Longevity & the Older Jumper

[TheDBYC]

Prefacing this question by stating I’m well-aware that there are no guarantees with horses, it’s all a crap shoot, & horse could need to retire tomorrow…

I keep seeing an ad schoolmaster jumper in his late teens that I’m drawn to. (Mainly because ride in the video is so bad its a good advertisement for the horse’s temperament, as awful as that sounds.) Import who jumped 1.45 for a couple years after arriving in the US, then took some juniors around .85-1.10 for a few years, before landing with current owner, who, according to the trainer, lost interest. Horse has supposedly been lightly used for lessons by another family member for the past few years. Priced in the $10k-19k range. It looks like it could be a nice horse for me to pull up my big girl underwear & ease back into poles/x-rail gymnastics & sub 1.0m classes. Also might be a nice fit for my teenager to do the same.

Here’s the part that is going to sound stupid. What the reasonable career expectancy is for a horse like this? I’ve always heard jumpers can stay sound & fit into their 20’s with a correct, careful program. I’ve just not seen it in practice much since I’ve trained with people who were in demand to bring along the young fruitcakes. Can a 17yo jumper receiving age-appropriate maintenance & correctly & sympathetically conditioned reasonably have another 3-5 years of light competition at .85-1m or so?

Horse is out on trial for at least the second time; I’m thinking either there’s something wrong or it will get snapped up shortly. Likely a moot point on this particular one. Curious for similar horses going forward.

[supershorty628]

It’s absolutely possible. My mare (in my avatar) jumped the 1.50m classes with me until she was 20, and then retired because I was starting vet school. A schoolmaster with that kind of experience, if maintained well, is a great opportunity - especially at those smaller heights. If it vetted well, I don’t think I’d hesitate.

The thing with older horses that you have to keep in mind is conditioning them; they will lose fitness faster than younger horses, and you’ll have to be more proactive to maintain whatever fitness and conditioning you do. It’s just something to think about when you’re legging them up for the show season.

[TheDBYC]

@supershorty628

The thing with older horses that you have to keep in mind is conditioning them; they will lose fitness faster than younger horses, and you’ll have to be more proactive to maintain whatever fitness and conditioning you do. It’s just something to keep in mind.

Absolutely! I leased an 18yo PSG dressage schoolmaster for a couple years. It took a lot of careful, advance planning to make sure his fitness schedule was covered, getting the trainer to ride him if I couldn’t get there, etc.

There’d something about this particular horse I’m drawn to. Seems very sweet-natured & honest. He was getting nothing from the rider in the video (who really didn’t look ready to jump, let alone that high) & not once did he offer even the slightest hesitation. It annoys me to no end when people put a horse in that position. At least it demonstrates how talented yet safe the horse is, I suppose.

[Redlei44]

Totally reasonable to expect another couple of years, especially at those lower heights and with excellent maintenance as needed.

The main drawback of an older horse is that on average, retirement is closer and those who will only be able to afford to keep/board one (even if just on retirement board) cannot easily justify purposely buying that scenario. If you have a good retirement situation, like owning your own farm, it’s much less of a big deal.

I personally love riding the old schoolmasters, and if you know you need/want a safe reintroduction to the jumpers, it’s a fantastic option.

[2DogsFarm]

As long as you can & are willing to support him when he needs to retire from the ring
My TB was in his mid-20s when, out of respect for his age (we had long ago stopped showing H/J & low level Eventing) I lowered fences to 2’.
Old SOB still cleared them at 3’
If he had a middle finger, I would have seen it.
He was still in good shape when I lost him at 27 to a trailer accident

[jumpottb]

100% Everything takes longer to build but the muscular strength is worth its weight in gold. Lots if walking hills, poles, trails, walking backwards uphill for stifle strength… It is the best fitness you can do for a horse of any age and ideal for our older boys/girls.

My beast has better muscular integrity and mass than any other horse on the farm and will be competing in the meters at 21. Get them fit, strong, address imbalances, exploit the strengths and make it FUN! Lastly, the advice Mr. Spooner gave me 2 years ago… Enjoy him!

