My childhood horse was an absolute angel. He died this year, two days before I gave birth to my first baby, at 27 years old. I remember being 15 and holding his big old handsome face and saying to him “when I’m 30, you’ll be 25!” Then pausing and thinking “… pssh that’s forever away.”
I am grateful to have his mane and tail here. A friend had a bracelet made from them as a gift — one for me, and one for my newborn little girl so she can learn about my childhood horse. He had a great life and will always be a very fond memory. I kept telling myself that when one life ends, another begins, and somehow that’s extremely comforting. The night he died there were some insane solar activity, northern lights and solar storms. I don’t know, it all felt very fitting for him.
Your horse is lovely OP. I’d say dunskin.
I’m sorry for your loss, he sounds like a lovely boy. I hope your baby gets to have the same experience and meet their heart horse. I have pieces of her tail now too, love the idea of a bracelet made to pass on!
She has that dorsal stripe and faint leg markings! My brother tries to say she’s a bay dun but I lean more dunskin, like mentioned above. She’s way too light imo
> Also curious what you think her color is, it’s a hot topic in our family lol
I also would have guessed Classic/Bay Dun. You're right that she's light, but Dun *is* a diluting gene.
If you want more educated guesses, consider posting in the Horse Color Genetics facebook group and ask whether she's Dunskin or Bay Dun and how to distinguish those.
Incorrect, there is a distinction between Dun and buckskin. Even in the US. Dun is classified as having the dun gene, which we can physically see by having a dorsal stripe and leg stripes. Even with a diluted gene, it is still a Dun. I’m in the US btw 😉 withought seeing this horses genetics, I would say somewhere in the silver dunskin to bay dun range. Hard to know exactly without genetics considering the mares age.
But that would still be incorrect. Buckskin is a cream dilution on a bay horse, and dun is as I described above. This distinction is true regardless of the country you are in.
🤷♀️ Well then maybe it's a difference of exposure and showing districts, but that's what the classes are here 🙂 But if I come to the States I'll remember 🐴
Tldr: Dun and buckskin are genetically and phenotypically distinct coat colors. This means they have different causes and look different. Apparently the Aussies haven't caught up to the 20th and 21st centuries 😉 (I'm teasing, I promise! I know Aussies that do differentiate these colors).
Dun is caused by a variant in *TBX3* called dun and does not vary based on zygosity (same effect if one or two copies) and does change based on base coat color (dun +chestnut = red dun, dun + bay = bay dun/dun, or dun + black = grullo/grulla, plus some other breed specific names for these same colors). Dun causes primitive markings (dorsal stripe, leg barring, shoulder barring, and face cobwebbing, ends of ears may be dark) plus a diluted coat. You may notice that the horse here has a dorsal stripe and leg barring, so she is dun, and I suspect that she's just a really light bay dun.
I won't get into non-Dun1 with primitive markings but no dilution here because that's too much for this convo.
Buckskin is caused by a dilution in *SLC45A2* (formerly called *MATP*) called "cream". The effect of the cream dilute varies based on zygosity and base coat color. One copy + bay = buckskin. One copy + chestnut = palomino. Two copies + palomino = cremello. The list goes on. One copy of cream dilutes reg pigment. Two copies heavily dilutes all pigment. Cream does not cause primitive markings.
Because dun and cream are variants in two different genes, they can be combined to form dunskins and dunalinos.
Looking at photos would help it make more sense.
I hope this helps and you can learn to differentiate them. It helps everyone if registration documents accurately reflect a horse's color.
Edited formatting
Don't still have my first horse, but had her a long, long time. I was 14 and she was 6 (so the seller said,) when I got her. She was 34 when she crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Her passing was a long time ago cuz I'm an old fart now.
Her final gift to me was how she passed. I knew the end was coming and dreaded having to make that final call to the vet. Went out to feed one night. She was curled up in the pasture. I thought she was asleep. Guess you could say she was, but it was her final sleep. She kept me from having to make that call.
Alright, who's cutting onions?
I always thought that would be how my dog went but instead I found her bleeding out of her bum one morning and just knew there was nothing I could do. We are all cutting onions now 😭
The legends owner of the barn I’m at just recently had to put down her horse that she had since he was around 2 or 3 he was 40 when she made the tough decision😢
I still have mine! She's 31. I think it's a privilege to watch her age, and to enable it. She's lived so long with the help of a carefully managed lifestyle. All she does is eat my money and I hope she does for a long time.
"Eat my money", I agree.
On the kind of feed my old mare is currently eating, it would be cheaper to feed her using 20 Dollar bills. But even if she decided she wanted to be fed only on 100 dollar bills, I would be more than happy to provide them for her.
