How old is he in human years?

[Carol O]

If 1 year of a dog's life is approx. 7 human years, what is the conversion for horses?

[deltawave]

It's not really possible to make a direct conversion with ANY species, since they all grow and age very differently.

The first year or two of a dog's or horse's life sees them to adulthood or very close, while human 2yos are still not potty trained for the most part. :) And no matter how you slice it, these sorts of conversions just never work.

A 10 year old horse is as old as a 10 year old horse. No interspecies conversion necessary. :)

[jaimebaker]

Yeah well, if you want to get 'technical' about it DW.:D If you want to actually answer the OPs question I'm pretty sure the conversion I've heard is 4 years to every 1 horse year. But not 100% sure on that as that sounds about a year high (3 to 1 sounds a bit more accurate if you think about the average lifespan of a horse).

[slight]

I had heard 3 years...so a five year old horse is like a 15 year old teenager? I'm checking with my vet now!!

It seems some breeds mature later, and some "last" longer :confused:

[amdfarm]

I found a calculator of sorts online some time ago (i.e. forgot where!) and I plugged in my old gelding, 23yo, and I can't remember the exact age but it somewhere in the late 70's. I was shocked, as he sure doesn't act that age at all, or 23 for that matter. :)

[Carol O]

So my 24 yo DWB, who still does canter pirouettes, and flying changes every 3 strides is between 72 and 96 "human" years old???? I think I favor the 3/1 conversion. At his age, with what he can do, he is no 96 year old!

Take good care of your horses! It pays off in the end!

[jaimebaker]

So my 24 yo DWB, who still does canter pirouettes, and flying changes ever 3 strides is between 72 and 96 "human" years old???? I think I favor the 3/1 conversion. At his age, with what he can do, he is no 96 year old!

Take good care of your horses! It pays off in the end!

That's what deltawave was trying to say. It's not 'practical' to convert horse years to human years. Especially when you are talking about some animals that do a 'job' every day and are fit (and of course, don't smoke or drink:lol:). Lots of factors involved with horses that are not involved with humans. Same thing with dogs. Conversion factors are pretty much only based on an average life span anyway. I have known horses into their 40s. But I've never met a human 120 or 160. So yeah, not quite accurate, eh?

[amdfarm]

So my 24 yo DWB, who still does canter pirouettes, and flying changes ever 3 strides is between 72 and 96 "human" years old???? I think I favor the 3/1 conversion. At his age, with what he can do, he is no 96 year old!

Take good care of your horses! It pays off in the end!

Exactly!! Mine still thinks he's a race horse when I let him, and he can still go very fast. He's an OTQH.

[deltawave]

Think of it this way--we spend approximately 1/5 to 1/4 of our natural lifespan going from infancy to adulthood. This assumes an approximately 80 year lifespan, which is about right in this day and age. But 100 years ago, our natural lifespan was more like 50 years. So right there you have a huge, huge "skew".

Other species are hugely different, and with species that have a lot of variation (like dogs) it's even more difficult--a small-breed dog might reach adulthood in less than one year and live for 15, while a giant breed may not reach the same level of maturity until 18 months and has an expected lifespan of 9 years. You just can't generalize.

So saying "one year for every 3" or "one year for every 4" will probably work for a modest number of animals if you only consider adults, but it really isn't all that accurate across a lifetime and between individuals. Sure, lots of us know old horses that are still spry, and there are also more than a few 7 and 8 year old horses with arthritis, etc. My point is, why bother trying to generalize something that's obviously artificial and impossible to make work? :)

A horse is a horse (of course of course) ;) and comparing it to a dog or a human is sort of . . . pointless.

[Drive NJ]

Some years ago we got a chart created by Pfizer that gave a relational age of horses vs humans so you could track general health issues that occur with age etc
I dont know how to post it - we have it on a power point slide
We found that it appears to be a reasonably accurate translation
The chart estimates a 24 yo horse to be age equivalent to approx 66-70 years human
the early horse to human years are not a linear progression until after approx age 5

Prior to this chart Id always heard approx 3 human years per horse year

(Pfizer info that went with chart)
A new Horse/Human Age Relationship Chart has just been released that seeks to better explain the relationship between the stages of life for humans and horses. This new information reveals that, beginning at birth, horses age 6.5 years for each human year until puberty. Once a horse reaches age four, that rate slows to 2.5 years for each human year.
The Age Relationship Chart, created by equine veterinarians, is intended to help horse owners better relate to and understand the health issues their horses might experience at each stage of life, said Dan Kramer, equine market manager at Pfizer Animal Health, who released the information.
"Horses go through the same life cycles as do humans. They have distinct childhood, adolescence, puberty, maturity, and geriatric phases of their lives, " Kramer said. "This chart will give horse owners added insight into their horse's life stages and greater understanding of the issues at each stage. For example, a 22-year old horse would equate to a human of age 65.5. A horse that is 36 years old would be celebrating its 100th birthday if it was a person."
Like humans, advancements in health care are allowing horses to live fruitful and productive--even competitive--lives well into their golden years. From this perspective, the chart offers not only a point of reference, but also a challenge for horse owners, equine veterinarians, and equine health care companies.
"Humans are now living full and productive lives well into their 80s, thanks to research and better health care," Kramer said. "Correspondingly, with emphasis on improved management and equine wellness, we should now be able to keep our horses strong, useful, and competitive well into their late twenties."
Pfizer Animal Health believes so strongly in the power of equine preventive health care that the company offers PreventiCare, a unique equine wellness program offered through veterinarians. This pioneering system requires that all enrolled horses adhere to six minimum requirements of wellness care: annual physical examination, annual dental examination, appropriate immunizations, nutritional counseling, twice-yearly avermectin treatment and daily use of Pfizer's Strongid® C or Strongid® C 2X anthelmintic.
In the event that an enrolled horse requires colic surgery, PreventiCare's Colic Assistance Plan goes into effect. Pfizer will reimburse the operating surgeon for surgical costs and three days of aftercare, up to $5,000 over the life of the horse.
"PreventiCare and the Colic Assistance Plan are our ways of demonstrating how much we believe in the power of preventive health care," said Kramer. "We recently modified PreventiCare to extend eligible participation. Now, horses that were enrolled before 20 years of age may remain enrolled through age 24. Like humans, we're convinced that with good management and proper well care, horses can live longer and more productive lives well into the future.

[slantedhorse]

3.5... makes my 26 yr old...91! He doesn't seem 91 so maybe 3 to 1 is better, he seems 78 to me.

[tmcrabb]

Well I have a 24yr old AQHA Mare that my daughter is still running very competive barrels on and winning money almost every trip. Yes you can tell she has some stiffness now and then in the Morn. sometimes but is still walking all over very young horses. God bless her I would of loved to have owned her in her younger years. so at 3 to 1 she would be in her 70s i just dont see a human in their 70s competing like she does. O and she is never injected only supp. she gets is msm on a daily basis. :D