John Henry was put down today he was 32 isn't that old for a horse?

Question

Who was the longest living thorough-bred ?

Answer 1

ABSOLUTELY!!!! John Henry lived a wonderful long life. There was no bad reason to not euthinized. I will miss him dearly and but I am happy that he is out of pain!!!

HEROS GET REMEMBERED, BUT LEGENDS NEVER DIE

Answer 2

Godspeed, my beloved John Henry, Godspeed. He was an amazing horse and up until this year was living quite the life.

I think his advanced age had a lot to do with the hands on treatment he got at the Kentucky Horse Park.He was pampered as befitted a Champ... I expect (with luck) Cigar will live a long life also.

Answer 3

he was! :(

this is news to me... why'd they put him down?

just because he was so old?

well however it was i hope he is running in horse heaven along w/ all the other great champs like him! ♥

R.I.P. John Henry!

Answer 4

Yep, it is pretty old for a horse. I am sure that he had the best care at the Horse Park which helped.

Answer 5

That is old for a Thoroughbred.I read the story on NTRA.com.I saw him twice,October 2003 and May 2006.His health has been going downhill for a while. RIP John Henry!!

Answer 6

i will say a prayer...for the old champ....he won on dirt and turf....

and i think all of his jockeys are in the hall of fame.....

Answer 7

Sad to hear, but this has been on the cards for quite some time - he had been suffering from kidney problems and the recent heatwave in Kentucky was not helping his dehydration.  He also had Cushings Disease, which is a common disease in older horses and ponies.

32 is fairly old for a horse, some live longer but most die in their mid to late 20s.

I met John Henry about 3 years ago at the Kentucky Horse Park.  He was a grumpy old sod that would quite happily try to bite anyone that dared to fuss him!  I remember his groom telling us that the day he DIDN'T try to bite her she knew that he had given up on life.

Here is the official press release from the Kentucky Horse Park:

http://www.kyhorsepark.com/news.php?arti...

As for the oldest Thoroughbred, I am not sure.  LYPHARD was 36 when he was put down a few years ago, but there was a woman living in North carolina who claimed her Throughbred was 56 - she had no proof though.

Answer 8

32 is old for a horse.  Average age at time of death is around 20.

Answer 9

It is very old for a thoroughbred.  quarter horses tend to live into their 30s, but thoroughbreds rarely get that old.  ponies live much longer.  I don't know who was the oldest thoroughbred, but the oldest horse ever was a quarter horse named "Old Billy" who lived to be 62 years old.  That's absolutely ancient.

I was lucky enough to visit John Henry in August.  I didn't think he was looking too good then, but he was 32.  I fed him apples through his door :o)  I'm very sad to hear that he's gone. :o(

Melissa, here's a link to the story:

http://www.ntra.com/content.aspx?type=ne...