[TheDBYC]

@2DogsFarm

As long as you can & are willing to support him when he needs to retire from the ring

Oh, absolutely. My ex husband once snidely referred to me as “The last refuge of the aged & infirm equine,” because I’m a bit of a sucker for a sad story & have a tendency to take in other people’s retirees when they “have no room” or “can’t afford two horses.”

I’m sorry about your old guy

[2DogsFarm]

@TheDBYC

sorry about your old guy

Thanks.
In our 20yrs together he set the bar pretty high for successors.
Never refused to do what was asked, even when it caused his TB brain to hum like a hive of bees
But he also taught me I can love as deep again.
Differently, but they have all given me something.

Kudos!
I’d wear that Aged Equines crown proudly.
Oh wait, I do.
Current Herd of 3 has 21, 18 & 6.
Hackney Pony, TWH & mini respectively.
All usable, even if 21 is mostly decorative

[Peggy]

One of the top eq horses on the west coast, Hot Pants, is now 23. Won our Maclay Regionals and the USEF Talent Search last fall. Placed in the top ten at the Maclay Finals.

Watch Why They Won: Wireman Comes From Behind For Platinum Performance/USEF...

[mika0116]

This is me on a 19 year old former 2* horse (Marilyn Little’s former eventer) in a clinic. STEPPING over .90.

[Album] JM & Easy

Regularly jumped the standards with me as I bopped around .80 - .90 in lessons and 1.0+ in grids. I think unless the course was catty, he was bored af with my ‘dinky fences’.

You can see with my shortish release and his ears flipping into listening position “Easy there, Easy” was my last words before takeoff

YMMV, but this horse was always in a program, showed regularly and was always with riders under trainer supervision, had some regular maintenance, but this horse’s natural movement (his gallop) kept him in balanced shape.

[TheDBYC]

Omg!!! He looks mildly insulted! Reminds me of when I took the dressage schoolmaster I leased to a schooling show. I signed up to do two Intro level tests because at age 43, this was my first attempt at showing since I was 16 & I was nervous. (All my $$$ goes to hunter shows with my daughter.) Horse momentarily pouted when he realized we weren’t going to be doing the real fancy prancing in PSG: “What?? I had to take a bath & let you trim my ear hair for THIS???”

[mika0116]

Yes, this is how he would show his displeasure most often, taking out a stride and doing this:

[Album] JM & Easy 1st Month

I was proud to stay in the tack, get him back, and jump the next after this without issue - but boy did he get me fitter. I think I lost 10 lbs and gained muscle after 2 months.

Had many a clinician say “you brought a Ferrari 250 GTO to the local Sunday car show” & “Impressive but this is not Hickstead, halt in the 6 and canter out”

Would love another like him when I move up to the PNW…

[TheDBYC]

He says, “No scope, no hope!”

[dani0303]

I have a 21 year old former 1.20 horse that I bought at 17. She’s still sound and happily jumping around the .95s. I anticipate she has several more years left as well.

My 28 year old former 1.30 junior horse is packing kids around 2’6 and working in the lesson program 6 days a week.

With the right fitness program and regular maintenance (mine get Pentosan and occasional Equioxx) these golden oldies can last forever

[supershorty628]

@TheDBYC This video and this video are both from when my mare was 20 - still very much raring to go and having a blast.

You can have such a great time with those super experienced horses!

[TheDBYC]

Wow! You two are amazing! I’m sure a lot of it has to do with your riding, but I love that she seems to just know how to keep the rhythm steady & exactly how much impulsion she’s going to need. That right there would be my only clue that she might be 20, though!

[Tha_Ridge]

We have two in the barn—a 21-year-old former Grand Prix horse (we’re talking 1.60 at WEF, Pan Am Games, etc.) who is now a 1.00m seeing eye dog, and a 24-year-old equitation horse who loves to play his “old school horse” card but will bop around 2’6" and make it down the lines easy when you get him riled up. We joke that the former is the fittest horse in the barn, as his lessee likes him to get a ride every day when she can’t come out. They are both in incredible condition with no excessive maintenance outside of the preventatives that some other posters have mentioned above.

