Shes 25..But has ENERGY

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Elianna C H

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I have been driving my mini horse Kristy ever sense I was a little kid, She is now 25 I know very little about how old is old for a mini horse, my bigger horses all are old aged around 20...but shes a mini and is 10X smaller, and has the amount of energy to run a lot at the age of 25, Is she TO OLD to cart? will it hurt her? or do i keep carting her until she starts ageing more?
 
I'm going to say she might be up for it if you start slow and only go for short periods of time until you see her tolerance for activity and how her joints feel after exercise. I'd probably have a vet give her a quick once over just to check her heart, lungs and generally soundness and take it from there.
 
Mine is 25 also this year. He does have some arthritis and is on adequan. But he still loves to go in the cart. We don't go as fast and far as we used to. Just let her tell you what she can do. So neat that you've been playing together for so long!

Thank you!!!
 
I would say if you've been doing it right along and she's still just as happy to go and has no other issues, have at it! It would be different if you were going to START driving her now but since she's always done it, that makes it easier. Exercise is great for keeping older horses comfortable and happy, it can be the best thing for arthritis. As others have said, just keep an eye on her comfort and make sure she doesn't start looking sore after drives or being grumpy about being taken out (well, new grumpiness, anyway) since those can be signs that it's too much for her.
 
I would say if you've been doing it right along and she's still just as happy to go and has no other issues, have at it! It would be different if you were going to START driving her now but since she's always done it, that makes it easier. Exercise is great for keeping older horses comfortable and happy, it can be the best thing for arthritis. As others have said, just keep an eye on her comfort and make sure she doesn't start looking sore after drives or being grumpy about being taken out (well, new grumpiness, anyway) since those can be signs that it's too much for her.

Okay! She is always pretty happy to get out and jump or run for a loooong time (she's almost more energetic then the other horses 😅) so I'm excited to keep carting her this spring/summer!
 

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