When should you stop jumping a horse (age)??

Question

On my myspace account i have put these photos up and a girl has comment'd on them about my horse..

I have a 20yo horse named Jag, he was a race horse(4yo), dressage, hack, sporting and was a B Grade show jumper at the age of 17. He has been riden all of his life and loves every minute of it!!

The pics ( shown below ) are of him and I jumping bareback about 1m... And she said that NO old horses should be jump AT ALL!! I was like as long as the horse is capable of it and even if he/she is old if they could jump it why not jump them?

I would never put my horse in any pain, and i will lower the hieght of the jumps as he ages because he cant get the height anymore. (as this time last year he was jumping 1.4m but i he cant now so i dont even think about trying) The highest i jump him now is 1m as he clears it, as soon as he starts to knock it evey time i will lower it but he loves jumping n is good at it so why should i stop just coz of his age???

(must be logged into myspace to see the pics, - sry photobucket wasnt working )

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=140141700&albumID=1941900&imageID=25955487

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=140141700&albumID=1941900&imageID=25374217

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=140141700&albumID=1941900&imageID=25715128

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=140141700&albumID=1482780&imageID=20259375

Answer 1

There are 18 and 19 year old horses that still compete Grand Prix. How long a horse can jump safely depends on its condition and its health. As long as you take proper care of your gelding's joints and soft tissue, he should be fine. Glucosomine supplements will help combat arthritis, as will cosequin or adequan.

Older horses are more prone to injuries, so also take care to wrap or bandage your horse's legs during strenuous work. Liniment after a big ride will also help keep him comfortable and combat any inflammation. And just try to monitor his mood and ability. If he starts to balk at fences or hesitates more, he may be in pain.

As a side note, one of my client's jumpers that I take in the Level 5s is 19. He was an old Grand Prix mount, but is on his way down now and competes without any issues. We do have him on cosequin and have his hocks injected as needed.

Answer 2

Over the years of watching horses jump, I've discovered that when a horse starts unexpectedly rushing after jumps or being naughty out of character - happens prior to a horse showing signs of age, arthritus etc.

So I'd keep an eye out for that sort of behaivor. We have a National title SJ pony here who is the same age and he is still a jumping machine, he must have been so well put together for sport. He still looks graceful and effortless jumping.

And I saw one of the Olympic horses was 18 and still being jumped and there was no comment about him not jumping what looks like 3m high!

Happy riding :)

Answer 3

I have a 28 year old QH gelding who last year was jumping perfectly fine.

If he couldn't jump the height , I wouldn't force him as I knew when he was refusing to be naughty or refusing because he simply couldn't do it.

Alsong as the horse shows no signs of pain or discomfort then I personaly think that there should be no limit to the work you put into the horse , unless it is being pushed hard for hours at a time.

Just make sure that as he starts to get older to get him more reguarly checked out by a vet or an experienced horse person., just for a second opinion.

I'm glad that your horse is aged and still in work unlike some people who stop working their horses when they are 17 or so with no health problems because they say that they are too old.

The poor horse is usaly sent out for retierment when they proberly  like to at least go on a nice trail ride.

All the best with your jumping!

Answer 4

I own a  22 year old gelding who I still jump.  He may be old and slow, but he enjoys it.  I can still jump almost 2 feet on him at 22! I've won many shows with him and have had many compliments on how great he jumps and rides. He barely ever knocks over any poles now! I'd say get him checked out by a vet more often since he is older, but I'd still jump him and work him.  Ignore what the girl commenting says, you know what you are doing.  Good luck and keep working your beautiful horse!

Answer 5

Have fun jumping.  As long as they are healthy, sound, and happy there is no reason to "put them out to pasture".  It's best to keep them excercised.

Answer 6

there is no real age u should stop jumping him. If he can clear it now it is fine at 23 i would take it down to about 60 - 80cm. and once he hits 25 i would only jump like 40cm if ur still riding him but he might get athritis or bad joint pain.

BUT the oldest finalist in the Veteran Horse Society’s championship class at Olympia in 2005 was a 42 year-old pony called Polo.

and i guess ur horse is young compared to that horse.

EDIT:

I reckon actually until he starts to knock them down alot i would lower it. 'til then if he wants to and is willingly jumping he is fine.

No horse is the same. Have lots of fun jumping. and hope i helped cya.

Answer 7

There is no age you have to stop jumping them at. I know 17 year olds who could only jump 18 inches and by the time they were 19 they could not jump at  all. This was after they jumped 4+ feet in their prime. I also know 29 year olds who could still jump 2'9 and 3 foot. It all depends on the horses joints

Answer 8

I think there is no magic age to stop jumping.  You should take your cues from your horse.  If he is sound, healthy, and hasn't developed any problems like arthritis, then there's no need to stop or lower what you're doing.  If he's noticably lame or stiff or short strided, or if he suddenly starts refusing or acting very grumpy, then there is probably a problem and it will be time to re-evaluate.

Answer 9

This girl obviously doesn't know what she's talking about because as long as the horse is capable then why not. He's your horse and you know he's enjoying it so jumping him is better than retiring him and leaving him bored in the stable all day. 20 is not old. I know a man who tried to retire his horse 3 times but the horse loved jumping so much she would jump logs on her own in the field and jump the dividing fences (about 1.2m), at age 28! This just proves it depends on the horse. You know your horse and you will tell when he's had enough.

Answer 10

There is no set age - it's different for every horse.

I have recent photos of my daughter jumping 3ft 2 on her 25 year old pony and that pony was loving it.

Stop jumping him when he stops enjoying it. If he's pulling you into it with his ears forward then he's obviously not suffering.

Too many horses are retired too early and left to die of boredom. If he's happy and not sore/lame or anything then there's no need to stop.

Answer 11

I wouldn't see why not unless your horse had any soundness problems or if he had any stiff joints from arthritis which could be helped with glucosamine. As long as you don't put too much pressure on your horses legs, which it seems like you take good care of and value your horses wellbeing, then I wouldn't see why not. Nice horse btw and good luck :) I've also heard stories of horses still competing in their late teens/early 20's so why not.

Answer 12

I don't know why you are worried about what some stranger that may be on the other side of the world and does not know you or your horse has to say.

There is no hard and fast rule as to when to stop jumping an older horse. Some are done by age 15, some can go to age 30. The only other people you need to be discussing your horse's retirement with are your trainer and your vet. If he is doing fine, then he is doing fine.