Horse Senior Care Welfare | Animal Welfare Hub

Horses aged 20+ have specific welfare needs that require management adaptations for dental health, nutrition, social inclusion, and comfort.

Key Facts

Horses can live into their 30s with good care — populations of horses aged 20+ are growing as veterinary care improves
Dental disease in senior horses impairs chewing efficiency, causing weight loss and malnutrition in inadequately managed individuals
PPID (Equine Cushings Disease) affects approximately 25% of horses over 15 — early identification enables effective management
Senior horses require higher-quality, more digestible protein to maintain muscle mass as metabolic efficiency declines
Social inclusion with appropriate companions is essential — removing senior horses from established groups causes welfare harm
Pain from osteoarthritis is very common in senior horses and requires multimodal management for adequate welfare

Welfare Considerations

Senior horse welfare requires active management as physiological systems age and require more support to maintain function. The most common welfare failures in senior horse management are inadequate dental monitoring (leading to undetected dental disease causing painful mastication and weight loss), undiagnosed PPID (causing immune suppression, laminitis risk, and muscle wasting), and chronic pain under-treatment (from osteoarthritis causing progressive movement limitation and negative affect). Horses with good body condition, managed dental health, treated PPID, and adequate analgesia for joint disease can maintain good welfare into their late 20s. The welfare obligation intensifies with age — the same monitoring schedule that is appropriate for young horses is insufficient for horses over 20, where bi-annual veterinary review becomes the appropriate minimum.

What You Can Do

Schedule bi-annual veterinary examinations for horses over 20 years — annual review is insufficient given the pace of age-related change
Have dental examinations every 6 months for senior horses — dental disease accelerates in older animals
Screen for PPID with annual ACTH testing in horses over 15 — early detection and treatment prevents laminitis and immune complications
Provide senior-specific feeds with higher-quality digestible protein and reduced starch where necessary
Ensure senior horses remain socially integrated with appropriate companions — isolation accelerates psychological deterioration