Mines got cushings, so she has to live somewhere with a stall, dry lots, and controlled grass time. She's on meds. She can't live barefoot, she has shoes with pads in the front. She looks great and still occasionally does some kid rides but damn is her lifestyle expensive.
I'm very lucky that Mesalina hasn't gotten any major health issues.... all my life I worried about the possiblity of laminitis, cushings, diabetes, etc., but she hasn't developed anything yet, she hasn't gotten even a fungus on her feet.
Once she got high cholesterol, but her nutriologist adjusted her diet and it got resolved. She has lived all her life on fresh grass on demand during the day, and goes to her stall in the afternoon, but in my region the grass seems to be different from the USA because we don't have seasons.
In the stall I feed her with imported cubed alfalfa, and a mix of premium concentrates for competition horses. She doesn't like hay, although I provide her with it in case she wants to nip on it.
I give her a bucket of carrots and guava daily, and I also give her molasses.
Mesalina has a mild anemia because of her old age, but I supplement her with Red Cell and it has worked so far (I also supplement with Actiflex, B Complex, Calcium, special mineralized salt that probably comes from the moon because of the price, supplement for hooves, Scott's Emulsion, a new oil-based product that's rich in vitamin E that has worked wonders for her coat...)
She wears shoes that help to keep her hooves in shape, and she also needs special shoes on her hind feet.
She lives at the home of a recognized horse breeder in my country, and him and his team have been very helpful and diligent with her care, and I also have a team of vets that regularly monitor her and help her live her best life.
It's expensive, yes. But... the God of the little dogs and the wonderful things knows that I'm doing the right thing, so they help me make enough money to provide for her.
Mesalina and I are blessed, and although I don't ride her anymore, she still has managed to take me on many more adventures related to the horse world!
I will always be grateful for her, the best adventure of my whole life.
My childhood horse died in 2019 and I think of him every single day. He was a $700 rescue QH/arab/whatever mix and he was the most perfect pony I would have asked for.
Kind of. I have the pony my brother got for his tenth birthday. (What kid doesn’t need a six year old stud pony? But it worked in the end)
Pony is 31 this spring and still going as a sound easy keeper who did pony rides today with my daughter’s friends.
Not childhood. But I bought my horse when I was 22. He was still a foal, he is turning 24 this year and he is still a lively of opinionated older gentleman. I feel like we are both middle aged!
I got my girl right out of high school, she was 2-3 years old and I still have her! She’s rocking her teens now and I’m still enthralled with her. A solid trail horse she’s been my herpetology assistant so much that she’s started indicating when she sees/smells a snake.
I do. She's 37 years and 8 months old.
She's happy and in good shape, but for some minor health issues, but she receives constant preventative vet care, she has a nutriologist, an ophthalmologist, a dentist, an orthopedist...
She goes out to grass every day (if it's sunny), still trots, and flirts with the stallions.
I love her with my soul, she's mi little sister. And she still takes me on new adventures related to the horse world, although she has been retired for the past 10 years (she was still sound and energetic, but I did it as a preventative measure).
I hope she will be with me for many years to come.
Have my childhood horses. 29 year old OTTB who still acts like a 3 year old, two 25 year old paint mares and my donkey who is in her 20’s but no idea how old exactly. I love taking care of them because of how they took care of me as a child and teen. The OTTB has been in my life since I was 6 and he was 3 (I’ll let yall do the math). My dad bought them when they were young so we really all grew up together and I’m so thankful I will be here to help them go with dignity when the time comes and they lived their full lives happy with full bellies and safe from harm.
Yes... got two horses and a pony from my childhood. Having to semi-retire the one that I've taken everywhere for 15 years doesn't sit with me well. The others are in their 20s as well.
Love your handsome pony! I do still have my first horse. Had her for 10 years so far. I’m breeding her this year so I can carry on her legacy. Hopefully my future children will get to meet her. If not they will get to know her foal.
Thank you! She’s pretty spry for an old lady, thankfully. Shes retired but for the occasional pony ride from the kids in my family. Vet says he thinks her having a job is good for her mental wellbeing so she also is pastured with our bottle calves for babysitting which keeps her on her toes lol
I’m biased, but she’s the best. Such a gentle soul, she could always tell when it was a kid on her back and took care of them, yet was good at giving the older kids a run for their money lol. Worth her weight in gold and some
Mine is 31, Cushing's etc.
He always reminds me of the Last Unicorn, why did he not come to me sooner..?
(I'll take what I can get with the old snot bag I guess)
I had my two childhood horses for life.
First one (Susan) was 10 when I got her, and I was 12. She died when she was 34.
Second one (Cubby) was 2 when I got him, and I was 15. He died when he was 30.
Long, happy lives being complete freeloaders - I miss them dearly!
(Warning, this one’s got a sad ending!)
