Keeping the Aging Horse Comfortable

Here’s how to manage senior horses’ aging teeth, joints, lungs, and more.
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

Keeping the Aging Horse Comfortable
As senior horse populations grow, so does our knowledge about keeping them healthy. | Photo: iStock

Here’s how to manage senior horses’ aging teeth, joints, lungs, and more.

As a kid, I never thought about horses getting “old,” probably because the ones I saw and rode and read about were always so young and active. I didn’t think about the effects of advancing age. So imagine my surprise, decades later, when every horse I owned was living at least into his or her late 20s and even 30s.

My more than 40 years of horse ownership have given me a chance to know them as individuals, to see them grow, to admire their beauty and power, and to learn alongside them. After their careers have come to an end, I have the opportunity to care for my horses as they age, looking after them as best I know how.

But good intent might not be enough for my aging equids or yours, according to 2012 study results based on a survey by Catherine McGowan, BVSc, Dipl. ECEIM, PhD, of the University of Liverpool, in the U.K. In it she notes that owners of horses aged 15 and older who are concerned about their animals’ health, welfare, and quality of life might not be caring for them as well as they think

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

How much time do you usually spend grooming your horse?
435 votes · 435 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!