# On average, how long do Full Thoroughbreds live for?



## DebbieCG (5 May 2009)

Just wondering how many years a full thoroughbred (not three quarters or cross etc.) may expect to live?  Obviously different factors come in, but is there an average on the whole?


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## stencilface (5 May 2009)

Erm, ours is rising 25 and still going strong


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## hellspells (5 May 2009)

Mine was 15


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## BBH (5 May 2009)

Mine is 22 / 23 and has dodgy legs so they will prob give out before the rest of him.


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## The Original Kao (5 May 2009)

The TB's I worked with and are no longer here died ages 9, 16 and 25.


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## apritina (5 May 2009)

Mine is 27, lowish mileage, 5 foals had last one 10 years ago, she looks fab , still hacks (incl a good gallop every so often!), schools, lunge etc 5 times a week. Have to keep it varied as get rather full of her self. If she stops working she looses condition, coat looks dull, and she turns in to a pottery old woman!


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## landyandy (5 May 2009)

i'm sure red rum was 33 ish


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## DebbieCG (5 May 2009)

Thanks for replies so far, which are giving a general idea.

Yes, I think I read somewhere that Red Rum was at least 30, although not sure he was a full T/B?  He looked quite sturdy in some ways.

It is good to hear how some T/B's are over 25 and doing well too!


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## sammiea (5 May 2009)

Red Rum would have been full tb as he was a race horse


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## tikino (5 May 2009)

my best friend th is 33 and still going strong
her she is here


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## Faro (5 May 2009)

Tikino,

What's that white on her shoulder?  Just curious?


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## Grey_Eventer (5 May 2009)

ours is 17 and going strong!
weve had ones live till late 20s though!


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## charlie55 (5 May 2009)

My friends tb was 31 when she died


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## smirnoff_ice07 (5 May 2009)

We had one pts aged 30, and my bosses ex racehorse dropped down in the field at 25. Her other tb is 25 this year, hopefully will be with us for a few more years... he still manages to put up with all the crap my youngster gives him anyway!!


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## DebbieCG (5 May 2009)

Thanks for the further replies, it really helps to give
an estimation of age for TBs. 

Thank you to Tikino for posting the lovely pic of your
friend's Tb - she looks great at 33.

We did have an ex-race horse who lived until 17, 
but unfortunately he was kicked and had to be pts, 
so if this had not happened he probrably would have 
lived until his early twenties.

But there is a reason why I am trying to see about the age 
TBs may live to.

I am hoping shortly to put a post on the forum about it,
but in 1981 my horse was stolen. He was 12 at the time.

I am trying to estimate in theory how long he may
have lived until.

He was a full T/B, chestnut gelding. He was 16.2hh
with distinctive face markings and hind socks.
He didn't have immediate health problems (like being prone to
colic, or any wind related issues, although he had been 
pined fired so his legs were not his strongest point.)

Although we searched desperately at the time, we were 
never able to find him and because it was the early 80s
no Horsewarch or internet was around to help.

When this devastating experience happens it remains
so unresolved and you forever anguish about what
may have happened to your horse.  You can only
hope they got to a good home.  But in theory it
is possible that my horse could have lived until
the mid 1990s when he would theoretically have 
been about 26.

I am hoping to put the post up soon, with his photos
in the hope that if he hopefully did survive after
being stolen it is possible that someone may
recognise him from the past.  

Thanks again


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## Lolo (5 May 2009)

Mine's 25 min. and still going (a bit too!!) strong...


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## Keltic (5 May 2009)

Mine is 29 and still a bu@@er!!

Sorry about your horse being stolen, how awful for you.


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## tikino (5 May 2009)

Appaerently she had a bad accident years ago and the hair grew in white. thats what we were told when she was bought 20 odd years ago


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## Tnavas (6 May 2009)

Varying ages depending on how they have been looked after over the years but often well into their 20's. We had some in the riding school that were 25 &amp; 27 before they were PYS.


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## DebbieCG (6 May 2009)

Thank you for the further posts - it's good to know that a lot
of TBs are well into their 20s and even 30s these days.

I wonder if better nutrition/feeds help these days and more knowledge 
in general have helped?

Thank you for your message about my stolen horse Keltic.

Apart from the main worry of what happened to him, if he
were not well cared for his health would have deteriorated.
I can only hope he survived after being stolen though.

As mentioned I hope to put a separate post on the H&amp;H forum
with my horse's details and photos shortly, in the hope
someone may have known him after we lost him.

I will try and post a photo now, but not sure if it will work.


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## LadyRascasse (6 May 2009)

mine are 8 and 17 neither are showing signs of giving up yet, infact the 17year old is more lively than the 8 yr old.


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## DebbieCG (6 May 2009)

Thanks to everyone for posting so far - it's great to hear all your
experiences with your TBs.  

I have certainly seem some lively horses/ponies on rides too, who 
would be classified as veterans in the show ring!

I would just like to post another pic of my TB horse,
Ballymoss, who was stolen in 1981 (aged 12).  He
has a clip here and it was just a few weeks before
he was stolen (from Hertfordshire).
At this time he was good weight wise, but
we always had to keep up his weight.

I do have a post about him on the Intelligent Horsemanship 
site, and I hope to put a post on this forum shortly too, in
the hope that if he did survive after he was stolen, someone
might just recognise him from the past. 

The only thing is he would have had to have got to a good home in order to have been kept well and of course I just don't know what happened to him.
We do believe he was spotted at a Shrewsbury sale
in 1981 though and may have been in the Oxfordshire area
around 1984, but nothing has ever been certain of his
whereabouts or wellfare and we are still heartbroken not
to have found him or to know what happened to him.

In theory his age would be 40 now so too old to be alive
but I have been trying to do a retro search in certain ways
to see if anyone may recognise him from the 80s or 90s.
Thanks


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