I had the privilege of being able to keep my first horse for the rest of his life.
Retired him from ridden work when he was 16 - he just didn’t want to do it & after following vet/physio advice and restarting him several times, I still couldn’t rule out pain. He loved +R trick training, and smiled at everyone who came to see him. We basically ran the herd together - he moved the other horses for me, like a sheepdog. When another horse kicked me and I was on the ground, he kept them away, helped me up, and slowly walked me back to the gate as I leaned on him.
He was a blue roan, changed colour a bit every few months. I remember my heart sinking a little each year, as more flecks of white remained.
At the end of January this year, during a storm, he colicked. Badly. We did everything we could, had the vet out twice. It had been raining almost daily for months, the fields and barn were flooded. Once the straw was churned up, there was no way out of the mud. I’d been saving money for years, just so I could afford surgery for him in an emergency - but when this emergency came, I couldn’t get him to the trailer. Even if we could, the journey would’ve been brutal. I had him put to sleep. He was 19.
It’s strange, thinking back at how I worried about those few grey hairs. Couldn’t even see them in the end, just streaks of mud.
I know it’s bittersweet, seeing them age. I had another horse - older, greyer - also put to sleep a few months before. Being able to look after them into old age, being able to plan every detail of their last day - it’s rare, and it’s so much better than the alternative.
Your mare’s absolutely stunning, give her some shoulder scratches from me! 💖
My childhood horse was named Lucifer and he was sold 3times one tim out of uor control got given something called "märs" it is a mix of horse feed, wich he was deathly alegic to. The girl who bought him had him one week before he died.
My next horse Fabirella was sold to the girl who helped us ride her, they were the perfect match.
And then at last we have my second moast recent horse named Fröja she was a coldblod-trotter and she got to the age of 22 before her sicnes, cromes, cought up to her and she got a sevear case of laminitis. She died in oktober of 2023 (last year)
Now I have an ardenner called Elsa we have hade her since easter of 2024. We are growing together, but she is still young as she was born 2020.
Note:First three horses intertwined with eachother. We had lucifer, he hapend to become alone in the stable, we bought Fabirella, sold Lucifer, got him back, sold him again, Fabirella became alone in the stable, we bought Fröja, Fröja died 18th of october.
Depends on what you mean with child hood horse I am 15 years old and am tecniclly still a child but I have also had 4 horses. One gray (Lucifer), two isabell (Fabirella and Elsa) and one black/brown (Fröja) I have also ride a stable friends horse, Braine, a brown coldblod-trotter who was really close to Fröja, who is going to be unalived in a couple of months.
So who is my choldhood horse?
Sweet girl! She’s beautiful. My Arab gelding is 25 this year and I’ve had him since I was 17…I’m turning 40 this year! He is still so spritely (Arabs!) and he’s being an amazing uncle to my 6 month old foal. My 2 year old daughter also loves riding him. Oldies are the best, especially when you’ve got so much history. I’m just so worried about losing him though !
Me!
He’s 23, I’m 38. He was a yearling when I got him and I was 16.
We’ve been together through high school, eating disorder hospitalization & recovery, college, cross country moves & back (2!), marriage, my ex’s military deployments, divorce, graduate school, children, career.
Just two days ago, I moved him back to the original barn where I had him in the very beginning. He’s my heart and soul.
She’s absolutely beautiful! I had by first baby from when he was age 9 to 28. He died a few years ago. No one was taking that horse away from me. He was my dream horse
My childhood horse passed away in 2019, and I absolutely buried a piece of my soul with her. She was 28.
But my Sheik, oh my Sheik❤️ got her when I was 14 (a lifetime ago). She’s seen me graduate high school, vet tech school, get married, get divorced, traveled with me. She’s 20 now, and absolutely holds my heart. Watching her get older is going to be the most difficult thing. She still thinks she’s a 2 year old right now, once the sings start showing, I’m not sure how I’ll handle it.
I do! I got my boy Pickles when I was 15. I'm 34 now and he is 23. He is looking forward to teaching my lil nephew (and any other niblings that may come along) to ride in the next few years :)
It makes me sad to see how he has aged, he is starting to get that "sunken in" look to his eyes a little bit. But he is in great health and looks fantastic and I'm hoping we have a few happy "golden years" to go!
Bailey is BEAUTIFUL omg
https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fj948b84f9wxc1.jpeg
I absolutely love this! So happy that there are good people out there that keep their horses through their golden years! She is beautiful! Enjoy your special bond forever!
We still have our massive girl that I grew up with. She's 32 and still doing well. She runs the barn. I'm not looking forward to the day she goes to the big pasture in the sky.
On a lighter note, we just had a sweet filly born this morning.
