Does the racing horse have a lower life span than a dressage or jumping horse??

Question

im just curious, becaus ethey do (according to me) work out more than an average jumping horse...

Answer 1

It all depends on the care oh the horse during its racing career. Many race horses go on to be jumpers or dressage horses.

Answer 2

I don't know if anyone has ever tried to keep a database on the longevity of horses that perform in different sports or disciplines;  moreover, in the case of dressage, jumping and racing, there would be some overlap:  a fair number of former racehorses have second careers showing over fences as either hunters or jumpers, and a smaller number also become dressage horses.  

For the AVERAGE horse, as opposed to the horse that is an elite performer in any discipline, the most significant age-limiting factors are going to be the care they receive and the degree of soundness they have.  It's regretable, but for any horse that isn't an elite performer who has "earned" a retirement, or who is unlucky enough to be owned by someone with limited financial resources, the beginning of the end comes once the horse is no longer sound enough to be used for the purpose the owner bought him for.  Horses are expensive to keep, and most people can't afford to keep a horse that is unrideable.

Both racing and working over fences tend to cause injuries or degenerative problems of the joints.  Racing also has a higher share of catastrophic injuries that require euthanasia than jumping disciplines do.  From what I've seen, the biggest problem the horses that are shown over fences have is a higher than average incidence of navicular disease, which eventually renders them unserviceable.

Dressage horses, in my experience, are more prone to soft tissue injuries (strains, sprains or just general ouchiness) than to bone or joint injuries.  Also, in my experience, dressage horses tend to be owned and handled by people who have a better understanding of physical conditioning of horses and who are more likely to be patient with a horse than the over-fences crowd is.  Nobody who rides or trains dressage horses expects a horse to be a "90 day wonder" (i.e., 90 days of training and earning blue ribbons in the showring), but I've known a lot of hunter-jumper trainers and riders who have that mindset.

I believe that because of these factors, horses that are used for dressage would, on average, live longer than horses that are used for showing over fences or for racing.  It would be interesting if someone did a study on this.

Answer 3

Racing is riskier and the chance for injury is greater. But race horses are often only raced for one or two years and their racing career is over and they are retired. So, barring any terrible injuries, a racehorse will likely race for a year or two and then retire to an easy life at stud. Dressage and jumping horses compete into their teen years but do less riskier stuff. Of course, if a horse breaks a leg or a breeding mare has problem giving birth or a horse that doesn't race well ends up at a slaughterhouse (gulp) then all bets are off. But the dressage and jumping horses which compete well into their teens are working out more over the lifespan than the average race horse. So, I would say that if the race horse makes it through his racing career he'll live just as long as jumping and dressage horses.