What is the oldest using horse you have?

Question

This would be a horse that you ride, drive or use on a consistent basis.

Pasture pets, Companion horses or retirees excluded.

My oldest using horse is a 27 year old chestnut mare that we trail ride. She looks and acts much younger!

Answer 1

16 but rid a 37

Answer 2

tulsa- 9 years old. my mom games on her. i've used her in my first show and when chrome was lame. i suck on her. but a nice ride though!

when i did use teak for 4h (western), she was 28/ 29 at the time.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27632847@N0...

Answer 3

my old rodeo/ranch horse was retired at the age of 29 and lived for another 5 years before he passed away.his name was beuford and he was a 15.0 hand quarter horse with the heart of gold.rodeo and ranch horses i tend to retire early due to the work related to ranching and rodeo tend to wear on their legs and back but he still loved to go to work with children riding him.when we had a funeral for him he had quite a fan club and a ton of flowers.his grave is on the southwest side of the property in his favorite spot and is marked with a cactus rose plant.who says cowboys dont have a heart.

Answer 4

Mine are 21 and 22 and are both used on a regular basis.  Both are retired show horses turned natural horsemanship training projects, and grandchildren entertainment!  Neither has a joint bump, curb, splint, puff or hoof condition.  they are conformationally correct, which I believe has everything to do with horse longevity.  they work collected and correct, which also contributes to their soundness....either could still compete with ease, even though they both have metabolic syndrome.  but I use them to show people what can be achieved and how a well conformed, well used horse can continue to be useful for many years.  I expect them to be around for years to come.

Answer 5

The oldest horse we have is 21. His name is ol boy (decon) and my dad has had him before i was born. And im going to be 20 on the 30th.

My dad uses him uses him to herd cattle and just around our ranch.

Answer 6

Of our horses, the oldest is 11, but I know dad has one, Norman, that is 26 that he lets the neighbor kids ride.

When I was younger, it was Okey, a 27 yr, old sorrel gelding that we used to bring in the other horses from pasture.  Nothing major, but he enjoyed the attention.

Answer 7

The oldest horse I've seen still giving kids lessons is 33. I thnk as long as the horse is still sound, happy and keep weight on you should ride it.

Answer 8

The oldest 'using' horse I've had was my daughters pony... She was 22 at the time we stopped riding and using her.

My daughter mainly just played around with her, trials, fun shows, took lessons... That kinda thing in her later years. Before that Jess was riding her English and showing locally pretty consistently. She was shown in HUS, some western pleasure and she did a bit of barrel racing, but nothing serious.

She was a great little pony, always put up with the girls fussing with her. We recently had to have her euthanized, but in the time we had her she was a wonderful pony and made the girls as happy as ever.

Answer 9

The oldest horse I rode and worked with was a 33 year old QH gelding named Biscuit.  He was such a gentleman, fit as a fiddle for the most part, and completely sound.  I suspect he was worth a fortune in his younger days, as his training was impeccable even when I got to him (which was at least 10-15 years after he had his last rider!)  I just did trail riding (i.e. walking around the woods) with him a copule times a week, but from what I was told, he did it all when he was younger.  

He wasn't mine, but belonged to a woman who inherited him when she purchased her home.  (Can you imagine moving and not bringing your horse with you?  Sheesh.)

Don't know if this link will work or not...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28618229@N0...

That is not the pasture fencing in the photo, don't worry.  His owner took a pic of him when he was loose in the yard.  Pretty handsome for an old guy, huh?

EDIT:  He is retired now, and from what I hear, completely bored with it.  Poor guy, he loved going for his walks in the woods!

Answer 10

We have a MFT mare that is my nephews, and she is now 24. We still use her for some trail riding although Sam does not ride her as he has outgrown her. My sister, who is tiny, rides her still but only about 2 times a month. Shes getting up there but has always been very healthy and has never taken a lame step in her life. I adore her and it will be sad when shes no longer able to do anything cuz of her age, love her.

Answer 11

We have a 20-year-old Warmblood mare, who still wants to work. Once an eventer and jumper, she has done dressage for many years.

She still does dressage, and we ride her on the trails.

And . . . she has produced several beautiful babies.

Want information about caring for a senior horse? Check the link under SOURCES - below.

Answer 12

My oldest is a 27 year old pony who is now being ridden by my 7 year old and used for pony club games, other english riding (mostly walk/trot so far), and trail rides.

