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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 342
 
Location: Alabama | I have a 23 year old app cross mare, she is an awesome little horses & LOVES her job. She's one I those horses where her heart is just in it 150% every time she runs... With her getting older I'm starting to get a little cautios about her because my other old man blew his hock... My mare is A super easy keeper, no lameness issues, great feet, & hyper and happy. I'm going to rodeo on her this year while I finish out my colt. Can you please share your experiences with what you can do to keep your older horses happy, healthy, sound, & running? Hauling tips, feed tips, supplements, exercise programs, ect.... Anything will be apriciated.... | |
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 Purveyor of unconventional wisdom
Posts: 17112
 
Location: CA | I run 2 22 year olds, no lameness issues, nothing special in the feed just yet, might start though. One is an Appy. He is tough. Not clocking like he used to, but loves his job. I think if I stop running him he would just kind of die..... The other is a foundation quarter horse, loves her job too... I have an 18 year old with legs that gives my vet nightmares, but she runs sound, too bad her mind isn't ... lol I feed alfalfa and grass hay, rope and ride, and if I run two days in a row they get bute. I figure if I am hurting they are too. | |
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 Living within my means
Posts: 5128
Location: Randolph, Utah | My older gelding just turned 27 and he still loves to run. We exercise him about every other or every third day, and He loves to sprint so I'll let him a few days before he will run. I am careful where he runs and how much. I try and take him to arenas he likes. | |
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 Am I really the Weirdo?
Posts: 11181
Location: Kansas | My bay horse is now 21, still loving his job and occasionally throwing down 1D runs just to prove he can. I ran him 33 times in 2013. His first run was April 6th and his last run was December 1st, so you can see I really spread his workload out. He rarely ran more than 4 times in a month even when I was using him as part of my rodeo string. Probably his busiest month was September when he made 7 runs. That included two rounds of a rodeo finals because I was pretty sure my other two faster horses were sore and I thought he might do quite well in the tiny pen. Here's his first round run up there - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swPDTY3_Y8o
I tried to pick his arenas carefully - avoiding big pens and deep ground as much as I could in the summer - and if he had ever started giving me trouble at the gate, I would have given him time off because that's his signal that he needs a break. He is literally the only horse who never came up sore on me this year but I'm very proud of the way I managed him and limited his runs. I plan on doing the same type of thing this year but probably won't use him as much at rodeos if I can figure out how to ride my sorrel and keep my gray feeling great.
His supplements are SmartFlex III Resilience (not the full dose SmartPak recommends, I think either 1/2 or 3/4 of it) and SmartBreathe Pellets (also a half dose of the recommended), and if he starts looking a little thin I'll throw some black oil sunflower seeds on his grain for a while. In the summer & fall, I drizzle Aloe Vera Juice on his grain. As far as exercise goes, I really don't ride him much. He is rough and not much fun to just go exercise because he likes to run off, so I just pony him off another horse. Right now I'm riding him because he's not breathing well (darn round bales) and can't keep up with the other horses. I don't plan on runnning him until at least mid-March when we're done feeding round bales for the year, so I'm really just trying not to let him get completely out of shape this time. Plus he likes to feel like he's got a job and is important. yesterday I rode him bareback and ponied my brother's old gelding so they both got a little exercise.
At barrel races or rodeos, I take my time warming him up so we can walk a LOT and slowly loosen up those old muscles. I also make sure he gets walked a lot after a run to cool out and he gets offered a full bucket of water after each run. Usually about 1/3 of that water ends up being splashed on me because that's what he likes to do and I want to keep him HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY! | |
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 I hate cooking and cleaning
Posts: 3314
Location: Jersey Girl | My gelding is 21 and I still run him. I brought him out of retirement when I had to stop running the horse in my avatar due to lameness issues.
When he is fit I barrel race him no more then 2x a month (once a month is the norm). I have to get his hocks done and I have him on the injectable glucosamine and I am going to put him on pentosan. I am also starting him on the AE Detox Performance because I have heard great things about that.
I trail ride in between barrel races and he never sees the pattern unless we are at a race. I am hoping to be able to race him this year and next yr possible too but if he shows me he is ready to quit then I will do that.
Edited to ad: I poultice after every race and I also have a BOT sheet, a magnetic sheet and PHT hock wraps I use on him.
Edited by fulltiltfilly 2014-01-11 6:43 AM
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 418
| Cold water on legs after every run. Soft rides, good liniment, sore no more consider adding msm to diet. | |
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Running an older horse