age is just a #-right??

[TTFN]

So I know intellectually that this is so, along with diet, exercise and attitude and yet it feels like a seed trying to lay roots in my thinking since turning 50 and now 53. I would like to ride well into my 70's as long as I am physically able.
So I guess I'm wondering if anyone else struggles with this, and or some examples of people not just riding but doing everything that they always have done in regards to horses. Thanks:)

[heddylamar]

My aunt's well into her 60s and does 15+ mile day hikes in the Cascades, as well as multi-day rides on her horses in the back country. She has "retired" from dressage ... really, just quit actively training and competing. She still trains her trail horses through third level.

Mom's several years older, and takes weekly riding lessons, but quit training in dressage ages ago. Her focus now is on having a good citizen, and a bombproof trail horse. Since her hip replacement, she quit running, and picked up weight training. She just returned back from a backpacking trip.

[TTFN]

Ohh, that's amazing!! Speaking of weight training I have been watching a few ladies in their 60's and 70's who are absolutely lean fit and well defined! I am so inspired by them and their lifestyle:) Maybe this is the fountain of youth to cross-train with weights and riding..

[StraightForward]

If my dad is any indication, the secret is low stress and plenty of naps.

He turned 78 in February and still hikes, takes his boats out paddling, and cycles, at least some combo of those every day. He has always stayed pretty thin and cuts his breakfast back a bit if he catches himself gaining a couple pounds. I'm sure if he was a rider he would still be getting up in the saddle!

[Chisamba]

I am sixty now and I find 5 horses a day in my comfort range but six , I feel it. I do hunter paces with 3 friends and one is in her seventies and still does our 6 to 7 mile paces, does trail riding all around the world and takes a lesson a week.

all in all I have 3 students in their 70s.

I hope to ride til I am 86. when I am 85 I may hope to ride longer.

[khall]

I certainly hope so! I’m about to turn 54 Joplin is 7 I feel I should have maybe 15 yrs with her and I will look for another horse before that time. I don’t think I will ever breed again though. I’m still throwing hay and doing Pilates and all the work required on the farm. As well as caring for my 84 yr old mother. DH and I also kayak in the summer. He’s a hiker and a runner my knee says no way.

[TTFN]

Ohh this is so inspiring!! Thank you for sharing! I am trying to incorporate weight lifting only now to build some strength, but being flexible is also part of the equation for longevity I would think. Do you all do this too?

[Sue B]

My friend's dad died at age 75 while riding a 3yr old he was training up in the mountains. Coroner couldn't say if he died and fell off the horse or if he fell off the horse and died. He was a life-long cowboy.

My sister is 64 and still mountain biking. She is also a breast cancer survivor.

My mother trvelled the country in her RV and walked several miles every day until her mid-80's.

I plan on riding at least until I'm 100.

[demi]

My friend's dad died at age 75 while riding a 3yr old he was training up in the mountains. Coroner couldn't say if he died and fell off the horse or if he fell off the horse and died. He was a life-long cowboy.

My sister is 64 and still mountain biking. She is also a breast cancer survivor.

My mother trvelled the country in her RV and walked several miles every day until her mid-80's.

I plan on riding at least until I'm 100.

If this was a text I’d add a big heart to “I plan on riding until I’m 100” !!!!

[PaulaO]

Yes and no. I'm turning 64 end of the month and there are days I know I'm aging. Aches, pains, inability to physically do things I used to do. Reduced flexbility. The "I just don't wannas." The don't wannas are the drudges of life, like work, taking out the garbage. I plan on retiring next year and expect a renewed outlook on life.

[Kyra's Mom]

Well, yes age is just a number. Is it the number (65y.o.) I feel like most of the time...NO. Many days I feel about 80 (I guess).

Does it keep me off my horse...hell no.

I went through 6-7 years with that many surgeries for this that and the other thing. I maybe rode 100 times in those 6-7 years (2555 days). The worst from a riding perspective was my tailbone issue. It had bothered me for several years and in 2010, the pain started escalating. By 2014, it was too uncomfortable to sit on my horse...or a chair for that matter.
I was finally diagnosed that year with a bone spur on my tailbone. Then finding someone to remove it was another whole adventure...but I did. It was 2 years before I attempted to ride again after the surgery. I still keep my sessions in the saddle pretty short. I haven't really tried to do a ton of sitting trot but I still get on her and plan on continuing until SHE throws in the towel. Right now, she is 19 and very sound. Finger's crossed she can stay that way and we can do a Century ride in 8-9 years. My birthday isn't until August and most of our shows are in the spring so I might have to wait a year. I will be 73 or 74 .

Susan

[KathyK]

I'm turning 73 a week from today. I ride five days a week, schooling fourth level, and even dabbling with a bit of PSG (first piaffe yesterday!). I'm planning to take my horse to Florida for three months this coming winter. When I get back I'm having a total hip replacement of my left hip. I'm keeping the pain in check with a prescription NSAID, but will be glad to have the surgery next spring.

Age is definitely not just a number. Animals have no concept of age or numbers, but many of them (the ones don't die from accidents. illnesses, injuries, neglect, etc.) get old and eventually die of old age. We all get older and our bodies get weaker. Some of us are luckier than others and our bodies weaken more slowly.