15/06/2025
👴🏻👵🏻 Very important post for Geratric horses!!
Its all about knowing your own horse and understanding what is ‘normal’ for them
🧓 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝗛𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲𝘀 ~ 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 “𝗡𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹” 𝗜𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗔𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗧𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸! 🐴
As horses reach old age, they may no longer always fit into the neat clinical boxes of standard physiological parameters (vital signs) that veterinary professionals are used to. A geriatric horse, particularly one in their 30s, for example, may present with vital signs that differ slightly from the norm, but that are still perfectly healthy for that particular individual horse.
In these cases, what matters most is knowing their personal individual baseline, understanding the context and always be willing to ask yourself "Is this normal for my horse?" 🤔
💓 Vital Signs in Geriatric Horses ~ What We Can See:
🩺 Heart Rate (HR)
🔹 Adult norm: 28–44 bpm
🔹 Geriatric trend: 44–48 bpm can be observed
This can reflect age-related cardiovascular changes, low-grade inflammation, or stress, but not necessarily pain, or illness.
🫁 Respiratory Rate (RR)
🔹 Adult norm: 8–16 breaths/min
🔹 Geriatric trend: Up to 20 breaths/min
Can be due to reduced lung elasticity, mild airway inflammation, or warm weather.
💩 Gut Sounds
Gut motility may be reduced, or more intermittent in older horses. If they are passing normal dung and appear otherwise bright and well, this CAN be normal.
🍽️ Feeding and Grazing Patterns Differ
Older horses often:
✔️ Eat a lot more slowly
✔️ Can take 8–12+ hours to finish feeds
✔️ Pick at grass rather than graze continuously
*** Some older horses may get sick of, or go off their usual feed from time to time, a phenomenon known as "feed fatigue" (yes, this is really a thing!! 🤦♀️). While not widely studied, clinical observations and geriatric equine literature suggest that reduced appetite in older horses, can be due to age-related changes in taste, smell, chewing effort, gut motility, or cognitive function. Subtle changes in texture, flavour, or feeding routine very often helps to re-ignite their interest! 👌 This is particularly relevant in horses over 30, whose feeding behaviour may shift from what is expected in regular adult horses ***
This doesn’t necessarily always mean something is wrong, it may be how individual older horses self-regulate.
🧠 Behavioural Signs
Older horses often:
○ React more subtly to pain
○ May appear quieter or calmer and just mouch around
○ Show behavioural changes or stress, during changes of routine, environmental disruption, or travel, that a younger adult horse would not bat an eyelids at
○ May take much longer to adapt to change
○ What may look “not right” in a younger horse, could be typical for a senior, who’s set in their ways and very sensitive to change
🧪 So Why Isn’t There More Research on This?
Because so few horses live comfortably into their 30s, there are only very limited studies looking specifically at this age group. I mean, how often do you think your vet sees a horse in their 30s? Very infrequently is the answer!
Most veterinary literature defines "geriatric" as 15 - 20 years and older, meaning horses over 30 are underrepresented in clinical research. Much of what we understand about their physiology, comes from experienced observation and long-term case management, but not controlled trials.
⚠️ But Please Note:
Even if your older horse shows signs that may be part of their normal physiology, never assume it's harmless, if you are concerned that something isn't quite right, qlways consult with your vet, if you notice a change in:
□ Demeanour
□ Appetite
□ Vital signs
□ Behaviour
□ Dung production
□ Posture, or mobility
□ An instinctive knowing that something is not quite right
Older horses deserve more veterinary attention, not less. Don’t be afraid to raise concerns, because sometimes subtle signs are all we will get.
Example:
Drawing on my own experience, my 34-year-old horse, with a resting HR of 48 bpm, who is slow grazing, with a quiet demeanour, with lots of grazing breaks and only picking away at her hard feed throughout the day, is actually perfectly fine, because I know it’s normal for her! 😁👌🐎
She can then sometimes get bored with her everyday feed, but I don't panic, because I know that if I make subtle changes to it, she will be back eating like normal (her normal! 😁) as soon as I do so!! 👌🐎
BUT we must always listen, observe and ask ourselves 👉 "Is this how she usually is? Or is this something new?"
𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬
Ralston, S.L. (2002). Clinical Nutrition of the Horse. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Equine Practice, 18(2), pp.297–316.
McFarlane, D. (2011). Equine Geriatric Medicine and Geriatric Management. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Equine Practice, 27(1), pp.67–78.
Dyson, S. et al. (2017). Changes in heart rate and heart rate variability as a function of age in Thoroughbred horses.
Duncan, J.L. and Pirie, R.S. (2014). Geriatric Horses. In: Equine Internal Medicine, 4th ed., Elsevier.
McFarlane, D. (2011). Equine geriatric medicine and geriatric management. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Equine Practice, 27(1), pp.67–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cveq.2010.12.005
Kentucky Equine Research (2019). Understanding Equine Vital Signs. Available at: https://ker.com.
