Horse Age

A horse’s age is obviously based on his birthdate but for horse competitions January 1st is used. Any horse born between January 1 and December 31 has the same age. Obviously that almost year of growth can make a lot of difference in some situations. I don’t know how that got started but it’s never seemed fair to me.

Most cowboys buy horses for their own use that are between 4 and 12 years old and if they are into horse training probably at the younger end of that range. Those are the optimum years for a horse. Horses are often “started” at age 2 but most experts believe that 4 is the age where they are physically able to handle long days and hard work. There is a lot of controversy in the performance show and racing industries when 3 year olds are commonly shown and at some places 2 year olds.

The average horse in the wild lives 7 years but a horse kept in a controlled pasture that has access to medical treatment, good living conditions and regular exercise can often live to 24 years. Horses older than 16 are rarely used for hard tasks although there is absolutely no reason not to use them for school horses, trail rides, etc. The Lippizaner horses of the Spanish Riding School often perform up to age 24 because of the extraordinary training methods used that keep physical conditioning and the superb personal care they are given.

Most people make a mistake of buying a horse that is too young. If you or your child are new to riding you definitely want an older well trained horse. The saying is to avoid “green on green” – an inexperienced rider on an inexperienced horse.

At five years of age a horse has between 36 and 44 teeth although they can up to 9 more “wild” teeth that are left over from past ancestors. A horse’s teeth are the most reliable indication of age and vets or experienced horse people can “read” the teeth quite accurately. As horses age the sides of the face become depressed, the poll is more prominent, the backbone starts to sag and white hairs begin to appear.