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| Well.. for the first time in forever (actually its the first time ever) i bought a open horse. he is sound and has always been taken care of the proper way.. but he's 10….. i know some of y'all think I'm crazy but I've never bought anything or even thought about buying something that old.. is 10 even that old? how long should i expect him to still run? any maintenance i should go ahead and start to prevent anything? |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
 
| 10 is just entering into their prime.
I would put the horse on a good joint supplement, I use Lubrysin, it works for my horses, but you need to find what works for your horse.
Some put theirs on an adequan regime, some put their on glucosamine injectable (I have used this on different horses and it greatly reduces inflammation in the legs, and eliminated windpuffs)
Some people use pentospan, some people use legend
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| 10 isn't old at all! I am running a 20 year old right now who was taken great care of and she has showed no signs of slowing down. Still places in the 1D locally. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1440
Location: Texas | Shoot 10 is a great age. Not old at all. I ran my old horse till he was 18 or 19 and I only retired him because he fractured his leg. I still love to ride that ole booger. The horse that I run now is 12 and he is entering his prime. Just keep him fit and don't over do it and he will be great for years and years |
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | Lots of horses stay competitive into their late teens and early 20s. Crap, I know one that's 27 and still placing in the 1d at some tough jackpots. The care you give now will have an impact on the longevity of your horse. Injectable joint products are worth the cost IMO. Don't run on dangerous ground, even if you hauled 3 hours to get there and are stuck in the mud until the rodeo is over. (Ha! Can you say voice of experience speaking?). And pay attention to your horse's body so you can catch small problems before they get big--I go over mine several times a week to look for tense or sore muscles and any puffy spots. The last 2 times my gelding has been checked by a chiro, he didn't need adjusting because I had identified problem areas, massaged and stretched them, which IMO provides a better adjustment for most things anyway. |
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  Angel in a Sorrel Coat
Posts: 16030
Location: In a happy place | Three 4 Luck - 2014-09-24 8:12 AM Lots of horses stay competitive into their late teens and early 20s. Crap, I know one that's 27 and still placing in the 1d at some tough jackpots. The care you give now will have an impact on the longevity of your horse. Injectable joint products are worth the cost IMO. Don't run on dangerous ground, even if you hauled 3 hours to get there and are stuck in the mud until the rodeo is over. (Ha! Can you say voice of experience speaking?). And pay attention to your horse's body so you can catch small problems before they get big--I go over mine several times a week to look for tense or sore muscles and any puffy spots. The last 2 times my gelding has been checked by a chiro, he didn't need adjusting because I had identified problem areas, massaged and stretched them, which IMO provides a better adjustment for most things anyway.
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1079
| Unless a horse did futurities / was started super young and running hard early, a good majority of horses are just getting going at like 5-8...and to get to a truly finished (+ mentally stable) horse they might be 7-10...
I've never once heard a person refer to 10 as "older."
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 Miss Laundry Misshap
Posts: 5271
| I started my newest gelding on barrels at 10. He was broke prior to that. My main gelding is 20 and still going strong. I have never heard anyone say a 10 year old horse is OLD. OLD to me is 20+ but there are lots of good horses that are well taken care of that can run into their mid to late 20s. We ran our old mare until she was 27.
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 Making the post season
Posts: 7288
Location: your guess is as good as mine | Heck he's just a pup...I just retired my mare last year at 27, and that was just because of life issues/no $$ to go anywhere. |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | Oh no hes got one foot in the grave all ready, lol.. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2128
| 10 is a great age. As similarly said above, unless hes had his legs run off since early on, I think you are just fine. |
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Veteran
Posts: 234
| 10 ? That's NOT old that's just right !!!!! |
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 You get what you give
Posts: 13030
Location: Texas | My trainer says that she likes them in the second ten years of their career :P.
10 is a great age |
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