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[RC] OLD HORSES - heidi larsonWe have two old horses, one (23) retired from endurance due to a pasture
injury, he still loves to go out and now that Tevis is not my immediate focus,
he'll be ponying my yearling and getting to go out, he'll be much happier, he's
been a little depressed with nothing much to do and not enough regular
exercise. My stepdaughter's rescue (22) absolutely LOVES to go down the trail,
he was not broke til nearly 20, was locked in a stall for nearly 10 years, only
coming out into an arena or paddock occasionally and to be bred. His eyes
sparkle and his ears couldn't be more forward going down the trail, he's only
done LD and likely won't do anything longer, but boy can this guy (13.3) trot
and keep up with the big boys. He's a bit of a hard keeper, just had a dental
and he's lost his 3rd or 4th tooth due to all the poor care he had for his
first 19 years. Quids alot and subsequently gets alot of softened food, but
we'll keep him hauling his junior out on LD
just because he's happiest going down the trail.
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heidi larson
--- On Thu, 7/10/08, Elizabeth Walker <bwalker2@xxxxxxx> wrote:
From: Elizabeth Walker <bwalker2@xxxxxxx> Subject: Re: [RC] OLD HORSES To: "Ridecamp" <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Date: Thursday, July 10, 2008, 6:42 PM When my old horse was about 12, he pulled both front suspensories and I retired him from rides (mostly LDs, 1 50). When he turned 20, he started having problems with arthritis in his left front, which I treated with Adequan. At that time, I was mostly doing arena work with him. At age 23, he was starting to *look* old - his back was starting to sag, he had a pot belly. I started him back on trail riding that year - first just at a walk. As he got into better shape, I added trot, and the canter. At age 24, I entered him in a 15-mile fun ride, and kept up his conditioning program. At age 25, I entered and completed an LD. We finished mid- pack. During this time, his arthritis got better, his topline came back up to level, and his belly firmed up. Just before I lost him to a broken leg, the vet made a comment about how he looked more like a 16 year old than a 25 year old. When I started taking him back out on trail, in his old stomping grounds, he would stop and gaze around - just looking at the scenery he hadn't seen in a nearly a decade (and he remembered all the trails). Sometimes, he would try and take another trail back out rather than toward the trailer. I don't think that "giving him a rest" would have been doing him any favors. On Jul 10, 2008, at 9:28 AM, sherman wrote:The point is that a fit horse, even fit for 50s, is ahealthy horse,will have better muscle tone, will be able to eat alot withoutgetting fat, will continue getting all the care andattention that ahorse being used gets, compared to a retired horse,and yes, it mayhave a stroke and die without ever retiring. I saygood. Does anyoneask any horse if they want to go even 10 miles? LikeHeidi said, ifone has to push a horse to do the work, maybe itshouldn’t be doneregardless of the horse’s age. Otherwise, why wouldyou treat ahealthy older horse any different than a youngerhorse?Kathy I don,t care what anyone says about some special oldhorse. What Isay is what,s the point???? Did anyone ask thehorse???? I,ve hadseveral old horses full of the devil, doesn,t mean athing, it,sjust the way they have always been. Give um a rest.jvm =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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