Elderly Horses and Distance

["angela harper" <minpins@hotmail.com>]

Hello, folks.  I have cross posted this to horsesCTR and ridecamp, so don't
curse me if you get this twice in your inbox.

I have wanted to try CTR and endurance riding for a long time and have
lurked off and on on these lists.  Now that cooler weather is here, I think
I'm ready to start getting a horse in shape and going for it.  The mare I
want to start on is an 18 year old Arabian/Quarter Horse cross.  Is this too
old?  At this age, I wonder if I should just let her go live with a friend
of mine who just wants a horse for light trail riding.  I don't know if
training her to compete in ~25 mile rides would accelerate wear and tear on
her body.  I don't intend to get her ready for fifty mile rides; I just
would like to get a start on her and test the waters of the sport.  If
there's any more risk to working her (as opposed to starting with a younger
horse), I would rather retire her as a light trail horse for myself or a
friend.

I know I have read about older horses competing, but it seems like they were
all aged endurance horses.  By that I mean that they had been distance
horses for a while.  My mare is perfect - she's the best trained horse I
have, she's steady, I know she's not going to try to kill me, I can trust
her, I know if I fall off or something she's not going to high-tail it.
(Yes, my last horse was a nut case - I love that horse, but I wouldn't trust
him any farther than I could throw him - or vice versa, heh.)  The man who
sold her to me had owned her for 10 years, during which she'd been a games
and cow horse.  For the past couple of years, she's been a bit of a pasture
potato, and she had a filly three or four years ago.  So she's had a fairly
active past, at least, although she's out of shape now.  She is a bit hefty,
which is why I wanted to wait until it cooled off before we really started
working.  And she does like to go out; she seems to prefer that to hanging
out in the pasture.  I want to make sure, though, I'm not going to "ruin"
her by starting to condition her.  Whether she's a competitive horse or not,
she's worth her weight in gold, and I want to make sure I have her around
for a long time.

Sorry this is so long winded, just looking for opinions and experiences.
Thanks!

~angela

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