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.
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44 TheHorse.com THE HORSE February 2016 showing him hard, I had to have Snap on (an ultra-high-fat) product to keep his weight up, but I prefer to add fat versus sugary grains to increase their energy." In addition to joint injections, Gal- braith believes joint supplements contain- ing avocado and soybean unsaponifiables or glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate have helped Snap and the rest of her barn full of show horses remain active. Advice for Promoting Longevity Palmer-DuRoss believes that owners shouldn't feel the need to retire their sport horses at a set age, if they're still healthy. "One of Hadji's best years was when he was 17," she says. "If they're re- ally good at their job, and they're happy, and they want to do it, they should con- tinue to do it." In fact, Nicholson believes the endur- ance sport itself is good for his patients' longevity. "It's just like older people," he says. "If they continue to exercise through life, eat right, and take care of themselves, they can keep going for a long time," adding that he does think Arabians have more staying power than some other breeds. Davidson believes less is more when it comes to promoting longevity in eventers, cautioning those with brilliant horses that advance through the ranks quickly at younger ages to be careful. "Just because they're so talented doesn't mean they're physically strong enough and ready to do it," he explains. "I didn't always run (Reggie) fast or hard, because the goal with every single horse that comes into my barn is to have them fit and sound at 14, 15, 16." Galbraith says many reining horses might not make it past age 11 in the show pen if they have conformation issues or were trained hard as 2- and 3-year-olds. All the fast circles, sliding stops, hard runs, and spins involved in reining can be hard on the hocks, stifles, and fetlocks. Judicious training throughout a horse's career can help him keep performing past his youth, she says. She also suggests that owners watch their senior horses' teeth. "They start to have dental problems (from tooth wear) … and that will affect their feed intake, and you'll see a lot of horses really drop weight," says Galbraith. "And watch for Cushing's disease (pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction), because that's very common in older horses and can lead to laminitis and other debilitating scenarios." Future Plans Palmer-DuRoss says that if she retired Hadji now, he would likely all of a sudden show his age. "As long as he's having fun and enjoys his job and wants to go down the trail, and he's sound and happy, I don't have a retirement date for him yet," she says. "I would love to get him over 10,000 miles, and I actually think it would be cool to have him be a double-decade team," which involves a horse-and-rider combination completing at least one 50-mile ride every year for 20 years. "That would put him at 28, so I'm not sure, but he's surprising me at 23." Similarly, Davidson says that as long as Reggie is healthy and happy he will continue to compete, and he feels that Reggie will tell him when he's ready to retire. "It's what he loves to do," Davidson says. "He gets mad when he's not getting put on the trailer to go to the horse show. He's a competitor." This year Galbraith felt that Smart Snap needed a break, and because she is interested in ranch pleasure classes and Western dressage, she might transition him. "I think he's probably at the max that I would ask him to perform," she adds. "I really don't want to subject him to that level of training another year. I probably could, but I think 17 is enough." Take-Home Message Each senior horse is unique and his or her owner/rider are best equipped to make decisions for care, training, and retirement with the involvement of the trainer, veterinarian, and farrier. These three athletes are superb examples of senior sport horses' staying power in the competitive arena with that kind of care- ful management and attention. Regard- less of how long these athletes continue competing, their owners and caretakers have the animals' best interests in mind and will wait for them to indicate when they're ready to ease into retirement. h SPORTS MEDICINE COURTESY DR. NADINE GALBRAITH COURTESY STEPHANIE PALMER-DUROSS Both Hadji's owner and his veterinarian believe endurance rides keep him feeling young. Galbraith says good conformation and judicious training can help a reiner continue performing past his youth.