Please tell me about your very old (30 + horse) and why you think it lived so long

[SimonSays]

We have a 31 year old mini gelding. His first 20 years he lived on a pig farm and ate whole corn and grass… and got trimmed a couple times a year and probably a vaccine once and awhile?

He was owned by a friend’s family member and my husband wanted a mini. So we got semi feral Henry at about 18 years years old haha…he was healthy and good looking but hard to catch and a little wild.

He’s still going strong at 31- just added senior feed to his ration balancer and beet pulp soup as he’s having a harder time with hay now. He still is the king of his herd of 3 and living his best life- a 13 yr old mini donkey and a 14 yr old gypsy gelding. They live in a run in stall where they can come and go as they please. We do regular vet, farrier work on him and otherwise just kind of let him be. He’s still not the friendliest guy with people unless he sees a treat or his food coming then he nickers like crazy but he tolerates us and loves his two pasture mates. Sometimes I think luck and good genetics trump everything with these creatures…

[ParadoxFarm]

One of my boys turns 31 tomorrow. Happy Birthday, Chico!! He’s just got good genetics, I think!

[HJdaydream]

My gelding lived to 35. My family owned him most of his life (from 7 onward). Workload was decent for a few years, then a pasture puff in his early teens, then brought back into work and achieved good results showing at 2nd level dressage and training level eventing into his late teens. Still was ridden quite a bit until mid 20s, at which point my mom took over and he did relaxing trail rides up until almost the very end.

Care was 24/7 turnout on sandy loam pasture. Coastal hay and Purina grain. Did develop cushings in his late 20s and was on medication for it. 15.3 hand APHA.

Pic of the old man. We still miss him every day.

[RhythmNCruise]

There is a QH gelding in the pasture next to where my horse lives out at the barn, and he’s in his 30’s. He cannot eat hay and gets ample amounts of soaked alfalfa cubes as well as whatever else (no idea what else he eats). He has an acre of grass to himself and though he just quids it for the most part, at least he can mosey around at his leisure “grazing” as it were. He lost his long-time pasture mate over a year ago, and he’s a bit of a Nervous Ned type when taken out of his pasture, but he has two shared fence lines with other horses, a nice stall he can come and go from as he chooses, and a good barefoot trimmer who trims him in the shade of his tree in his pasture where he’s relaxed and happy. No one would ever look at him and think he was over 30 until, as others have mentioned, getting a closer look at the grey in his face. He sheds out beautifully every spring and shines like a brand new penny. He loves to give us heart attacks by taking long naps laying flat out in his pasture, but he always comes up for feed time, whinnying and demanding service, LOL.

His owner only comes out occasionally as she lives some distance away, but she makes sure he has what he needs and that he is living as comfortable a life as he possibly can. She always assumed he’d be the one to die before his pasture mate (who was in her 20’s) but it wasn’t so. Ol’ Rebel just continues living on, unaware of how old he is.

My oldies died at 28 (some sort of internal issue…not really colic, but enough pain to say goodbye), and 22 (broken leg…ugh). I’m hoping my now 17yo that I’ve had since he was a yearling will make 30+. He’s a healthy boy and I am a slave to his health and happiness, so we’ll see. He’s literally living his best life with 24/7 access to a small pasture with his BFF mare friend, 24/7 access to nice, airy, clean stalls with fans, lots of doting on by me, and reasonable amounts of riding to keep him fit enough but not tax him too much. I obsess over his diet, and he wants for nothing when it comes to care.

Of course, he could break his leg at any time. I can’t control that. But barring a catastrophic accident, I think he should last a pretty long time.

[Pico_Banana]

I have a QH mare who turned 31 on May 20. I adopted her when she was 26 (the shelter thought she was almost 30 at the time but I since got her records).

I know very little of her history other than she lived by herself for a long time before she came to me without stopping at the shelter. Looking at the photos of her by the shelter at her old home, she was so depressed and sad. Like she had no personality at all. And I know they weren’t able to care for her very well - no hay and no hoof or dental care for at least two years.

She has completely blossomed here. She has more energy and more personality than my other two put together. She does have PPID and struggles to keep weight on. I’m pretty sure her hocks have fused at this point. But she also managed to jump on top of an almost 4’ high retaining wall this spring, so she’s got plenty of spunk still in her! I give her the usual senior care - lots of TCS, timothy/alfalfa cubes, all day turnout, an in/out stall.

I swear so much of it is attitude. I had a dog like this - I knew she’d live a long life because she was fearless and easygoing. My mare is mostly the same.

[Mango20]

I think luck is the biggest factor. I’ve had two over 30:

First was a medium Chincoteague pony, born wild in 1980, but rounded up as a foal. I got him when he was 3. He had at least 12 hours/day turnout and no special care (it was the 1980s-90s). I sold him at 12, he foundered badly at 18 and I took him back at 19, and he became sound enough to be my son’s first pony. He lived to 33. In his last few years, he had Cushings, and progressively had trouble first with hay, then even pasture, with more and more replaced with soaked but not soggy senior feed, beet pulp, hay pellet, and for a while, chopped forage. I fed him at least 4 times per day. He choked at least once a year and colicked a couple times each winter. Most would resolve on their own or with a short trailer ride. What did him in in the end was a tough to cure sinus infection which came back and required a few different antibiotics. It really made him frail and weak, and the second time he went down and couldn’t get up was his last.

My current horse is 31. I’ve known her since birth and owned her since she was 2. She’s a warmblood, so not a breed usually associated with living a long time. She’s turned out in a hilly pasture at least 12 hours per day. She has needed no changes to her care or routine until coming out of this winter. She has lost a ton of muscle. I’ve added senior feed and greatly increased how much she gets, plus the grass has come back. She’s only very slowly looking slightly better and I think I will probably have her put down before this coming winter. In the meantime, she seems happy, gets around okay, and has a good appetite.

There’s something to be said for the horses that only make it to 25, do well up until the end, then go out quickly. Managing an elderly horse can require a lot of extra work, extra cost, and extra worry. Clearly, I keep them around anyway, but every day I look at my horse with a critical eye and wonder when the time is right to let her go. I don’t want the guilt of doing it too early, or the guilt or consequences of doing it too late. I think “before winter” is a valid choice for her, but I need to be ready to make the call sooner if she goes downhill at all.

[Pico_Banana]

@Mango20

There’s something to be said for the horses that only make it to 25, do well up until the end, then go out quickly. Managing an elderly horse can require a lot of extra work, extra cost, and extra worry. Clearly, I keep them around anyway, but every day I look at my horse with a critical eye and wonder when the time is right to let her go.

I have these thoughts, too. I love having my senior around, but this part I dread.

[ClassyJumper]

My pets (horses and dogs) live forever. I think the biggest factor is being mutts. My pony lived into her forties (Shetland cob mix). My rescue lab mix is 14. He has had several days I thought it might be time and then the next day he is running around like he’s 5 again. My gelding is 24 (appendix) and hasn’t had any age related issues yet.

My horses have always been out 24/7 with access to their stalls (and private turnout). I know it’s controversial but I do think private turnout avoids some of those catastrophic pasture incidents that can take horse out young. They share a fence line and can touch noses and nap side by side but I have no desire to deal with herd issues and kick wounds .

[streamline]

Following. I just acquired a 25+ year old grade QH type. He’s lived outside 24/7. Maintained his weight this winter on a netted roundbale. They said equinox if he’s being trail ridden. The most he’s going to do is walk around with a 35lb kiddo. Must be a glutton for punishment since I had to put a super senior pony down this spring.