🧓 Vet Guide: Senior Horse Care Tips | 2025 Longevity, Exercise & Daily Wellness Advice 🐴

By Dr Duncan Houston, BVSc

Thanks to improvements in **nutrition, veterinary care**, and **management practices**, horses are living longer—and better—than ever before. It’s now common to see horses in their late 20s and even well into their 30s still enjoying pasture time and light work. But aging gracefully takes effort and consistency. 🧠🐎

In this 2025 guide, I’ll share key strategies from the AAEP and clinical experience to help your senior horse stay comfortable, healthy, and thriving in their golden years. 🌿🩺

📋 Routine Veterinary Care: Twice a Year is Best

The most important thing you can do for your older horse is ensure **biannual veterinary exams**. Vaccinations matter—but the **physical exam is just as critical**. Many subtle changes in weight, mobility, heart, or gut health can only be caught through routine hands-on assessment. 🩺

Make Sure to Ask For:

• 🎧 Heart and lung auscultation
• 🧪 Basic bloodwork or metabolic panels
• 🪱 Parasite control assessment with fecal egg count
• 🦷 Dental check or float if due

If your vet doesn’t perform a full exam during routine vaccinations, ask them to add it. You’re not just buying vaccines—you’re investing in **preventive care**. ✅

🧠 Daily Monitoring: Notice the Subtle Signs

Senior horses are great at masking problems. That’s why **daily observation** is essential. Small changes in attitude, appetite, or body language could be early signs of pain, metabolic disease, or dental issues. 🧠

Watch For:

• 📉 Weight loss, rib prominence, or muscle wasting
• 🥕 Sudden pickiness with feed or longer chewing time
• 😠 Change in herd dynamics or increased isolation
• 🔥 Swelling, heat, or stiffness in limbs

Jot these changes down and mention them at your next vet visit—or reach out sooner if symptoms persist. 📋

🌾 Feed Smart: High-Quality, Dust-Free, Senior-Friendly

Senior horses often need softer, more digestible diets. Many have missing or worn-down teeth, which limits hay intake. The solution? Feed **high-quality senior feed or soaked hay cubes**, and avoid dusty or moldy feeds that can irritate the respiratory tract. 🌿

Feeding Tips:

• 🌱 Separate older horses from aggressive eaters
• 🍽️ Feed **multiple small meals per day** (3–4 is ideal)
• ⚖️ Maintain healthy weight—you should feel the ribs but not see them
• 💧 Provide water that’s easy to access and not too cold in winter

Senior feeds are often complete, meaning they offer both forage and concentrates in one—but I still encourage hay or pasture **if chewing is possible**. 🐴

🏃 Keep Moving: Light Exercise Is Key

Even older horses benefit from **gentle movement** to maintain muscle tone, joint mobility, and circulation. Standing in a stall all day or becoming sedentary increases the risk of stiffness and weight gain. 🔄

Exercise Guidelines:

• 🐎 Turnout daily—ideally on level ground with a soft surface
• 🚶 Hand walks or light riding if sound and approved by your vet
• 🧘 Stretching and carrot stretches help with core and neck flexibility

Always warm up slowly and adjust workload based on weather, footing, and any arthritis or respiratory conditions. 🌦️

🧼 Grooming: More Than Just Vanity

Grooming isn’t just about keeping your horse shiny. It’s your chance to check for skin infections, tumors, and sore spots. Tumors—especially melanomas—are common in older grey horses. 🦷

Grooming Tips:

• 👀 Check under the tail, sheath, and along the jawline for new lumps
• 🩹 Look for rain rot, flaky patches, or skin thickening
• 🖐️ Feel for heat, swelling, or pain in the back or legs

Catch small issues early—before they become big problems. 🧠

📲 Use Ask A Vet for Aging Horse Management

The Ask A Vet app helps owners build effective senior care routines with veterinary support on demand:

• 📋 Log vet exams, vaccinations, and body condition updates
• 📱 Ask about feeding, supplements, or medication needs
• 📸 Share photos of lumps, skin issues, or behavioral changes
• 🧠 Receive expert guidance for managing Cushing’s, arthritis, or chronic weight loss

Stay ahead of aging challenges with confidence. 🐴📲

✅ Senior Horse Care Tips for 2025

• 🩺 Schedule **twice-yearly veterinary exams** to catch early changes
• 🌾 Feed **high-quality, easy-to-chew diets** tailored for older horses
• 🥕 Separate meals, offer small portions often, and monitor weight monthly
• 🚶 Provide **gentle daily movement** to preserve muscle and circulation
• 🧼 Groom often to detect tumors, pain points, and skin issues
• 📱 Use Ask A Vet for personalized senior health support

📲 Final Thoughts from Dr Duncan Houston

Older horses give us their hearts—let’s return the favor with thoughtful care. With a good routine, regular vet exams, and some extra TLC, senior horses can enjoy many more years of comfort and connection. 🧠💙

Download the Ask A Vet app to track your senior horse’s health, consult on feeding or medical changes, and get expert support year-round. 🐎📱