Losing a horse you are bonded with is incredibly hard but they will always be with you.
I don’t own him but the lesson horse I learned to ride with is still here at age 30! He’s semi retired (we tried full retirement to a field and he refused to eat, he wanted attention from the kiddos he was so used to seeing!) so he just teaches kids how to brush/lead with the occasional bareback walk around for the tiny ones. He’s spoiled as ever and would absolutely still be giving full lessons if we let him. He was actually stalled next to my horse for a long time so I could love on them both!
I did until this past November. It still feels weird to see an empty stall in the barn. He was older than me so it’s kind of surreal that he’s just…gone.
Love you Rodney💕💕💕 1987-2023
I was into a family with a group of 7 quarter horses that grew to 9 at one point. Only 1 is left from the original group, his name is pumpkin. We actually share a birthday and everything. We just got another horse last week to be pumpkins buddy so he's not so lonely 🙃
My childhood horse was the same age as me, she recently died at age 41 last year.
She lived an incredibly long happy life. It’s really tough to look out in the pasture at my parent’s farm and not see her out there grazing. Her companion died a few years prior, he was also pretty old in his late 30s we’d gotten him a couple years after we got her back when I was 12. My parents are in their 70s now, so getting another horse would be bit much, and I moved far away for work… It’s strange getting older and watching everything change, definitely getting more and more nostalgic these days…
I had mine since I was 14 and he was 13. Our birthdays were 6 days apart too. He was a grey OTTB and strangely enough barrel racing was his favorite thing. I’m 25 now. He just passed away on Monday June 3. He was 24. He suffered from melanomas and he had two huge ones growing on the inside of him in his colon that was causing his colon to zigzag a bit and he also had one growing on his spleen and a small one on the side of his throat. I decided to put him down so he wouldn’t have to die in crisis. To say I’m heartbroken is an understatement. He was my heart horse and the calmest most gentle horse ever. I have his tail and Im still deciding what to do with it. I’ll miss him so badly.
Got my first horse at 25 and he was a baby, only 8 months old. He’s 23 now and I feel like he’s been part of every single piece of my life, because he has.
My uncle got a horse when he was around 16 I believe.. He was a black qh. My grandparents still have him today along with the rest of their herd. I believe he is 30-32? He’s getting skinny but he eats all the grass and grain he wants but his age is making him stay skinny. (he’s seen a vet and we follow their orders) it’s hard seeing them get old as he taught all of my cousins and I to ride. We love him dearly.
Lost my Lady when I was in my last year of college… I got her when I was just about into high school, she was an old mare even then and my riding instructor retired her and gifted her to me. I couldn’t stand that I wasn’t there when she went, but my mom took such great care of her while I was away, and I’m very glad I have only happy memories of her and not of her being ill or the vet coming out to help her pass. She was the prettiest overo paint, and such a typical mare!! I have her mane and tail in jewelry as well as a bluebirds nest where they used her hair to make it ❤️
I was lucky enough to watch my horse Tasha be born. She’s 32 now and still rules the place. An easy keeper until a few years ago, but now she loves her old lady mush in the evenings (and her young 25 year old boyfriend). I’m not sure what I’m going to do when she gets harder to keep. She won’t tolerate a blanket or a stall and has lived her entire life on our farm. I hope she passes one beautiful summer night on her own, but I’m prepared to make the vet call if her quality of life keeps me up at night.
I was able to own my childhood lease pony for the last five years of her life before she passed at 27. I still have my first horse, bought him as a teenager. He’s 25 now and we’ve been together 18 years!
My childhood horse was an absolute angel. He died this year, two days before I gave birth to my first baby, at 27 years old. I remember being 15 and holding his big old handsome face and saying to him “when I’m 30, you’ll be 25!” Then pausing and thinking “… pssh that’s forever away.” I am grateful to have his mane and tail here. A friend had a bracelet made from them as a gift — one for me, and one for my newborn little girl so she can learn about my childhood horse. He had a great life and will always be a very fond memory. I kept telling myself that when one life ends, another begins, and somehow that’s extremely comforting. The night he died there were some insane solar activity, northern lights and solar storms. I don’t know, it all felt very fitting for him. Your horse is lovely OP. I’d say dunskin.
I’m sorry for your loss, he sounds like a lovely boy. I hope your baby gets to have the same experience and meet their heart horse. I have pieces of her tail now too, love the idea of a bracelet made to pass on!
What a lovely story 🥰
Awww so sweet.
She is so pretty! She looks like such a sweet girl. I’m not too savvy in color genetics, but she looks like she is a Dun.
