The expansion of senior horse care within veterinary medicine is relatively recent. Geriatric medicine, the branch of medicine that focuses on care and treatment of elderly people, is a long-established specialty in human healthcare.

Improvements in equine healthcare have led to increases in life expectancy. That means our horses are living longer, and the number of senior horses in the equine population continues to grow.

From the data we have available, it is estimated that senior horses make up 10–34% of the equine population in developed countries.

Oldest Senior Horse on Record

According to The Guinness Book of World Records, “Old Billy,” a working horse who pulled canal barges in England, holds the record for the longest-living horse. He was apparently verified to be 62 years old at his death in November 1822. This clearly predates equine passports so it is not certain how reliable that verification was!

There are a few reports of horses surviving into their 50s. However, based on research studies, it appears that the equine lifespan is reached at around 45 years.

Even taking his verified age with a pinch of salt, Old Billy was unusual, as he was a large draft-type horse. As in other species—such as dogs—larger horse breeds tend to have a shorter lifespan. Equine longevity appears to be greatest in ponies and donkeys.

Horse Aging Changes

People age at different rates, and it is just the same for our horses. Only accounting for the number of years since birth doesn’t give us a full picture of how “well” a horse is aging. 

Increasing horse age brings with it both normal and unhealthy aging changes, as well as increased risk of age-related diseases.

The age at which normal signs of aging start to become apparent coincides with the age of onset or progression of several age-related diseases and functional impairments in various body systems. This poses some challenges for owners, veterinarians, and researchers.

However, as the senior horse population grows, so does research in this field. That means we have an ever-expanding knowledge base to help us navigate the complexities of caring for aging horses. This allows us to strive for healthy equine aging.

Further Reading

About the Author

Jo Ireland, BVMS, PhD, CertAVP(EM), FHEA, FRCVS. MySeniorHorse.com