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[RC] Frisky Old Horses - Ridecamp Guest

Please Reply to: Lauretta tikitiki69@xxxxxxxxxxx or ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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While age can certainly play a part in a horse's ability to run
around and keep up with its peers, I think it is more of an over-
all health/personality combination that will determine just how
'frisky' a horse is, irregardless of the actual age.  This will, 
of course, vary from individual to individual.  Just observing
the group of horses (there are fifteen) that reside at the place
I board mine (they are all QH except Shaba, but I don't think the
breed is necessarily relevant in this example) there is one mare
in particular, about 5 - 6 years of age, has a slight case of 
laminitis, and doesn't really feel inclined to run around with 
the others.  She will just kind of amble far enough to eat, and 
that is it. Then you have Fred.  He is going on 37 years, and up until about a 
year ago was trucking around with the best of them.
He was finally retired a year ago from barrel racing; the owner's
four-year old granddaughter competed on him and won quite a few
ribbons and even a saddle by the end of the year.  While these 
two examples may be exceptions to the norm, my point is that I 
don't think that a horse being 'up in years' should necessarily 
be termed as geriatric until the body and/or mind of the animal
shows this to be the case.  Which brings me to my next question
of what age would you consider as 'too old' for doing say, a 100
miler at a racing pace?  I have seen that there have been horses that have done
quite well in the longer distances up to their late teens (I be-
lieve one or two have won Tevis at 17/18 years of age) and there
was the horse that won in Abu Dabai last year at age 18? from 
France.  But have there been any studies that have demonstra-
ted a significant decline in performance parameters once a group
of horses reach a particular age group, and do these parameters
change from breed to breed?  At what age would you decide that, 
though you have followed the game plan for conditioning and 
doing well in a 100 mile ride (where you actually want to place
and/or win, and not just be a middle-of-the-pack or completer)
that due to your horse's age you may be taking too much of a 
risk that, though he gives you every last bit of energy he had to
get you that win or placing, it may be too detrimental in 
recovery time (due to stress on his muscles/metabolics from such
activity) or risk of injury due to his aging systems that you 
would decline and opt to forego your goal and ride at a reduced
rate as a better-safe-than-sorry approach?  Or would you not 
even take his age into consideration and, even if he were in his
mid-20's (just for an example), still moving fine and still had
the good recoveries and recuperative response to a long distance
ride, push him to perform at the same rate as you would with a 
horse at a much younger age? 

Lauretta and Shaba (who, at age 16, thinks he is invincible and
will be at superhorse status for the next 50 years...horses can 
dream too, can't they?.......)


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