Dressage horses are frequently just hitting their prime at ages when in other disciplines the competitive edge is beginning to fade. It is not uncommon now to see dressage horses performing well into their 20s and even 30s. There have been many recent surveys/studies of performance and nutrition in aging horses that I will briefly summarize here.
Just because a horse is over 18 or 20 years old does not necessarily mean he needs changes in his feeding. As long as he is maintaining good body condition, energy and overall health, don’t mess with success just because his chronological age is advancing. There is no magic age at which all horses need nutritional help. If the old campaigner begins to falter, however, with weight loss, chronic infections, long hair coat…
