Age is Just a Number

"At what age should I retire my horse?"

We hear that question often and I wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole. I'll just say that there is no magic number. You should retire your horse when he no longer enjoys his work.

"'I will retire Elmer when he no longer enjoys the trail,' said [Mary Anna] Wood. Saturday (10-25-08) was not that day." http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=12985&source=rss

Elmer Bandit....our hero! Many senior horses' owners have followed Elmer for many months as he approached the competitive trail mileage record. In Kansas, over the October 25-26 weekend, he did it. Elmer broke the old record of 20,710 career miles. As if that number wasn't impressive enough, here's another: Elmer broke that record at age 37!

See? Just a number.

Be sure to read the article linked above, written by Marsha Hayes, who had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity -- to ride her horse Ransom, next to Elmer during his record breaking ride.

"Elmer Bandit is not scheduled to compete in any other events in 2008. "

37 Year Old Workin' Man

Elmer does it again!

Congratulations to owner Mary Anna Wood for keeping up with her 37 year old half-Arab in competitive trail riding. In his first ride of the year, Elmer traveled 55 miles over 2 days, averaging 5 mph, vetting out sound at the finish line and bringing his competitive miles total to 20,300.

For a little more on Elmer, visit 37-Year-Old Horse Completes First Competitive Ride of the 2008 Season by: Marsha Hayes and 37-Year-Old Horse Closing in on Trail Mileage Record by: Marsha Hayes