My mare is finally getting into shape after a year of being off from minor mystery lameness and other health issues. I’m hoping to show first level next year. She will be 17 next spring and it feels strange getting an older horse ready to show with not much hope of continuing up the levels.
For those of you with older low level dressage horses, what is your program to keep them sound and healthy?
Mine is getting Legend injections monthly, MSM and a hoof supplement daily.
Over the past year I was riding a 24 year old mare who is schooling 4th level and ended up taking her in some 1st level shows. She’d lost some topline over the past several years so at first I was mostly riding to fit her up. Her back muscles really improved with alfalfa, consistent appropriate work, and a good vitamin mineral supplement.
Mare is barefoot and has no medical maintenance. Regular work suits her, she likes the arena. I didn’t plan to show her initially, I was just thrilled to be able to ride all the trot halfpass and collected canter and extended trot. Then when I had a chance to show I figured why not take advantage of the month, it wasn’t hard for the horse and I learned tons. Dressage correctly done and not overdone is good gymnastics for the horse.
Mine’s 15, and appears to be sound, so I feel like he has another 10 to 15 good years in him (which would be plenty of time to attempt to go up through the levels if for some reason I suddenly decided that was what I wanted to do).
Mine is 21 and we lost 2019 to injury. While we never showed at that level he is solid Second working into Third. I am debating whether to work him back to that level again or not (stifle injury). Health conditions mean we are unlikely to have more than another five years and while he enjoys the dressage work, he is quite happy hacking about the countryside at a good working pace and frequently makes his desire to go faster plain.
He had hock injections last year, and the injured stifle this year, and is on 10,000mg each of Glucosamine! and MSM.
Mine is 22 and working solidly at Third (She is trained to I-1). No plans to get her back up to FEI levels at her age but she is thriving on the Third Level work and could easily do Fourth right now if we wanted. No magic in keeping her sound and happy- she is built to last and (knock on wood) has never needed more than lots of turnout, correct training and consistent riding to keep her sound.
She is turned out every day and works 5 days a week. High intensity training on challenging things like changes or collected work we tend to keep her workouts short - 40 mins max including warmup.
She is on Previcox just to keep inflammation / stiffness at bay and we just started Polyglycan injections which she will have on a regular basis going forward.
She made it to 22 without ever having other supplements, chiropractic, massage, or joint injections so I take a bit of an “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” approach to preventative care with her.
My 10 year old gelding, on the other hand, required regular chiro, Vitamin E oil, Selenium, and countless vet visits to keep him happy at Second Level, so a lot really depends on the individual horse as much as it does on their age.
I care lease a 17yo gelding who is either confirmed 4th level or was just finishing 4th level when he let everyone concerned know that big, high-level competitions were not going to be his thing. He’s not exactly low-level in the sense that there’s some fancy buttons in there. (I’m hoping to get my USDF bronze with him with the blessing of both his owner and the trainer who has known him for years.) While he’s mentally in a place where he seems like he would love moving up to PSG-level competition now, I don’t think his body would hold up since he sustained a hairline fracture to his hock 2 years ago getting kicked in the field.
Because he’s already rehabbed back into peak shape, consistency is key. I also lease a little jumper about the same age for my daughter and I do trot sets and canter work in the field with him. My horse doesn’t enjoy this so we just don’t push it. He does love to hack out at a walk alone (go figure!) so I take him out on hilly nature walks 1-2x a week. I usually have the trainer ride him 1x a week. The rest of the time I do ring work because that’s what he likes. We always start with 10-15 minutes of relaxed walking. Then we move to a stretchy trot and start to add in flexion and lateral work and lengthening and collecting the trot on 20 m circles and or the long sides/diagonals. We’re going to try Training level at a show next month so I’ve been working halts and transitions a LOT lately. I need work on my position at the canter and canter departs. I’ve been splitting that up between the 2 horses so that neither gets the heck pounded out of the joints.
Maintenance-wise? His shoes cost $250 (Equi-Pak and pads on the fronts) and he’s on a 4-5 week rotation. It’s a lot of $ but that farrier has been working on him for years and does an amazing job keeping him sound. He’s never lost a shoe in the entire year I’ve ridden him, either. Whatever the man does to accomplish that is worth the money in my book. He gets his right hock injected 1 or 2x a year as needed. An amazing energy-based body work therapist comes to our barn every 2 months. I have her work on him as often as I can afford it. She really helps keep his SI joints and spine comfortable and healthy.
