[RedTree]

I have been thinking Buzz is turing 15 this year and I think he may be to old for me
I mean he can still show and stuff but I don't think he will be able to take me much futher...
He is like my best friend though and I don't want to let him go and if I do sell him I don't know if I will be able to get a better horse the only reason I got him was because he was free and he was my friends but she didnt ride him
Also he is still learning the basics like cantering on the right lead
grrrr this is sooo frustrating I do really want to keep him but then I want another horse that does at least know canter leads and I can take futher into jumping and hacking
Buzz is jumping around 60cm he can jump then but I'm not to sure if he will be able to go higher
opinions would be nice

 

[horsea]

My friend was recently in this same position. She decided on leasing her gelding to a younger girl who has already learned a lot from him. That way you can still keep him and he will get good exercise and care. Plus, her monthly payment pays for his board. She also considered giving him to a local thereputic riding center. But whatever you decide to do, I hope you can find what works best

 

[MIEventer]

Are you kidding? You seriously think a 15 year old horse is too old? My horse is 20, and my Coaches horse is 24 and she compeates with him at Prelim and training Advanced.

15 is not too old.

 

[thunderhooves]

My neighbor has a friend who barrel races her 23 year old. Your horse is in his/her teens.

 

[charlicata]

I have to agree with MIEventer.

 

[horsea]

Well, you have to consider jumping. Jumping big fences is very hard on a horse. 15 isn't too old but it is older in the jumping world where I am at. All of our jumpers are under 12 years old. Once jumping becomes a hard effort for them, we retire them from the big show circuts. Then they jump smaller and teach beginners how to ride and jump. It is so much better for the horse.

 

[roro]

If you jump horses the right way and take good care of them, they can last into their late teens at the least. I know a horse that can still jump 3 ft at age 21. Look at the horse's condition, not his age. If he is stiff, you can help his joints with injections and extra care, and if that still isn't enough then no he shouldn't jump. But age alone is not a factor here, especially age 15. If your horses are burning out at 12, something is wrong.

 

[horsea]

We don't WANT them to burn out. They do jump some in their after show career as well. We want our horses to be around and feeling great for a long time! An old jumper we have is 38 years old and I still ride him to give him a little exercise (Only a walk and trot arond the paddock). He has barely any arthritis and he moves very well. He jumped until he was only 13 then he taught lessons. I say that he has been around so long is because we took care of him when he was young.

 

[dressagexlee]

Freddy is an example of a horse that is starting to degrade from the prime of his life. He's only 13, but his soundness is getting weaker and he's beginning to show a tired and resigned side to his personality. But, it's understandable with him: he was injured on track (he had been racing until 5, I believe) then sold to a home that neglected him in his younger years, and he's afflicted with a bone spur in his right front hoof. He's never had it easy, and I know that his owner likes to push the boundries a little bit. If he were mine, I'd retire him from competition as a 2'9" schoolmaster then put him out to pasture after a couple of years before he goes lame, but it isn't my choice to make. He's on all sorts of supplements, but still.
That's what it's like when a horse is starting to wear out. It's a shame he's young, but it can happen at even younger ages. Proper care, a knowledge of the equine body and it's limitations, and positive atmosphere for the horse to live in can make them last and still workable. Poor care and pushing the limits shaves the years off of their life-span.

I wouldn't call this a matter of Buzz being too old or too worn, you may just be growing out of him. I've grown out of Freddy and I know what it's like; I love Freddy for all he's done for me, but I've made the decision that it's time for me to find a more suitable horse to challenge and take me further. It's the same as how I once thought that my Pony Club horse was a challenge to ride. I got back on her after a few monthes of riding other horses, and she was so easy for me to work with that I wondered why I found it difficult in the first place!
If you are honestly feeling that Buzz is starting to show his wear and tear, you may have to retire him to pasture or give him to a retirement farm. But if you just feel that he's taught you everything you can and that you'd like to move to a different horse, then sort out some options that will still keep him actively working, but allow you to commit to other horses.
Maybe try leasing him out to a young rider, as Horsea mentioned. You'd still be able to school him and keep him, but you'd be making a profit and he'd have a purpose. But you may have to sell him to another rider if there is nothing you can do to keep him.

But most horses in their teens have plenty more time to learn and live. A 15 year-old horse (if you're talking about an all-around english mount) is usually in his prime or even still approaching it, given that his soundness is still in good check and attitude isn't souring.

Just think about what's best for him, for you, and for your experience.