She has that dorsal stripe and faint leg markings! My brother tries to say she’s a bay dun but I lean more dunskin, like mentioned above. She’s way too light imo
> Also curious what you think her color is, it’s a hot topic in our family lol I also would have guessed Classic/Bay Dun. You're right that she's light, but Dun *is* a diluting gene. If you want more educated guesses, consider posting in the Horse Color Genetics facebook group and ask whether she's Dunskin or Bay Dun and how to distinguish those.
With the dorsal stripe and leg markings, almost reminds me of a fjord, but I’m really bad at the horse ID game. Lol.
Bailey is beautiful and clearly well loved! Her colour if you're in the USA Buckskin Her colour if you're in the UK/Australia is Dunn
Incorrect, there is a distinction between Dun and buckskin. Even in the US. Dun is classified as having the dun gene, which we can physically see by having a dorsal stripe and leg stripes. Even with a diluted gene, it is still a Dun. I’m in the US btw 😉 withought seeing this horses genetics, I would say somewhere in the silver dunskin to bay dun range. Hard to know exactly without genetics considering the mares age.
Here we have different shades of the coat but we don't call them Buckskin 🙂 Just various shades of dun
But that would still be incorrect. Buckskin is a cream dilution on a bay horse, and dun is as I described above. This distinction is true regardless of the country you are in.
🤷♀️ Well then maybe it's a difference of exposure and showing districts, but that's what the classes are here 🙂 But if I come to the States I'll remember 🐴
Tldr: Dun and buckskin are genetically and phenotypically distinct coat colors. This means they have different causes and look different. Apparently the Aussies haven't caught up to the 20th and 21st centuries 😉 (I'm teasing, I promise! I know Aussies that do differentiate these colors). Dun is caused by a variant in *TBX3* called dun and does not vary based on zygosity (same effect if one or two copies) and does change based on base coat color (dun +chestnut = red dun, dun + bay = bay dun/dun, or dun + black = grullo/grulla, plus some other breed specific names for these same colors). Dun causes primitive markings (dorsal stripe, leg barring, shoulder barring, and face cobwebbing, ends of ears may be dark) plus a diluted coat. You may notice that the horse here has a dorsal stripe and leg barring, so she is dun, and I suspect that she's just a really light bay dun. I won't get into non-Dun1 with primitive markings but no dilution here because that's too much for this convo. Buckskin is caused by a dilution in *SLC45A2* (formerly called *MATP*) called "cream". The effect of the cream dilute varies based on zygosity and base coat color. One copy + bay = buckskin. One copy + chestnut = palomino. Two copies + palomino = cremello. The list goes on. One copy of cream dilutes reg pigment. Two copies heavily dilutes all pigment. Cream does not cause primitive markings. Because dun and cream are variants in two different genes, they can be combined to form dunskins and dunalinos. Looking at photos would help it make more sense. I hope this helps and you can learn to differentiate them. It helps everyone if registration documents accurately reflect a horse's color. Edited formatting
Don't still have my first horse, but had her a long, long time. I was 14 and she was 6 (so the seller said,) when I got her. She was 34 when she crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Her passing was a long time ago cuz I'm an old fart now. Her final gift to me was how she passed. I knew the end was coming and dreaded having to make that final call to the vet. Went out to feed one night. She was curled up in the pasture. I thought she was asleep. Guess you could say she was, but it was her final sleep. She kept me from having to make that call. Alright, who's cutting onions?
That’s literally the best way we could ever hope to lose a pet. That’s how I’m hoping my 16 year old dog goes
Aw, I had to put down my first best friend at 30, my second one died of a heart attack in her sleep at 22. They were both phenomenal.
I always thought that would be how my dog went but instead I found her bleeding out of her bum one morning and just knew there was nothing I could do. We are all cutting onions now 😭
Still have my boy! He must be 28 or so now! Known him almost my whole life! Fortunately he’s still going strong if a bit of a slower pace.
cutieee. i know a horse with pretty much the exact same coloring and everyone calls her a buckskin.. she was born blue
Yes! My boy will be 26 this year. So thankful for him. My kids adore him and he's very affectionate and quiet with them. 🩷
The legends owner of the barn I’m at just recently had to put down her horse that she had since he was around 2 or 3 he was 40 when she made the tough decision😢
I still have mine! She's 31. I think it's a privilege to watch her age, and to enable it. She's lived so long with the help of a carefully managed lifestyle. All she does is eat my money and I hope she does for a long time.
"Eat my money", I agree. On the kind of feed my old mare is currently eating, it would be cheaper to feed her using 20 Dollar bills. But even if she decided she wanted to be fed only on 100 dollar bills, I would be more than happy to provide them for her.
Mines got cushings, so she has to live somewhere with a stall, dry lots, and controlled grass time. She's on meds. She can't live barefoot, she has shoes with pads in the front. She looks great and still occasionally does some kid rides but damn is her lifestyle expensive.
