# Quarter Horse Age?



## mamatomany8 (Jul 27, 2011)

I have a quarter horse mare that is 34 years old. She seems to be in good shape, altho she is slowly loosing condition. She is on senior horse feed, maybe 2 cups during the day and 2 cups at night. I do de-worm her. How long do they generally live?


----------



## olivehill (Aug 17, 2009)

Do you have a specific question?


----------



## wolffeathers (Dec 20, 2010)

I think at 34 is about the oldest I have heard of, minus the extremes and world records, but the age is growing gradually. Most I have known have passed in their late 20's or right around 33 years old. The one I know that made it to 33 finally had to be let go because his kidneys started giving out on him. I think 25-35 years is typical.


----------



## olivehill (Aug 17, 2009)

Ok. Am I losing my mind or did you edit the OP? LOL! 

34 is pretty well at that point where "any time" could be time. 

If it's condition you're worried about you may consider changing the feeding schedule you have her on. Feeding only 4 cups of senior feed per day is a significantly deficient diet. Senior feeds are formulated to be fed in quantity because the horses they're intended for generally need to get most of their nutrition from the pellets themselves. At 4 cups you're likely only feeding about 2 lbs, that's one third the minimum recommended for most senior feeds. Sometimes just balancing out the minerals and vitamins can make a huge difference. Other times it truly is a calorie issue. In which an increase in the senior feed you're feeding may be the route to take. 

That said, you don't want an old horse to be _fat_ as it's harder on their joints. I wouldn't aim to maintain her anywhere over a 5 BCS-wise.


----------



## akane (Jul 19, 2011)

I've been on a 40year old barrel racing quarter horse who still thought he could run. Early 20s is closer to their average lifespan though. Black oil sunflower seeds and beet pulp are good additions for keeping a horse in good weight. A really old horse may not be able to chew the sunflower seeds properly though but beet pulp can be soaked in water to make a softer version that can replace most of the hay they would normally eat. You can also add small amounts of vegetable oils to the feed.


----------



## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

The newest research indicates that beet pulp should always be fed well soaked. I've found stabilized rice bran to be a great way to add calories to an older horses diet too. Both well soaked beet pulp and rice bran can be added to the senior feed. I'd have her teeth checked to see if she needs floating, if she has points it can interfere with how she chews. 

In my experience 34 is toward the end of the equine lifespan, I had my 31 year old gelding put down last summer due to Cushing's disease. I personally have seen a few horses over 40 but only 1 that had a decent quality of life, I believe she lived to be 43.


----------



## jill.costello (Aug 18, 2004)

My 28 yr old mare is on 6 lbs of Senior plus 1.5 lbs of rice bran 2x per day! She is also on free-choice Coastal hay. If she starts to lose condition, I give her the same meal as a noon-time lunch for a few months.

I agree, 2 cups is very, very small amount for such an aged animal.


----------



## Rogo (Jan 1, 2006)

I've done some tough mountain riding with folks whose horses are in their 30's. You'd never know the age of those horses if you saw them.

My present mount is only 24.

A friend who does competitive riding buried a horse last year that was 12 when she got him. He was 45 when he died. 

Another friend, who can no longer ride, drives his mule to town daily to pick up his mail. The mule was 6 when friend got him. The mule is now 40.

Like us, equine are living longer.


----------



## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

When I was a teen (back in the dark ages of the mid 70's) a horse was "old" at 15-20. With the advent of paste dewormers (tube deworming was a horrible thing for both the equine and the owner) vaccinations, supplements, and advanced Vet care we can say "old" is closer to 30.

A very good thing. :grin:


----------



## southerngurl (May 11, 2003)

The age of an animal is not what determines how much feed it needs in addition to it's (I hope- in the case of an animal not overweight) free choice hay/pasture. But rather the condition. 

That said, I would avoid any type of high carb food. The older a horse is, the older their sugar metabolizing system is and more likely to be insulin resistant. With insulin resistant, carbs are inflammatory and aging to an animal and, if bad enough, cause the animal to_ lose _weight even with more high carb feed. 

So the best route, IMO, is high fat and fiber feeds avoid sugars. I like the idea of rice bran and beet pulp, I would soak and rinse the beat pulp to remove residual sugar and any added Molasses. Rice bran is high phosphorus, beet pulp is pretty high in calcium to help balance. I would feed more beet pulp than rice bran. Another thought to add would be alfalfa pellets/cubes.

What do you worm with?


----------



## Oregon Julie (Nov 9, 2006)

I think another thing that impacts age is genetics. Some family lines live longer then others. I worked for people years ago who owned one of the last (if not THE last) own daughters of King-P234. King was very old when he sired his last foal crop and this mare was 32 when she died. One of the last foals she produced was sired by Doc O' Leana (so he goes back to King on both sides of the pedigree). This horse is 32 years old right now and still have a very good quality of life.

In my line of CMK Arabians, mares producing foals into their mid to late 20's is not unheard of and the stallions siring foals into their late 20's and even early 30's is not out of the ordinary. Many of them are living until late 20's and early 30's so when you hear of one from these lines dying at anything less then 25 they died young.


----------



## mamatomany8 (Jul 27, 2011)

We got her 3 years ago and have been feeding the same amount that the owner said to give her to maintain her condition. That being said, it never occurred to me she should be eating more  I do the rotation worming pack from like a Jeffers or something. Every few months ust following a chart. I do have beet pulp and I will start her on that. i always buy molasses free beet pulp, so the sugar shouldn't be an issue. I should try to snap a pic. she really is a beautiful girl, and you could probably tell her condition too. Perhaps today I will do just that!


----------