For the record, I once saw a video of a 34 year-old eventer competing at one of the highest levels.
I also knew a lesson horse, who was a 16 hands tall (not a pony!), who was 35 years-old!

 

[dressagexlee]

Wanted to edit my post a little further to say that Freddy is quite well cared for, but he's still had a huge amount of damage in the past that can't be erased.

 

[horsea]

That is very well said dressagexlee!

 

[MIEventer]

If you jump horses the right way and take good care of them, they can last into their late teens at the least. I know a horse that can still jump 3 ft at age 21. Look at the horse's condition, not his age. If he is stiff, you can help his joints with injections and extra care, and if that still isn't enough then no he shouldn't jump. But age alone is not a factor here, especially age 15. If your horses are burning out at 12, something is wrong.

If you spend alot of your time focusing on dressage and proper riding, and jump once to twice a week, your horse will be strong and healthy. If you take good care of your horse, your horse will remain strong and healthy.

If people just hop on, walk trot and canter without understanding how to get the horse to work from back to front, getting your horse to work properly using the important muscles to build strength and balance - then jump, jump, jump, jump and jump some more - your horse is going to break down sooner than a horse that is ridden and trained properly.

Look at GP horses - GP Riders spend 5 - 6 days a week doing dressage, because horses only has so much jump in them, and they know this. They cherrish their horses legs so they preserver, protect and prevent.

GP horses know minimally level 3 dressage - because of how important dressage is for a healthy, strong horse, who can do the questions asked in the Jumper Ring.

Majority of horses break down before their prime, because all they are asked to do is jump, jump, jump, jump and jump some more after they've already jumped.

 

[jamesqf]

I mean he can still show and stuff but I don't think he will be able to take me much futher...
He is like my best friend though...

Maybe you should do some thinking about where you want to go, and whether you'd rather have a friend with you on the way.

 

[dressagexlee]

People just hop on, walk trot and canter without understanding how to get the horse to work from back to front.

Yup, that's Freddy's owner's idea of flatwork in a nutshell (she's learning!). He curls his head down and runs through the paces for her.
She's praised me for all I've done to make him a little dressage horse. "How do you do that?!" I'm always asked. I guess she would feel silly getting lessons from me, though!

 

[RedTree]

but what about learning new things in like dressage
like getting on the right lead for the canter
or maybe even turning on the forehand basic stuff that he doesnt know

 

[speedy da fish]

15 is not too old! and you can till train him! I ride a horse that is 22 and he still does SJ! I also know a pony that is 32 and still showing . Keep working on his canter lead, he will grow wiser in his old age and learn, my horse struggles with canter lead due to an injury, he's 11 and I think it is going to take him a while to get it right, I wouldnt worry too much about that, as long as you enjoy riding him and you have fun together. If you feel like you are leaving him behind then by all means get another horse that suits your ability. You can loan Buzz to a barn, to use as a lesson horse if he is suitable for begginers or lease him out, that means he is still your horse and you can still see him or take him back. Make sure you trust the person(s) you loan him to though

 

[IslandWave]

My horse was around 15 when I first started riding her. She just turned 17 this year and picks up her right lead canter all the time, unless I mess up. It used to take me many tries to get a right lead canter out of her. During our time together, she has also learned how to do turns on the forehand, leg yielding, shoulder-in, haunches-in, rein back, simple changes, and lengthen/collect her stride. Wen went from Training Level to 2nd Level dressage. I definitely think that Buzz can learn, especially if you work with a trainer/take lessons. 15 isn't old at all in my mind.

 

[RedTree]

thank you so much I feel so much better about riding himnow and that he will be able to learn and I will be able to keep for longer I don't know something came over meand I was like wow Buzz is getting on.. but I now know can still learn

Thanks to everyone responses

 

[PaintHorseMares]

Are you kidding? You seriously think a 15 year old horse is too old? My horse is 20, and my Coaches horse is 24 and she compeates with him at Prelim and training Advanced.

15 is not too old.

I agree....a 15 year old is in their prime.

 

[Curly_Horse_CMT]

I had a friend in this kinda perdicament: she had a twelve or thirteen year old Arab gelding that could do basically everything, but he wouldnt pick up his one lead correctly due to a old racing injury :-( Her parents werent going to help her for funding to go to shows unless she got a horse that was more capable of placing in classes. The horse was always marked down due to not being able to pick up his lead...so, she got a younger, green guy and traded her horse to a neighbor of mine that is into barrels.