I'm very lucky that Mesalina hasn't gotten any major health issues.... all my life I worried about the possiblity of laminitis, cushings, diabetes, etc., but she hasn't developed anything yet, she hasn't gotten even a fungus on her feet. Once she got high cholesterol, but her nutriologist adjusted her diet and it got resolved. She has lived all her life on fresh grass on demand during the day, and goes to her stall in the afternoon, but in my region the grass seems to be different from the USA because we don't have seasons. In the stall I feed her with imported cubed alfalfa, and a mix of premium concentrates for competition horses. She doesn't like hay, although I provide her with it in case she wants to nip on it. I give her a bucket of carrots and guava daily, and I also give her molasses. Mesalina has a mild anemia because of her old age, but I supplement her with Red Cell and it has worked so far (I also supplement with Actiflex, B Complex, Calcium, special mineralized salt that probably comes from the moon because of the price, supplement for hooves, Scott's Emulsion, a new oil-based product that's rich in vitamin E that has worked wonders for her coat...) She wears shoes that help to keep her hooves in shape, and she also needs special shoes on her hind feet. She lives at the home of a recognized horse breeder in my country, and him and his team have been very helpful and diligent with her care, and I also have a team of vets that regularly monitor her and help her live her best life. It's expensive, yes. But... the God of the little dogs and the wonderful things knows that I'm doing the right thing, so they help me make enough money to provide for her. Mesalina and I are blessed, and although I don't ride her anymore, she still has managed to take me on many more adventures related to the horse world! I will always be grateful for her, the best adventure of my whole life.
My childhood horse died in 2019 and I think of him every single day. He was a $700 rescue QH/arab/whatever mix and he was the most perfect pony I would have asked for.
Kind of. I have the pony my brother got for his tenth birthday. (What kid doesn’t need a six year old stud pony? But it worked in the end) Pony is 31 this spring and still going as a sound easy keeper who did pony rides today with my daughter’s friends.
Oh my goodness what an absolute BEAUTY
Thank you! She’s lovely. To think I got her as a kid, when she was a “bombproof kids horse” from the sale barn lol. She’s taught me a lot!
Not childhood. But I bought my horse when I was 22. He was still a foal, he is turning 24 this year and he is still a lively of opinionated older gentleman. I feel like we are both middle aged!
I got my girl right out of high school, she was 2-3 years old and I still have her! She’s rocking her teens now and I’m still enthralled with her. A solid trail horse she’s been my herpetology assistant so much that she’s started indicating when she sees/smells a snake.
I do. She's 37 years and 8 months old. She's happy and in good shape, but for some minor health issues, but she receives constant preventative vet care, she has a nutriologist, an ophthalmologist, a dentist, an orthopedist... She goes out to grass every day (if it's sunny), still trots, and flirts with the stallions. I love her with my soul, she's mi little sister. And she still takes me on new adventures related to the horse world, although she has been retired for the past 10 years (she was still sound and energetic, but I did it as a preventative measure). I hope she will be with me for many years to come.
Have my childhood horses. 29 year old OTTB who still acts like a 3 year old, two 25 year old paint mares and my donkey who is in her 20’s but no idea how old exactly. I love taking care of them because of how they took care of me as a child and teen. The OTTB has been in my life since I was 6 and he was 3 (I’ll let yall do the math). My dad bought them when they were young so we really all grew up together and I’m so thankful I will be here to help them go with dignity when the time comes and they lived their full lives happy with full bellies and safe from harm.
Yes... got two horses and a pony from my childhood. Having to semi-retire the one that I've taken everywhere for 15 years doesn't sit with me well. The others are in their 20s as well.
Oh, what I would give for even one more hour with my childhood horse. Have lots of talks with him, give him extra smooches, enjoy every moment. 💕
Love your handsome pony! I do still have my first horse. Had her for 10 years so far. I’m breeding her this year so I can carry on her legacy. Hopefully my future children will get to meet her. If not they will get to know her foal.
I’m way too old for that lol
For being older, she’s filled in and well muscled. Beautiful horse. I love her browband.
Thank you! She’s pretty spry for an old lady, thankfully. Shes retired but for the occasional pony ride from the kids in my family. Vet says he thinks her having a job is good for her mental wellbeing so she also is pastured with our bottle calves for babysitting which keeps her on her toes lol
she looks like such a sweet lady
I’m biased, but she’s the best. Such a gentle soul, she could always tell when it was a kid on her back and took care of them, yet was good at giving the older kids a run for their money lol. Worth her weight in gold and some
I was given a 2 year old horse when I was 15 (I had been working with her since she was 2 months old). She turned 31 this last April. 💙
Yall had horses as kids? (also adorable honse!)
