What's the Oldest Horse You Ever Trained and Showed ...

[Sanny]

... for the first time?

In other words, can you teach an old horse tricks. Not new tricks. Just tricks. Like halter, driving, jumping?

And can you have success?

I'm not wondering about a horse that's five or six or seven. I'm wondering about a horse that's more than 10 years old and has never been shown.

 

[Michelle@wescofarms]

Not quite what you asked, but a friend of mine shows her 16 year old stallion.

He was shown when he was young (1-2), but retired to breeding until he was 11. She started showing him last year and has done well. He's started learning to drive this past few months and will be shown in driving this year.

It would be great if more people showed past 3 or 4 years, cand do well and be useful long past that time.

 

[disneyhorse]

My friend bought an unshown Andalusian stallion that was about 14, and she took him to shows and he was pretty much UNBEATABLE (halter, dressage, and saddleseat type classes). Their other stallion was seven when they bought him... he was unbroke in someone's backyard living with pigs. He has now been shown to the National level to Top Fives in halter and dressage.

It depends on the horse, their temperament, experiences... and mostly on their ability to overcome.

Andrea

 

[Katie Iceton]

My cuzin got a 19 year old mini who didnt have any handling skills, used for breeding mostly, and I helped her retrain him and he was a good show horse as she was a beginner! And they also taught him how to ground drive..but never hooked him up

:

 

[Shimfessel5]

We bought a gelding last year that was 10 years old and to my knowledge

had never been showed.

My 9 year old started showing him and is currently in the Top

10 Honor Roll for AMHA in the Nation for Youth Country Pleasure

Driving.

 

[Humhill]

It would be great if more people showed past 3 or 4 years, cand do well and be useful long past that time.

I agree! It seems like if it's a mare, as soon as it shows one year as a Sr. mare, she's taken home and bred.

"Can't teach an old dog new tricks" is such a lie!

I think when you have an older horse, you often have added maturity. They're out of that "teenager" stage. (No offense to teenagers)

I have a 13 year old mare I still show in halter. She's doing better now than when she was younger.

 

[Magic]

We bought a nine year old stallion that had never shown, and he had no skills whatsoever except for "lovin' and fightin'". He was trained to jump and do obstacle, and he was awesome at both.

We also bought a mare that was about the same age as the stallion, she had shown in halter as a baby but nothing after that, she was "just a broodmare". I trained her to drive and she earned her Hall of Fame in Country Pleasure Driving, and even a Reserve National Championship in Driving.

I don't consider the age of those horses to be "older"-- I think they are just nearing the prime of their lives!

:

 

[Yaddax3]

It would be great if more people showed past 3 or 4 years, cand do well and be useful long past that time.

And what happens to all these geldings who win national titles when they're three and four years old?

Certainly some continue to be shown, but many are cast aside in favor of a new batch of three and four year olds.

If you've got some of these former champions who aren't showing any more, particularly if they won in driving and/or jumping, shoot me an e-mail and maybe we can work something out.

 

[Ashley]

Alot of times you wont find to many HOF horses out there showing. Simply because the goal for most in showing is to get hall of fame, once you do, you dont want to chance the horse start to fall apart and not do well, thus makeing itself look bad and ruin what it already built up.

MOst mares and stallions are retired to breeding after that, we in fact have a few in our herd like that.

You will find some geldings, but most of them I would say are retired because they are older when they hall of fame, simply because it seems to take longer with them with so many geldings out there now.

My gelding I show is 10, he hasnt hall of famed at all, however is very close in about 4 different ones. I just dont show enough to get the points fast enough. I probably wont be showing this summer. HOpefully the fallowing I can finish him. If I do he will be retired. Why? Because he has done what I have asked of him, and he deserves to live out his life a happy, kid loved pasture life.

I see sooooooo many geldings out there that are burnt out I feel bad for them. Some of them are in there prime at 5-6 years old and there already burnt out from to much. My gelding, nor any other horse I own will ever see that day. IF I feel they are getting a bit tired I give them a year off and see how they do the next.

My gelding, thou never burnt out got 2 years off due to other reasons. I brought him out again last year. I have never seen such a energetic, happy horse. He actually ran in jumping....something I wondered if was ever possible with him.

 

[MiniHGal]

I think it is absolutely possible. Now you might have a fitness/trimness issue with, say, a mare that has only been a broodmare until 10 or older.

Fascination was 8 when I started driving her, and had never been shown. She is now 12 and extremely fit, with many shows under her belt. She LOVES to drive...she used to be a nervous wreck at shows(tho that has mostly subsided), but always tries her hardest when between the shafts. She has carried to term two foals in her younger days.

Peekaboo is 9 this year, and has never been shown either. I'll get back to you on her ability to show this summer... :lol: She has also had at least one pregnancy.

We trained my mom's TB X to drive at the ripe old age of 26, however, he had been an eventing/all round horse for a very long time. He even went to 2 driving shows.

 

[bfogg]

One would be a 17 year old mare who had had 8 babies fitted her for halter and taught her to drive.She was awesome!

And the oldest I guess would be Cash he showed as a yearling then 22 years later if you all remember I taught him obstacle last year as a surprise for my hubby.

he showed only in halter as I felt it was to hot for him to do anything else that day.

But I know you Bob, Mary and you could take a 90 year old horse and retrain it!!!!

:saludando:

Bonnie

 

[RockRiverTiff]

We purchased a mini mare at auction who turned out to be barren. We trained her to drive at 10, and she showed halter, color, costume, and driving. I also used to show with/against an Arab gelding who was pulled from the pasture and shown for the first time at 18. At 23 he went Top Ten at Nationals.

 

[ionafarm]

Our daughter trained a 17 year old mare to jump. She went to AMHA Nationals with her in youth hunter and jumper, and was in the top ten in both classes.

 

[Black Pearl]

The oldest I have done, was a QH, He didnt have papers and when he was vetted for the pre purchase, the vet guessed him to be, 23-26yrs old. We went to a few big local shows in the open classes and pulled a few 2nd and 3rds for the grand old man!

 

[midnight star stables]

Well I got Nitro as a stud at 7 years and a year later as a gelding has 10 AMHR HOF points(from 3 shows) and multiple first, champs and reserves. He started very green & can now clip, set-up, jump and drive.

Midnight my very old stallion is 28(? I think..) And within the last 6 years I trained him all the tricks in the book(sitting & rearing), halter, jumper, driving, clipping, bathing, SHOWING... etc. Here he is this October

:

And at his last show

 

[Sanny]

I also used to show with/against an Arab gelding who was pulled from the pasture and shown for the first time at 18. At 23 he went Top Ten at Nationals.

Now THAT is impressive......having shown Arabians and living not that far from the Boggs family and the internationally known Midwest Arabians facility that they own I know exactly how competitive and tough it is to show and compete with Arabs especially on the national level. :aktion033:

EDITED TO ADD.....

Midnight my very old stallion is 28(? I think..) And within the last 6 years I trained him all the tricks in the book(sitting & rearing), halter, jumper, driving, clipping, bathing, SHOWING... etc. Here he is this October

That is awesome! He looks wonderful, by the way, and I bet loves "learning new tricks".