With better nutrition and care the average lifespan of horses has increased over time. Find out below how long you can expect your horse to live for how you can measure their age and what you can do to prolong their life.
Horse owners choose to retire their horses with us which may be quite a distance from where they live for many reasons. The Tennessee climate is appealing to many as their horse will not have the long hard winters of the northern states and Canada or the extreme heat and humidity of more southern states. Our large well maintained pastures are another draw for many of our clients.
Vokoun says that when a horse is 10 to 13 years old she starts asking herself if he still fits in with her goals or if someone else might get better use from him. Once you get to 16 17 18 years. When Horses Reach Retirement Age.
Eventually every horse gets to the point where it is time to retire but when and how depends on the individual. A horses health and soundness dictate retirement more so than age. Most horses do better when retirement happens gradually through a slow decrease in activity level based on the horses.
You arent going to take five years off a mild or even moderately arthritic horses life just because you continued to trail ride him. Go ahead and enjoy him An incremental approach to retirement in which you follow the horses lead to slowly reduce his workload is logical. What Age Do Racehorses Retire.
Usually racehorses are retired before they reach the age of 3 whether they are successful or not. The average lifespan of Thoroughbred horse is between 25 and 28 years old. We all hope our horses will live to the ripe old age of 30 plus as happy and healthy as possible.
But the reality is an inability to perform at a desired level can strike at any time even from the moment your horse is born. As powerful and elegant as they.