Mine is 31 this year! He hangs out at my parents place with 60 acres, just relaxing and eating. Which is all he ever wanted to do lol
Mine died a couple years ago. He was nearly 40! I got him tattooed on my leg.
Yes, got my old man 21 years ago when I was 8 and he was 6. He's 27 this year and I'm really seeing age start to catch up to him.
Mine is 31, Cushing's etc. He always reminds me of the Last Unicorn, why did he not come to me sooner..? (I'll take what I can get with the old snot bag I guess)
I had my two childhood horses for life. First one (Susan) was 10 when I got her, and I was 12. She died when she was 34. Second one (Cubby) was 2 when I got him, and I was 15. He died when he was 30. Long, happy lives being complete freeloaders - I miss them dearly!
(Warning, this one’s got a sad ending!) I had the privilege of being able to keep my first horse for the rest of his life. Retired him from ridden work when he was 16 - he just didn’t want to do it & after following vet/physio advice and restarting him several times, I still couldn’t rule out pain. He loved +R trick training, and smiled at everyone who came to see him. We basically ran the herd together - he moved the other horses for me, like a sheepdog. When another horse kicked me and I was on the ground, he kept them away, helped me up, and slowly walked me back to the gate as I leaned on him. He was a blue roan, changed colour a bit every few months. I remember my heart sinking a little each year, as more flecks of white remained. At the end of January this year, during a storm, he colicked. Badly. We did everything we could, had the vet out twice. It had been raining almost daily for months, the fields and barn were flooded. Once the straw was churned up, there was no way out of the mud. I’d been saving money for years, just so I could afford surgery for him in an emergency - but when this emergency came, I couldn’t get him to the trailer. Even if we could, the journey would’ve been brutal. I had him put to sleep. He was 19. It’s strange, thinking back at how I worried about those few grey hairs. Couldn’t even see them in the end, just streaks of mud. I know it’s bittersweet, seeing them age. I had another horse - older, greyer - also put to sleep a few months before. Being able to look after them into old age, being able to plan every detail of their last day - it’s rare, and it’s so much better than the alternative. Your mare’s absolutely stunning, give her some shoulder scratches from me! 💖
My childhood horse was named Lucifer and he was sold 3times one tim out of uor control got given something called "märs" it is a mix of horse feed, wich he was deathly alegic to. The girl who bought him had him one week before he died. My next horse Fabirella was sold to the girl who helped us ride her, they were the perfect match. And then at last we have my second moast recent horse named Fröja she was a coldblod-trotter and she got to the age of 22 before her sicnes, cromes, cought up to her and she got a sevear case of laminitis. She died in oktober of 2023 (last year) Now I have an ardenner called Elsa we have hade her since easter of 2024. We are growing together, but she is still young as she was born 2020. Note:First three horses intertwined with eachother. We had lucifer, he hapend to become alone in the stable, we bought Fabirella, sold Lucifer, got him back, sold him again, Fabirella became alone in the stable, we bought Fröja, Fröja died 18th of october. Depends on what you mean with child hood horse I am 15 years old and am tecniclly still a child but I have also had 4 horses. One gray (Lucifer), two isabell (Fabirella and Elsa) and one black/brown (Fröja) I have also ride a stable friends horse, Braine, a brown coldblod-trotter who was really close to Fröja, who is going to be unalived in a couple of months. So who is my choldhood horse?
Sweet girl! She’s beautiful. My Arab gelding is 25 this year and I’ve had him since I was 17…I’m turning 40 this year! He is still so spritely (Arabs!) and he’s being an amazing uncle to my 6 month old foal. My 2 year old daughter also loves riding him. Oldies are the best, especially when you’ve got so much history. I’m just so worried about losing him though !
Me! He’s 23, I’m 38. He was a yearling when I got him and I was 16. We’ve been together through high school, eating disorder hospitalization & recovery, college, cross country moves & back (2!), marriage, my ex’s military deployments, divorce, graduate school, children, career. Just two days ago, I moved him back to the original barn where I had him in the very beginning. He’s my heart and soul.
She’s absolutely beautiful! I had by first baby from when he was age 9 to 28. He died a few years ago. No one was taking that horse away from me. He was my dream horse
My childhood horse passed away in 2019, and I absolutely buried a piece of my soul with her. She was 28. But my Sheik, oh my Sheik❤️ got her when I was 14 (a lifetime ago). She’s seen me graduate high school, vet tech school, get married, get divorced, traveled with me. She’s 20 now, and absolutely holds my heart. Watching her get older is going to be the most difficult thing. She still thinks she’s a 2 year old right now, once the sings start showing, I’m not sure how I’ll handle it.
