When Is a Horse Old?

Recent equine studies define a geriatric horse as 20 years or older, though other studies have used a geriatric cutoff age of 15 years old.

In a large nationwide survey conducted in 2005 by the United States Department of Agriculture, only 7.6% of horses were more than 20 years of age and just 0.7% of horses were over 30 years old.

Like human medicine, veterinary medicine helps horses live longer and healthier lives, but relatively few horses survive into their 30s. Even many successful breeding stallions given the best care do not seem to live past their early 30s. Only occasionally will a horse survive into its 40s. Miniature Horses and ponies tend to be more likely to achieve old age than horses.