Horses are majestic creatures that have captured the hearts of many. They have long been revered as majestic and loyal companions, playing significant roles in human history and culture. But how long does a horse live? Understanding the lifespan of a horse is crucial for prospective and current horse owners, as it directly impacts care, training, and emotional attachment.
As a horse parent, you might often wonder, “How long do horses live for?” You want to give your four-legged companion the best chance to reap old age with good health. In this article, we will talk about the life expectancy of horses. We will also share the factors that affect their lifespan and some tips to help your horse live longer.
Average Life Expectancy of Popular Horse Breeds
The life of your horse depends on different external factors and circumstances. Understanding and knowing the breeds can give you an idea of how long a horse lives. Here’s a look at horses’ lifespans to provide insight.
Famous Breeds of Horses and Their Average Lifespan:
- Thoroughbred- 25 – 28 years
- Quarter Horse- 25 – 35 years
- Arabian- 25 – 35 years
- Appaloosa- 25 – 33 years
- Miniature horse- 25 – 35 years
- Shire- 25 – 30 years
- Clydesdale- 20 – 25 years
Thanks to the advances in veterinary medicine, equines can live longer through a healthy diet and exercise. Ponies tend to live longer than horses, and many ponies are still doing fine as schoolmasters in their 30s. But what are the factors that affect their longevity? Let’s break them down.
Understanding the Role of AAEP
The AAEP is a respected professional organization that sets forth comprehensive guidelines for equine health. Their standards are instrumental in ensuring that horses receive optimal veterinary care. For every horse owner, these guidelines serve as a crucial roadmap towards maintaining your horse’s well-being, allowing them to thrive and potentially achieve a long lifespan.
Factors that Affect the Longevity of Horses
Breed & workload
Many of the horse breeds were developed for specific works and uses. Large horse breeds like draft horses do more intensive and riskier jobs, which shorten their life expectancy. Thus, like drafts, bigger horses tend to live shorter lives than others. Furthermore, racehorses like thoroughbreds engage in a dangerous sport and may sustain severe injuries from which they cannot recover. But if they are well-maintained, they can live up to 30 years.
Disease
Disorders caused by overbreeding are also common in horses. Arabian horses, for example, can produce immune-deficient foals, while Appaloosas are prone to genetic disorders that cause eye problems. Another disease prevalent in ponies and Morgan horses but can affect all types of horses is Cushing’s disease or Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID). The common signs of PPID are weight loss, lethargy, laminitis, increased sweating, drinking, and urinating. Although it does not directly kill the horses, it can lead to several fatal health issues. Most of the time, colic and other gastrointestinal problems that cause constant pain and soundness issues force owners to euthanize their horse even if it hasn’t lived out its natural lifespan yet.
Diet and Nutrition
It plays a significant role in your horse’s health and overall life expectancy. A horse that grazes on high-quality pastures and enough supplements has better health than a horse fed with low-quality feed.
How to Determine the Age of a Horse
A horse’s age or date of birth is recorded on registration papers or traveling/competition passports. So, if you have these identifying documents, you can quickly determine your horse’s age. However, if these are unavailable, examining their teeth can be an alternative way to estimate their age. Although it’s not 100% accurate, it will help you when to consider your horse as a senior. Here are different ways to examine your horse’s teeth, depending on your horse’s life stage:
Teeth Color
The color of a horse’s teeth gradually changes as they grow. Young horses have white milk teeth, while permanent teeth that replace them at two and a half to 5 years of age are creamy yellow. As horses age and pass 20 years, their teeth will become brown.
Baby Teeth
The age of a young horse can be determined by inspecting which teeth are present and which are lost.
Permanent Teeth
When your horse passes the age of 10, its permanent teeth are all present and fully developed. So, this method is only precise at 9 or 10.
Estimating by other factors
Determining your horse’s age can be tricky if they already have all sets of teeth. The best way to tell its age is to have a more in-depth examination of the shape, color, angle of growth, and other factors.
How to Help Your Horse Live Longer
Here are some tips on how to prolong the lifespan of your horse and make the most out of its life.
Proper Feeding
As mentioned above, feeding your horse healthy food is essential to prolong its lifespan. Horses need quality pasture or hay, grain, and supplements to attain adequate vitamins and minerals that its body requires. You must also provide access to continuous fresh water to keep them hydrated and avoid developing health issues.
It’s also important to calculate the right amount of food for your horse to prevent overfeeding, which can lead to being overweight. Generally, a horse needs a feed about 1.5 to 2 percent of its body weight. So, if your horse weighs 1,000 pounds, it needs 15 to 20 pounds of feed daily. Feeding time is also significant for its overall digestive health, so it is preferable to feed it simultaneously, especially for older horses.
Regular Exercise
One of the best ways to avoid degenerative musculoskeletal conditions like laminitis and arthritis is to keep your horse active through exercise and proper management. These diseases are more prevalent on older horses since their cartilage and muscle fibers are more brittle and susceptible to damage that can cause lameness. Therefore, even if your horses are now retired, try going on a trail or let them walk on a walker or do any physical exercise to make them move. Another way to protect your horse from these conditions is pasture housing.
Enough Rest Time
It is one of the most significant parts of your horse’s day, but it must be balanced with fitness. The rest time depends on your horse’s workload, age, and condition. Overworking can cause mental tiredness, soreness, stiffness, and overuse injuries, so relaxation is essential for better health.
Proper Dental Care
Horses also require regular dental check-ups. Domesticated horses fed in a stable will probably miss the natural filing down of teeth if a horse grazes on a pasture. So, they need to have their teeth floated once a year to get them filed down and to remove sharp edges at the corners of their teeth.
As horses age, they may start to lose their teeth, which will cause trouble chewing and breaking down food. So, more dental care is required.
Hoof Care
A horse’s hooves carry its full weight, and poor management of this vital body part can lead to a gradual decline in its health. That is why regular hoof care and frequent examination are necessary, most notably for unshod horses.
As you have probably noticed, the principles of human longevity also apply to horses. They all need a healthy diet, exercise, and regular medical check-ups. Local veterinarians can also provide comprehensive information regarding horse management. They can examine your pet when it’s sick and record its health history to give the best recommendations. It’s best to consult them before making big decisions.
So that’s how long horses live and how to prolong their lifespan. We hope that this article is helpful to you. If you apply all the above tips and regularly consult your veterinarian, your horses can live longer. And who knows? It might be the next Old Billy in the history of equines.