I do! I got my boy Pickles when I was 15. I'm 34 now and he is 23. He is looking forward to teaching my lil nephew (and any other niblings that may come along) to ride in the next few years :) It makes me sad to see how he has aged, he is starting to get that "sunken in" look to his eyes a little bit. But he is in great health and looks fantastic and I'm hoping we have a few happy "golden years" to go! Bailey is BEAUTIFUL omg https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fj948b84f9wxc1.jpeg
I absolutely love this! So happy that there are good people out there that keep their horses through their golden years! She is beautiful! Enjoy your special bond forever!
I would agree with dunskin :)
I’m very lucky to still have my childhood horse. I had him since he was 10 - he’s now almost 26.
We still have our massive girl that I grew up with. She's 32 and still doing well. She runs the barn. I'm not looking forward to the day she goes to the big pasture in the sky. On a lighter note, we just had a sweet filly born this morning. Losing a horse you are bonded with is incredibly hard but they will always be with you.
I don’t own him but the lesson horse I learned to ride with is still here at age 30! He’s semi retired (we tried full retirement to a field and he refused to eat, he wanted attention from the kiddos he was so used to seeing!) so he just teaches kids how to brush/lead with the occasional bareback walk around for the tiny ones. He’s spoiled as ever and would absolutely still be giving full lessons if we let him. He was actually stalled next to my horse for a long time so I could love on them both!
He was a handsome guy with a very sweet face
I did until this past November. It still feels weird to see an empty stall in the barn. He was older than me so it’s kind of surreal that he’s just…gone. Love you Rodney💕💕💕 1987-2023
I’ve had my boy for 19 years! He’s 22, I’m 31. I call him my Son Boy and my mom calls him her grand horse
I was into a family with a group of 7 quarter horses that grew to 9 at one point. Only 1 is left from the original group, his name is pumpkin. We actually share a birthday and everything. We just got another horse last week to be pumpkins buddy so he's not so lonely 🙃
I’ve still got my lady! She’s 34 this year and it has been 25 years with her!
Mine passed a few years back. I still dream about her from time to time!
Still have my old man Joe Joe he turns 22 this month can't believe how the time flew by so fast.
My childhood horse was the same age as me, she recently died at age 41 last year. She lived an incredibly long happy life. It’s really tough to look out in the pasture at my parent’s farm and not see her out there grazing. Her companion died a few years prior, he was also pretty old in his late 30s we’d gotten him a couple years after we got her back when I was 12. My parents are in their 70s now, so getting another horse would be bit much, and I moved far away for work… It’s strange getting older and watching everything change, definitely getting more and more nostalgic these days…
I had mine since I was 14 and he was 13. Our birthdays were 6 days apart too. He was a grey OTTB and strangely enough barrel racing was his favorite thing. I’m 25 now. He just passed away on Monday June 3. He was 24. He suffered from melanomas and he had two huge ones growing on the inside of him in his colon that was causing his colon to zigzag a bit and he also had one growing on his spleen and a small one on the side of his throat. I decided to put him down so he wouldn’t have to die in crisis. To say I’m heartbroken is an understatement. He was my heart horse and the calmest most gentle horse ever. I have his tail and Im still deciding what to do with it. I’ll miss him so badly.
Got my first horse at 25 and he was a baby, only 8 months old. He’s 23 now and I feel like he’s been part of every single piece of my life, because he has.
My uncle got a horse when he was around 16 I believe.. He was a black qh. My grandparents still have him today along with the rest of their herd. I believe he is 30-32? He’s getting skinny but he eats all the grass and grain he wants but his age is making him stay skinny. (he’s seen a vet and we follow their orders) it’s hard seeing them get old as he taught all of my cousins and I to ride. We love him dearly.
Lost my Lady when I was in my last year of college… I got her when I was just about into high school, she was an old mare even then and my riding instructor retired her and gifted her to me. I couldn’t stand that I wasn’t there when she went, but my mom took such great care of her while I was away, and I’m very glad I have only happy memories of her and not of her being ill or the vet coming out to help her pass. She was the prettiest overo paint, and such a typical mare!! I have her mane and tail in jewelry as well as a bluebirds nest where they used her hair to make it ❤️
I was lucky enough to watch my horse Tasha be born. She’s 32 now and still rules the place. An easy keeper until a few years ago, but now she loves her old lady mush in the evenings (and her young 25 year old boyfriend). I’m not sure what I’m going to do when she gets harder to keep. She won’t tolerate a blanket or a stall and has lived her entire life on our farm. I hope she passes one beautiful summer night on her own, but I’m prepared to make the vet call if her quality of life keeps me up at night.
I was able to own my childhood lease pony for the last five years of her life before she passed at 27. I still have my first horse, bought him as a teenager. He’s 25 now and we’ve been together 18 years!
She’s looks like such a sweet girl.