The Horse:Your Guide To Equine Health Care provides monthly equine health care information to horse owners, breeders, veterinarians, barn/farm managers, trainer/riding instructors, and others involved in the hands-on care of the horse.
Issue link: https://thehorse.epubxp.com/i/551477
8 TheHorse.com THE HORSE September 2015 Keep in touch! @TheHorse facebook.com/TheHorse TheHorseMag Now, I'm projecting here, because the owner might not even know the horse's age, but my suspicion is that he does and is familiar with the figurative baggage that older horses can carry. He might be choosing to share the specifics with buyers he senses are legitimately interested. He reserves that right as the owner of the horse, and with good cause—it's apparent he hopes the mare lands in good hands to live out her years. The optimist in me wants to think the right buyer will emerge, willing to give an old mare a chance. But what is "old," anyway? We've long reported the veterinary designa- tion of 15 as being the tipping point for becoming an "older horse." The truth is, however, there's no hard and fast age at which the calendar (or odometer) flips and every horse suddenly begins accumulating a pile of old-horse ailments. We all know that horse in his late 20s who gallops around sound like a spry 7-year-old and, for that matter, the 7-year-old that bears evidence of osteoarthritis, something we'd often expect in an older athlete. Recently I spent a couple of days at the 2015 American College of Vet- erinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) Forum, in Indianapolis, and one of the hot topics of discussion was pi- tuitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID), or equine Cushing's disease, and PPID testing approaches. (Look for coverage of these studies in The Horse/on TheHorse.com.) A few presented studies centered on a large group of horses with PPID and their clinical signs. A researcher on the studies explained to me that, simply, many owners don't have the money to spend on in-depth testing; their veterinarians must treat based on clinical signs and resolution after treatment. So he and his colleagues have been looking at whether horses of certain ages with PPID display specific signs. In other words, a 20-year-old horse might have one set of signs, while a 12-year-old might have an- other set that tells the veterinarian, "Hey, that's likely Cushing's." This is just one example of the many ongoing studies that will impact how we manage our older horses (it just so happens to benefit the younger ones, also). In our cover story, starting on page 16, Christa Lesté-Lasserre details several studies on aging and senior horses. As someone who recently bought a now-9-year-old horse, which could be considered a late start with a retired racehorse, I sometimes worry about the years ticking away and what those might portend for my redhead gelding. But I look at what some of the science is saying—how in many ways age is just a number— along with my prior experience with a Thoroughbred (he was sound into his mid-20s) and I'm heartened and hopeful about the years to come. h Define 'Old' VIEWPOINT STEPHANIE L. CHURCH Editor-in-Chief @TH_StephLChurch T he other day an ad crossed my desk for a beginner's horse with a nice build, a gentle eye, and a snaffle mouth. The seller described the mare as older, but didn't disclose her age, and said she has a lot left to give the right child or adult. Publisher: Marla Bickel Editor-in-Chief: Stephanie L. Church Managing Editor: Alexandra Beckstett News Editor: Erica Larson Digital Managing Editor: Michelle N. Anderson Art Director: Brian Turner Digital Producer: Jennifer Whittle Brand Manager: Shawna White EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Scott Anderson, DVM Jerry Black, DVM Anthony Blikslager, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVS Tom Brokken, DVM Ann Dwyer, DVM Benjamin Espy, DVM, Dipl. ACT Margo Macpherson, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACT; Kyla Ortved, DVM, Dipl. ACVS Debra C. Sellon, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM Debra Taylor, DVM Educational Partnership Disclaimer: The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP), one of The Horse's partners in equine health, has no involvement regarding editorial management or advertising content within this publication and thereby does not endorse any editorial or advertising content unless so acknowledged within the individual article or advertisement. ADVERTISING SALES AND SERVICES advertise@TheHorse.com West Coast Advertising Executive: Yvonne Long, 859/276-6701 ylong@TheHorse.com East Coast Advertising Executive: Leigh Walkup, 859/276-6710 lwalkup@TheHorse.com Sales Support: Kelly Stephens, 859/276-6740 kstephens@TheHorse.com PUBLISHED BY THE HORSE MEDIA GROUP LLC For up-to-date news, in-depth horse health articles, and more, go to TheHorse.com MEDIAGROUP LLC