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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 806
 
Location: Arkansas | Aside from being in great condition, feeding and shoeing, how do you keep you older barrel horses going and feeling at the top of their game? This is my first time with an older barrel horse and want to be sure I am doing all I can maintenance wise. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 570
Location: NM | You've already said it, great condition, feed and proper shoeing! We have a now 20 year old horse that my stepdaughter runs. He runs at the top 1d level still because we focus on those very things. He is turned out 24/7 in our front pasture which keeps him moving. We exercise him 3-4 times a week in the back pasture 3 miles at a time primarily at a trot but with about a 1/2 mile of loping. He spends 1 week a month on an aquatred. He receives alfalfa hay and about 1 lb of rolled oats mixed with Omega Horseshine, 1once of loose minerals and lysine. He NEVER goes more than 6 weeks without seeing the farrier. He sees a top performance vet once a year for joint injections and gets chondroprotec twice a month. He stocks up when hauled and stalled so we wrap with back on tack no bows with a standing bandage on all 4 and get him out to hand walk often. After a run he walks a minimum of 20 min to cool out. It may seem like a lot of extra effort but you go the extra mile for the horses that win for you. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 492
| I have a 21 year old that is still at the top of his game! For him, I make sure he has the best feed and the best hoof care. He wears his Back on Track sheet, hock boots and bell boots at night while he is in his stall. Gets turned out in the pasture during the day. I also give weekly Acetyl D Glucosamine shots along with daily MSM. He has a chip that cant be removed in one of his coffin joints, so he does get his coffin joints injected 2-3 times/year. Other than that, I just make sure he stays in shape and warm him up well before we run and cool down after. |
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Expert
Posts: 1226
| I have a 19 yr old gelding looks like he's 12. I swear by platinum performance. And also everything you said |
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 Veteran
Posts: 268
| I have a 15 y/o mare, but my retired gelding ran until he was 24 and was still going strong. I use Adequan IM monthly, Cosequin and MSM daily, teeth floated at least 1x per year, hock injections 1-2x per year if needed.
ETA: I recently bought Back on Track tendon wraps and hock boots
Edited by CocoChex 2014-03-27 10:46 PM
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How do you keep your older barrel horses at their best