Our definition of a horse's life span has changed dramatically over the past few decades. Not long ago a 9 year old was considered aged, and a 13 year old was considered ready for retirement. Preventive medicine was a new concept for humans, never mind horses, and it often seemed more worthwhile to buy a new horse than to maintain an older horse. Interestingly, however, very skilled horses, such as the Lippizaners of the Spanish Riding School, have always been older horses. This is because these skills take many years to accrue – and horses trained to this level are not easily replaced. More and more people own, train and compete older horses today – and the definition of a horse's life span has certainly changed. Lets explore what happens as a horse ages.

Do the Teeth Tell the Story?

You might start by asking the question "How long did nature intend horses to live?" The answer to this question probably is found in the teeth. Horses in the wild exist by grazing and walking all day and most of the night. The harsh stems of the grasses that horses chew, as well as natural abrasives found in their foodstuffs, grind the teeth down, little by little, every day. If their teeth didn't continually grow, they would soon be down to the gumline. However, their teeth are adapted to this type of lifestyle by growing throughout the horse's life – or at least through what nature thought their life span ought to be. As it turns out, nature intended horses to live into their mid-to late teens, or perhaps early twenties – not much longer than this. At this point, there is not much tooth left to grow, and the teeth actually start to become shorter and shorter. The term "long in the tooth," used to describe an older horse, is actually quite a misnomer! Horses rely on continual new tooth growth to keep the chewing surface of the teeth sharp. Without sharp edges, a horse in the wild would soon starve to death, unable to chew and process the coarse grass stems.

So, does the decline of a horse's teeth spell his certain end? Not with the level of veterinary care available today. Older horses need frequent dental examinations to check for loose or missing teeth, teeth that no longer grind well, or teeth that have developed abnormal wear patterns and thus are less efficient at chewing. Good dental care can go a very long way in staving off old age. Even horses that no longer have any chewing ability left at all can sustain their body condition using special extruded feeds that are designed with the needs of older horses in mind.

How Does Aging Affect the Horse's Gastrointestinal System?

Older individuals in other species have been shown to have thinner intestinal walls, and less efficient digestive function. The most important change in the older horse's ability to digest, however, seems to be due to poor dentition. If you continue to feed hay and other high roughage foods to your older horse who hasn't got much grinding surface left on his teeth, then his intestines will be presented with food that they can't absorb. This can lead to malnutrition and impaction colics. Much of this can be avoided with foods that are formulated for older horses.