Horse owners and novice horse riders are usually curious about the age and life span of their horse. A common question is that how long does a horse live? How do you compare horse years to human years? And when should I consider my horse as a senior?

The life span of horses depends upon a great many factors. However, the average life of horses ranges between 25 to 30 years. Along with that how long does a horse live is also influenced by the breed, lifestyle, nutrition, health, and management of the horse. Many well kept senior horses enjoy a healthy life and even lightly ridden after their 30’S.

With the advancement in equine management strategies and veterinary medicine, the life expectancy of horses has been improved. And it is a good reason to understand that domesticated horses live longer than wild horses. In this article, we will discuss different factors affecting the age of a horse and how we can help a horse to increase its life span.

How long do horses live?

Life Stages Of A Horse

Equestrians use special terms to describe the different life stages of a horse. You may get confused by the words like colt, yearling, and filly. The life of a horse can be divided into 5 main stages.

• Suckling: From birth to 3-4month of age, they are called suckling foals. During this period a foal is being nursed by the mare. Meanwhile, he starts nibbling and sampling the solid food from 1 week of age. After 2 months of age, a foal started consuming more solid food to meet its growing nutritional needs.
• Foal (Weanling): When a foal is separated from the mother, it is now called a weanling. It is usually practiced at 04 months of age. Indeed, it’s a stressful phase of a horse’s life due to separation from his mother. A foal up to the age of one year is called a weanling. 
• Yearling: A male or female horse older than one year, until the age of 2 years, is called a yearling. A yearling is a fully dependent horse and starts learning the interaction with his barn fellows.
• Filly & Colt: A male horse from 2 to 4 years of age is called a colt and a female horse of similar age is called a filly. At this age, an ungracefully tall and thin yearling starts looking mature both mentally and physically.
• Mare and Stallion: A female horse of age 4 years or older is called a mare and a male horse at this age is called a stallion. Most of the horses reached their full height at the age of 6 to 8 years and are fully developed for riding and training. 

How old do horses live? Horse years to human years

Have you ever noticed that animals age and mature at different rates as compare to humans? It can be a very interesting comparison sometimes! Like, chickens attain their puberty at just 06 months of age when a human baby is hardly toddling. Similarly, a horse starts enjoying his adulthood at the earliest six months before or after their 5th birthday. But horses can still keep physically growing or maturing until they are 7 or 8.

Here is a horse years to human years age comparison chart showing different stages of a horse’s life for human age.

Horse Age	Stage of Life	Human Age	Stage of Life
1	Foal, Weanling, Yearling	6	Child
2	Two year old	11	Tween
3	Three year old	13	Teenager
4	Four year old (not yet physically mature)	18	Young adult
Between 6-8 years	Fully mature	24	Adulthood
10	Adult	35	Adulthood
15-22	Middle aged	43	Middle aged
22	Senior	68	Senior
27	Senior	78	25%-/+ five years is an average lifespan.
30	Old age	85	Old age
33	Extreme old age	95	Extreme old age

How to tell a horses age?

Determining the age of a horse is an art and can be quite tricky sometimes. From the old times, the age of the horse is used to be determined by his front teeth. A mature horse has 12 front teeth, 1 or 2 pairs of canine teeth (usually called Tusks), and 24 molar teeth.

According to the University of Missouri Extension, there are four major things to note for estimating the age of a horse.

• Occurrence of Permanent teeth
• Disappearance of teeth cups
• Angle of incidence of front teeth
• Shape of the surface of teeth

In a year-old horse, all the temporary teeth except canines are present. Temporary teeth are more cylindrical and whitish as compare to permanent teeth. All the temporary teeth are gradually replaced by permanent teeth until the age of 5 years.

Similarly, the horse of age between 5 and 10 years is determined by the shape and disappearance of cups. Teeth in a horse’s mouth change their angle of incidence in a particular fashion from 10 to 20 years. And a horse in his 30’s is differentiated by the specific shapes of the teeth surface.

As the horse got older, it becomes difficult to determine the exact age of a horse. For more accurate age determination of horses, you can use University of Missouri Extension detailed guidelines.

Factors affecting a horse age

The age of a horse is affected by many factors which are not the ultimate sources of increasing horse longevity, however, plays a significant role. Some are given here;

How long do horses live? Breed considerations

There are over 200 horse breeds in the world that are developed for different purposes. The breed of a horse does not influence the horse’s age directly, however; it is experienced that lighter breeds live longer as compare to heavier breeds. It is not uncommon for an Arabian horse or a pony to live after their thirties, however; that is not the case for a thoroughbred.

Lifestyle and workload

Have you ever researched bout the life span of famous racehorses? Racehorses usually start their career at 2 years of age and retired at 10. Most racehorses can’t live longer because they are prone to life-threatening injuries. In the same way, dwarf horses which remain involved in strenuous activities throughout their life have shorter life spans.

This is one reason it’s important not to ride a horse very much before they are physically mature. Horses are only physically mature somewhere between 5.5 years of age and 8+. It depends on your horse. Riding 2 and 3 year olds carries a much higher risk of causing the horse pain & physical issues later in life.

Diet and nutrition

Balanced nutrition is as important in horses as in humans. Horses need the availability of freshwater throughout their day and sufficient time for grazing. A limited quantity of grains and mineral supplements are also necessary to make a well-rounded diet.

Horses need to take their meal after a short interval of time throughout the day. It is necessary to neutralize the continuously secreting gastric juices.

Disease and Management

The age and quality of a horse’s life are greatly affected by disease prevention and provided veterinary care. Some equine diseases affect the living conditions of horses and others could be fatal. Like equine influenza, the equine herpes virus strangles and glanders.

How to help a horse increase life expectancy?

To increase the life expectancy of your horse you should ensure these things.

• Keep the bond strong with your horse. Spend time with your horse while performing different activities. It will not only provide emotional support to your horse but also keep you close to nature.
• Make sure your horse’s saddle & bridle fit correctly and are comfortable & don’t cause any pain or health issues.
• Allow the horse to graze and socialize with other horses. If the grazing is not possible, good quality hay or grass should be provided. Horses need freedom to move.
• Regular exercise & movement is necessary for a horse. Workout does not only keep a horse in shape but also prevents it from degenerative musculoskeletal diseases. Polework is also great to help build flexibility & agility for all horses.
• Keep an eye on the health and body score of your horse. If you find any abnormality, there is no time to call your vet. Visit your farrier regularly to keep the hoof in good shape.
• Follow a vaccination schedule advised by local equine health authorities. Examine the stools of your horse for worms and deworm him regularly.  
• Improve your horse’s long term health by improving his posture & ability to carry a rider by teaching your horse lateral work and collection.

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