Ride Every Stride | Horsemanship And Personal Growth With Van Hargis

Horses and humans have a lot in common. For instance, aging. Just like we get old, slow down, have back pain, dietary problems, and need to adjust to keep our minds and bodies active—horses do too. They have a specific set of needs and issues that may arise as they enter old age, and we’ll be covering exactly when, why, and what to do when our horses start getting up in years. They become members of our families and require all the attention and care we would give ourselves. Key Takeaways Age can be a relative term. A horse might be called “old” even if they are 5-6 but are competing in high-intensity competitions. But as some veterinarians have told me you can start thinking about a horse as “older” around the age of 12. This is when stresses can add up and start to lead to issues like arthritis or other dietary and joint issue. Activity plays a huge key in a horse’s older years. Especially if they have been high performing and very active their whole lives. Retiring them full stop into a pasture full of gr