Horses and Age

How does the age of a horse compare to the age of a human being? A horse year is equal to 6 1/2 human years for the first 3 years of the horse's life. At the horse age of three the equivalent changes and is approximately 5 years to man. From 4 the horse year equivalency changes to 2 1/2 years. If your horse lives to be 36 horse years the human equivalency in years would be 100 1/2 years!

Genetics, nutrition, exercise, medical care, etc. all play a role in how your horse ages. It is not much different for the human being. The following chart is a quick reference to approximate horse age in years to human age in years.

• 1 horse year = 6.5 human years


• 2 horse years = 6.5 human years


• 3 horse years = 18 human years


• 4 horse years = 20 1/2 human years


• 5 horse years = 23 human years


• 6 horse years = 25 1/2 human years


• 7 horse years = 28 human years


• 8 horse years = 30 1/2 human years


• 9 horse years = 33 human years


• 10 horse years = 35 1/2 human years


• 11 horse years = 38 human years


• 12 horse years = 40 1/2 human years


• 13 horse years = 43 human years


• 14 horse years = 45 1/2 human years (A horse is referred to as "aged" when he/she reaches 14 years)


• 15 horse years = 48 human years


• 16 horse years = 50 1/2 human years


• 17 horse years = 53 human years


• 18 horse years = 55 1/2 human years


• 19 horse years = 58 human years


• 20 horse years = 60 1/2 human years


• 21 horse years = 63 human years


• 22 horse years = 65 1/2 human years


• 23 horse years = 68 human years


• 24 horse years = 70 1/2 human years


• 25 horse years = 73 human years


• 26 horse years = 75 1/2 human years


• 27 horse years = 78 human years


• 28 horse years = 80 1/2 human years


• 29 horse years = 83 human years


• 30 horse years = 85 1/2 human years


• 31 horse years = 88 human years


• 32 horse years = 90 1/2 human years


• 33 horse years = 93 human years


• 34 horse years = 95 1/2 human years


• 35 horse years = 98 human years


• 36 horse years = 100 1/2 human years


• 37 horse years = 103 human years


• 38 horse years = 105 1/2 human years


• 39 horse years = 108 human years


• 40 horse years = 110 1/2 human years

You will hear horse people say that "A good horse is good to the end!" Horses in the wild must age well or they fall prey to wild animals. Also, they are chased and ostracized by their own herd. There are some tell tale signs that can be noted as a horse ages. Of course, the age of a horse can be closely approximated by looking at its Teeth. The horse's belly starts to sag as the ligamenture starts to give. Also the horse's eyes begin to sink into the orbits a bit. The hair color changes. In a gray horse, the coat gets whiter with age. In a black horse, gray can be seen in the neck and face, etc. Aging horses often begin to have a sway back, develop arthritis or degenerative joint disease, and are more prone to Cushing's Disease, Laminitis, and immune deficiency diseases, as well as infection. Often an aging horse has difficulty maintaining weight. They will become thin and lose muscle tone.