Your horse is just not your stable animal – he’s part of your family! The lifespan of a horse depends largely on the breed and the way it is raised. On average, horses live around 25 to 30 years, and in some rare cases, they’re lucky enough to live up to 40 years. Of course, illnesses or accidents can claim the life of your equine friend in their prime too.
Health, hygiene, training, genes, and atmosphere also play a vital role when it comes to longevity of horses. And to ensure your horse lives the longest it can, you should pay attention to the factors you CAN control.
Let’s take a look at some ways you can do just that.
A Good Diet
Good food guarantees a longer life for your equine friend, the same as with humans, or any living thing for that matter. The right amount of vitamins, minerals, calcium and other supplements provided in adequate amount in the horse’ diet allows them to grow and develop well, both mentally and physically in turn increasing their lifespan.
Young foals need most of their nutrition from the mare; external feeds can also be given as milk replacements. Adult horses graze easily through pastures, but of course, their diet is an integral part of their lifestyle that defines their health and overall being whether it is a domestic animal or racehorse. Horse diet is not calculated and planned on charts. Good quality herbage added with essential nutrients in the form of pellets can form a healthy diet for your equine friend of any age.
Outdoors to Thrive
Exposure to the outdoors is just as essential as any diet or physical exercise for your horse’ well-being and longevity. Nature has designed the animal to roam, not be locked inside a barn. Doing so only limits its abilities and they often fall prey to barn-sour. The freshness and freedom of the open areas tones their muscles and keep them fresh and active.
Old horses are often kept inside, especially if some sign of arthritis is visible – refrain from doing so; this will only make them more sick. Outdoor activity or a mere stroll a few times every day is very essential to keep them in shape despite age related issues.
Show Me Your Teeth
Believe it or not, a horse’ dental care is integral to their overall health and longevity. Often enough, deteriorating health is observed stemming from lack of nutrition, all because they were unable to chew properly owing to dental issues.
Wear and tear of the teeth is inevitable with age though, but you should keep an eye on this aspect to ensure the horse doesn’t fall sick prematurely. Inability to masticate properly leads to malnourishment. The horse could also choke, or worse, face colic problems with large chunks of food remaining undigested.
Checkups
Regular checkups by veterinarians keep you updated with what’s going in your horse’ system and any issues could be nipped in the bud with proper medication and treatment. Parasite control in horses is equally important for them to have a healthy long life; they need de-worming and parasite control medicine to avoid any serious ailments.
Horses are loyal friends and often part of your family as well; their health, training, lifestyle, diet, location, all affect their lifespan and healthy activity throughout their lifespan.