Hope that helps a bit!
My semi-retired guy is 17. He was schooling all of I-1 except changes with GP steepness half pass, but I never showed him after some really ugly 1st level. He’s a huge bucker (thus the lack of working changes, though every once in a while we would ask and he’d just do one), and we decided not to show him and risk giving someone else a bad day - we got to where I could ride through the bucking until he calmed down mentally, but why?
last year his hooves made it clear they didn’t want to hold.up to work - in his case, the attachment of his soles where they grow out just isn’t entirely healthy. So now he’s in half work and only doing lower level stuff with no goals. He’s happier and healthier for being in work, and extensions best up his hooves and collection is hard on his hocks and stifles when he’s not stronger (he has naturally straight hind legs so needs a lot of condition to support sit without stressing his legs), but it seems like it would be silly and cruel not to have him in work when it’s good for him. If he were fun to show, I would take him out and show off my stepped down fancy horse. 
I bought my now 18 year old OTTB mare at age 3 to train/sell as a hunter. We did some hunter shows, under 3’, and schooled up to 3’3”, but I was very conservative about wear and tear. Life got crazy and I part-leased her to a low level dressage rider and then a kid for low dressage and jumping, before my life calmed down and allowed me to focus on dressage when she was 15. I say all this because I know she’s not been used/abused in her work.
We made huge progress last year at First Level, improving our scores by 10%. After winter and limited riding, I slowly started back but never felt quite right. I wasn’t sure if I was doing something wrong or if there was a pain issue, as it was subtle - just fussy in contact. But she’s a willing partner, so I had the vet out and diagnosed mild hind end lameness. Started Adequan and a comprehensive senior joint supplement. She’s also had worsening mare issues over time, so we use Regumate, but hind end stuff could be from some of her kicking while in heat.
She looks incredible for her age, and feels good now in our work with the new maintenance, but I don’t plan to push to compete at Second, whereas last year, I’d hoped to get there by the end of this year. I view our work as physical therapy/exercise for her health. If she feels like she has the last month or so when we start back in the spring, I’d like to go back at First, and show a bit for better scores. If she doesn’t feel good, we will do arena work for her health, and hack out as well.
With her age and maintenance needs, I have zero expectations or firm plans but I also don’t want to set limits. I lift weights and have met 70 year old women in the gym that lift and are in fabulous shape as a result. So if the work helps my horse, I wouldn’t set a limit on what we do. I don’t know that that’s a philosophy reserved for just older horses, but really any horse - my training and goals will always have to bring their mental and physical well-being into account.
I’m so sad to post this! But I was told earlier this year that my 16 year old will not be able to continue working at 3rd Level. I had gotten my bronze on him last year and was so hoping that his lessee could get her bronze on him as well, but I’m just glad he is happy and healthy and mostly sound.
He has had a pretty extraordinarily hard life, and most of the damage he sustained was prior to my ownership (on the track). He gets daily Previcox and EquiThrive. I don’t give him any monthly/weekly injectibles anymore as my vet said he has progressed beyond the point of those helping.
He has been working at 1st level for most of the late summer and fall and we have introduced some shoulder in recently. We are trying to find his new limits.
MTA: He also gets stifle and SI joint injections annually and hocks twice a year. His hocks were actively fusing as found on a bone scan last year and they are still bothering him. We do whatever level work he feels up to on that particular day. I am very careful to only work him on good footing.
There are all kinds of older horses out there doing lower level work - enjoy your horse! Moving up the levels - what is your goal? A 17 year old could surely do 2nd and 3rd level? I know someone who got their bronze on a 20 year old mare! You might not go GP, but then, most of us don’t!
My Pony is 12, and had done mostly nothing (except scare people) for his first 10 years, so last year, he and I did 1st level - 11 years old. Training level as a 10 year old. I still have hopes he will be able to go up the levels - probably not ALL the way, but maybe if the stars align (and my leg heals enough that I CAN ride again), I can get a silver medal on him. Older does not mean all-used-up!