[541hunter]

I bought this horse at that price range. He had an 8+ year FEI record including NAYRC and a WC Qualifier. I got him as a coming 17 year old to do the 3’ hunters/eq, assuming I’d get a couple years at that level and then have to retire him. He’s turning 22 next month and he’s moved me up to the 1.10m-1.15m jumpers in the last year or so with absolutely no trouble. I honestly think he could still do the Low AOs if I wanted to try, but I don’t want to push it.

My plan is to keep doing the 10s until either I’m ready to move up or he tells me he’s ready to step down/retire. If/when he does make it clear he wants to stop jumping I’ll be happy to fund his retirement. But personally I think he’ll do the .85m-1.0m until he dies; the way he jumps at that height is just pretty easy on his body, and he loves having a job.

IMO, if they’re competing at that level and they haven’t had a major issue by the time they hit their late teens, it seems pretty likely they’ll be able to keep going at some level for a long time. Turnout, fitness, nutrition, and a top-notch farrier will extend their usefulness. Those experienced campaigners are worth their weight in gold—I thank my lucky stars everyday that my horse came into my life when he did.

[173north]

Yes! I would jump on this type of horse, honestly. These old schoolmasters are worth their weight in gold and if he’s still sound at 17 after a 1.45 career, it’s very likely that with correct fitness they will stay sound at lower levels.

My former trainer sort of specialized in these as her client base was a lot of ammies looking for teacher types, so in the last 5 years, anecdotally, I’ve known/ridden:

A gelding we bought at 16 for a song with a former career through 1.20m including HITS, Devon, etc. He did the 3’6 for another year, then stepped down gradually, but still crushed a .90m show with me this summer at 20, jumped around the occasional meter at home, and would happily jump higher if we let him. He looks and acts 10. He moves HORRIBLY - like, I do not know how KWPN approved him, and you really wouldn’t think he’d hold up - but he’s never, ever taken an off step in the 4 years I’ve known and ridden him.

Another gelding who did the 3’6 - 3’9 jumpers and is stepping down to the 1m at 17, I’m sure he has at least a few more years at that height in him. Perfectly sound, was gleefully DRAGGING me over the jumps this winter, gets yearly injections and some supplements.

A mare with a big junior jumper career, she’s still jumping around 2’9 to 3’ in her early 20s - I think she may be 22. Trainer and rider are just starting to think she may need to move to a 2’6 job this spring or summer.

A former GP horse who was still doing 2’6 lessons at age 25. We always joked he’d drop dead in the arena one day because he loved to work so much - he ended up sustaining a soft tissue injury and was retired.

Love these golden oldies. Most of them love their jobs, can teach you so much and are SO much fun to have around.

[foursocks]

Absolutely worth trying if he’s still available! It’s all about maintenance and fitness, but the older ones teach you so, so much.

My wonderful old man was retired at 21 because he was starting to need more maintenance than I thought was kind to keep him sound just doing Training level eventing. However, he was a XC machine to the end and his dressage was actually getting better and better in his last competition season.

I don’t event and was leasing him to a junior who adored him but I was reluctant to keep injecting to keep him sound for Training, and didn’t want to see him doing lower and lower stuff with a succession of kids. He would have been great for them, but he’s sensitive and needs a confident ride and I’m not sure it would have been great for him.

His kid had him on a complete fitness routine and kept him in amazing shape and soundness, and her attention to this showed; no one ever guessed he was as old as he was. Had he stayed at that level of maintenance he’d still be clocking around today, but he started having feet and ankle issues jumping XC and the writing was on the wall. He didn’t owe anyone anything, so I retired him. Within a year his back dropped, his face grayed out, and he finally looked old. Regular dressage and jumping work is what kept him young, and again, if increasingly more things weren’t needed- like Osphos injections every 4 months- I’m sure he’d still be bouncing around with his kid.