He looks great and still has tons of energy (sometimes too much for his little rider) but is usually great.  He was doing poorly last fall but after putting him on senior feed, he has made a comeback.

Answer 13

We have a 34 yr old QH(Simba) and a 17 yr old STB (Herman).

My daughter still rides Simba. He was a barrel racer in his prime. He still meanders around his barrels :)

Herman is ridden and driven.

Answer 14

Our oldest was a 32 year old mule name Billy. We had him put down last summer when he started to do poorly. He was my ex's riding mule. Supposed he was broke to harness too, but we never used him for that.

He was a character and liked to drink coke out of the bottle. He would take a long neck bottle (he would do this with beer too) in his teeth, lift it up and chug it. I can't even do that. lol!

Rest in peace Billy!

Answer 15

the one i use his name is eroqoie. 22 years old gelding. I use him for endurence riding such as galloping by corn feilds, on gravle things like that. he dont act 22! he can jet it. and he can go very slug slow. he is a red roan appaloosa. love him to peices.

Answer 16

The oldest documented"using horse" I've ever had was Mister Mobar, a triple A (Racing) AQHA Stallion.  He was 27.

I also had a 27 (Roughly guessed at by vet.) yr old mare as a kid who could go for miles and get up and do it AGAIN the next day.

Currently, I have a 19 yr old Azteca who I hack down the trails and do some arena work and an 18 yr old Quarter Horse (No papers) gelding who's my favorite lesson horse for the kids.

However, there's a gal at our barn who's had her mare since she was 5 and she's now 31 and she just now stopped riding her.

Answer 17

45

Answer 18

well, my TB is 19 and in full event training, to eventually do a BN 3 phase at the end of the summer.

he gets ridden 4 days a week, 3 training one hack.

but he acts like hes 5 and his teeth say his 16 but the JC says hes 19.

and i knew a horse who was ridden until the age of 39/40, and was just recently put down.  Had horrible cushings and no teeth, but he STILL ran you over going to turnout.

Answer 19

A yard I worked at had a horse that worked on the riding school until he was 41. He retired and died after a short illness (well, he was put down) aged 43.

Answer 20

One summer I was doing barn work/riding for a woman who had a 32 year old morgan with cushings. He was really stiff and was a "grumpy old man" because she didn't really have time to work with him or ride him. Over the summer we rode and worked and went on trails and at one point he was voluntarily cantering on the trails and having a good ol' time. He loosened up a lot and seemed like a much happier horse.

He unfortunatly passed away the following summer, but it was a great summer we had together!

RIP Little Big Man.

Answer 21

There is a 12 hand pony at our barn the kids still ride regularly in the ring. No one really knows how old he is, but he is definitely old.  The barn manager says "between 20 and 50" (ha ha)!

Answer 22

My own personal horses...the oldest is 7. hahaha

Trail horse.

Now when I was managing the breeding farm the oldest broodmare still being bred was 30 which was her last foal.

Answer 23

our oldest horse is 20 but ive ridden a 42 yo.

Answer 24

My gelding is 20 and he still loves to run!

Answer 25

My oldest horse is 17 even though he acts young! He jumps! My youngest horse is 3!

Answer 26

Our oldest is 33 and semi-retired... we use her for hippotherapy once a week.

Answer 27

My daughter's pony - we *think* he's about 25.

i'm going to ask the tooth guy to make a guess when he comes later this month.

He gets ridden regular, some jumping etc.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11231383@N0...

Answer 28

I ride a quarter horse mix (probably with some Morgan and Thoroughbred in him) who is at least 26 years old, maybe even 28. We do dressage and flatwork (no jumping because of an old injury) in the ring and he's excellent at what he does - he can even gallop and loves it. We go on trail and he absolutely loves it and can go for miles. He acts like he's five. His name is Hobbes but he acts like Calvin!

Answer 29

I have a 22 year old appaloosa gelding. he's just used as a trail horse.

I know soebody who rode her horse well into his late thirties if not older.

Answer 30

Mine is my moms horse moe, shes 18 and does dressage

Answer 31

I used to give lessons to little kids and do light trail riding on my old mare right up until the year we had to put her down. She was 34 at the time. She was in great shape over all and delt with the kids wonderfully. She really seemed to enjoy our little trail rides, mostly just down our country road.

I miss her. :-(