My Pony gets annual hock injections, MSM, Vitamin E, flax seed, and a cough supplement (he has allergies) and a ration balancer. He’s a typical pony, rather curvaceous, so no concentrates besides his one pound of balancer. So far, he’s pretty happy and healthy. I know he has arthritis (hocks and neck), but he’s quite a little worker bee, and NEEDS to be busy or he gets evil…
I am lucky to have access to a Eurocizer, so he spends several hours/week on that too…
I didn’t even start riding dressage until my older horse was in his late teens… he had done H/J and equitation successfully for many years prior to that. He went to third level at around 20 or so, and then got hurt at a clinic. A year later he was completely sound again and I have no doubt he could have continued at that level; he’s 24 now and perfectly sound but retired because I have 2 other younger horses and don’t have time to ride him. I see no reason why a 16 year old horse could not keep moving up the levels.
Then he bowed a tendon, best I can guess, slipping on some slush in the pasture. He was close to 20 then. Again stall rest and systematic rehab. He did come back in fine shape, but was diagnosed IR and possible pre-Cushing not long after.
Moderate exercise is, of course, good for IR horses so I have continued riding him 3-4 times a week. Our sessions are shorter (30 mins or so) with good warm-ups. When needed in our colder weather, much of the ride may be basically warm up. Include all the 1st level stuff, some easy lateral work, low level pole work (he loves them best), patterns, you name it - what ever variety keeps it interesting and fun for him. He has a very active, bright mind. He does still love to work. Canter is his favorite gait, although I notice his stamina isn’t what it was years ago when he would go all day with both my kids doing about everything imaginable at the 4-H and HS eq team shows. If I push for more often than about every other day work, he is a bit tired and I want him to continue enjoying his work.
He is on the typical IR diet for easy keepers, mainly measured low NSC hay in slow feed bag. Ration balancer, Heiro for the IR, Thyro-L because he is borderline low, flax, and in the winter low maintenance dose of yucca to insure he is comfortable. (Ya, I know some say Yucca isn’t good for IR horses but both my vets says the trade off between raised cortisol from pain/discomfort/stress vs. the small amount of starch we’re better off focusing on quality of life. Go with the yucca as the difference is noticeable in more fluid gaits.)
He’s turned out daily in a large pasture (yes muzzled when it’s not covered in 3 ft of snow, like now) with his one buddy. He gets chiro roughly every 2 months when our vet/chiro makes the rounds in our area. He is, and has been from day one, barefoot. Farrier always comments about his fabulous feet.
I try to only ride on good footing these days, just as a hopeful preventive to future tendon problems. If the time comes to ride from riding, we’ll go for walks. He was quite enjoying that during tendon rehab once he figured out that the chain over the nose was to control and “airs above the ground.” Normally he doesn’t need a chain, but he was a bit amped without work and turnout. I was serious about helping him reach the best outcome and he learned fast to be smart.
I don’t have any show aspirations, but would love to reach the point where we could theoretically do a century ride. It will be 5+ years to make it. He’d be 30 and I would be… well you can do the obvious math. LOL. these oldies are truly golden.
My mare is 17. Her problem with staying lower level…her rider that can’t stay sound. We were just a whisker away from second level when my issues started and then seemed to snowball. I choose not to put her in training (every time but one thinking I could get back to fitness and start riding in 2-4 months). I think I am back and she is certainly a low mileage model. I need to gain more fitness so she will probably have a light winter, work wise, then I will start training seriously in the spring. I see no reason that she won’t be able to at least get to 4th level with judicious conditioning if I can stay sound…PLEASE.
Susan
I forgot to answer the maintenance question. We had a hock fuse neatly around 11, and he hasn’t gotten any kind of injections since. His feet decided they are more comfortable without shoes last year, so he gets trimmed every 4 weeks or more frequently, depending if any angles are starting to get off. He gets cosequin. And the absolute life changer for him was Platinum Hoof. Since his problem is at the growth point of the sole, we couldn’t do anything mechanically to help - and shoes appeared to aggravate the problem. The Platinum helped him get comfy almost immediately, even during rainy weather.
My 8 year old and I finished the year still at Training (our 2nd year since deciding to focus on dressage) :o Hopefully we will be ready to move up next spring, and if I’m lucky I can get my bronze medal before he retires!!
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