I have a 27ish yr old registered Appaloosa who is a retired roping horse, and even with Navicular Syndrome he is still extremely active and athletic, and is still at the top of the totem poll in the herd.

He is turned out 24/7 with a "youngster" (18 yr old) QH who is also very athletic and a big clown, and I attribute his companionship and sense of humor to much of what keeps my older guy feeling and acting so young.

The fact that he is turned out and regularly ridden lightly also has a lot to do with it, and on the days he's not ridden he gets ponied for at least 30 minutes at various gaits after a slow warmup.

He gets his teeth floated twice a year, has regular wellness checkups along with his yearly vaccinations and he has a fantastic farrier.

But what I credit most for his good health (besides plenty of love) is his Purina Equine Senior feed that he's been on for the past 15 years.  I'll never feed anything else!

My 30 yr old TB, Annapolis, is more or less retired now, but he's still in pretty good shape.  He's out at pasture 24/7 and regularly likes to get the other horses in the pasture running just for the fun of it.. He can drop and roll and get himself up without any problem at all (usually right after I have groomed him)  If you click on my gallery link under my signature, you can see some photos of him playing in the arena a couple of weeks ago

The only issue we have is keeping weight on him - but that's not specific to his age, I've had the same problem since he was 10. Adding fat to his diet has helped with that in recent years.  His teeth are worn down so far he just doesn't have anything to chew with.  In addition to his Safe Choice feed, he gets soaked alfalfa cubes because he can no longer eat hay. The whole lot is mixed together into a green slush which he loves. The alfalfa cubes give him the fiber he needs for good gut function.

He'll go through the motions of eating hay with the other horses, but then he'll open his mouth and drop the soaked wad  before picking up some fresh hay and going through the chewing motions again.

Although I didn't ride him all summer I've ridden him gently round the farm the past couple of weekends and he really seemed to enjoy it as much as I did. 

I think that the most important thing you must ALWAYS do is to give them the DAILY attention they deserve. Don't put them out in the pasture and forget about them. Their body may be failing them, but their mind and spirt are always there for you. I had my guy for 23 years and I was with him everyone of those days giving him the care he deserved. That includes all the basic feeding which for him at his age (25) was pellets, alfalfa cubes, hay stretcher, beet pulp, probiotic and supplements for his arthritis. Poor guy had lost teeth and his top teeth were just about gone so he got slop and was so happy with it. But like Jayne's guy, would chew and spit out his hay and grass. My old guy was my #1 horse to ride as he was the most sure footed, steady Eddy type of horse that could be trusted. He was the one I could put the kids on, lead around and he'd take the slow baby steps. Put someone older up there that could ride, and he would ride right off for them. My guy, I would like to think, would still be with me today if he hadn't suffered a pasture injury and have to be put down.

So I would say that daily interaction with them, good food, exercise (my guy was out 24/7 with his buddy), farrier care and vet care.

I've had my NSH mare since she was a weanling.  She is turning 30 and still has get-up-and-go. She is in great health despite a slight case of arthritis in the left front.  My 12 year old daughter rode her this past summer in poles, barrels, and flag at the local show.  She ribboned in almost every event.  She is on Equine Sr. feed, but still has all of her teeth.  The vet made the comment that if he hadn't floated her teeth, he would have never believed that she was turning 30.  I took that as a compliment.  He also said the "keep doing what you're doing."  We still ride all of the time and even let her run, but we don't push her and we always end up pulling her back before she chooses to slow down.  She also wears boots on the front.

I think she's so healthy because the majority of her life she's been pastured and free to move about as she pleases.  We had move her when she was 26.  The new place has over 100 horses.  (She was used to three.)  The barn owner soon figured out that she wouldn't eat next to other horses so she had to go into a stall.  She won't even go to pasture with the horses even though he has smaller separate pastures.  So the owner leaves her stall open during the day so she can graze around the property and go back into her stall as she pleases.  I'd call the "service."

 I hope that my mare will live another 10 years or so.  I'm sure they'll be a day when she can't be ridden, but that hasn't happened, yet.  She's always the lead horse out and back.  Younger horses look tired after trail rides, but Tequila still is ready to go.

I consider myself blessed to have shared my life with my "soul mate in horse form."  She's a one in a million.

I have several older horses that are still active well up into their mid to late 30's.  Danny, my arabian gelding, is 28 and recently led our local poker trail ride when our trail bosses horse came up lame.  At first she was hesitant to ride him when I told her his age.  Our communications were handled via hand held radios and I was riding drag on my 25 year old rescued Arab gelding.  Midway through the ride I heard her come over the radio demanding to see his papers because she couldn't believe a horse of his age could be so energetic and have so much pep.  He even bolted off down a sandy wash with her when some other riders galloped past.  She was laughing so hard with glee that she could barely hold on.  Even at his age he is the fastest and quickest horse we have.  He has taught several children and adults to ride everything from Western Pleasure to lower level dressage.  He does it all and has fun in the process.  We keep him fat and sassy on bermuda/alfalfa pellets and a bit of rice bran.  Plus daily turn outs on a 2 acre pasture.

LDavisHorses:

Midway through the ride I heard her come over the radio demanding to see his papers because she couldn't believe a horse of his age could be so energetic and have so much pep.  He even bolted off down a sandy wash with her when some other riders galloped past.  She was laughing so hard with glee that she could barely hold on. 

I have a 21 year old Arab gelding who is semi-retired. My husband is military so my horse is back with my family and doesn't get ridden very much. When I do come home to ride I have learned that I sometimes have to be the voice of reason behind his excitement. He would definitely overdo it if I let him. As someone mentioned before his body might be getting older but there is nothing wrong with his mind or his heart. I just wish that I could afford to bring him with me everytime I moved away or could find someone to ride him regularly. I know for sure that it would not take too much to get him back into good condition. 

I have two older horses, both get yearly floating by the equine dentist and shots every spring. Both are on Kent Senior feeds, but have also been on Purina senior which put 300+ pounds back on fantacy

CB is a National Show Horse who used to show extensively in saddleseat around the state of michigan. Now at 20 we compete in Huntseat and Gymkhana, Barrell are his favorite he loves to run his little heart out. We also trailride. Something he didn't start doing till i got him at the age of 16.

Fantacy is also a National Show Horse who used to show locally in dressage and mainly trailrides. I got him at the age of 24, and showed him for a year before retiring him. This coming spring he will be 30. A pasture boy with occasional trailrides.

Edited to add that December 4th, 2009, we sent Fantacy to rest with God.

That is so cool Miss V - I love this thread!

One of my daughter's has a 20 yr old app that people consantly argue and say is not even 12 yet!   This special little app just went to a show with both my daughters riding her in the show.  English jumping and on the flat and western pleasure walk/jog.   Then they doubled for a short trail ride after the show before loading up and going home.   We also have a late 20's almost 30 yr old gelding that loves to carry my youngest daughter around and keep up with his best frriend the app, so my lil daughter can keep up with her big sister.   My horses are on turnout 24/7.   The older gelding gets senior feed with beet pulp to help keep his weight on and for the ease of eating, since he also like other posters' older horses is missing some of his inscisors.  He is still able to chomp his hay though.   He seriously loves to be ridden, and I have to stay after the kids not to overdo it with him.  

I did have 3 at one time, a 28 yo Quarab, a 25 yo Arabian, and a 21 yo TWH cross that were all very active trail rides all around and the Arab would also run barrels and jump almost everyday. Within the past year we lost all three of them, The Quarab died overnight in her stall, the Arabian went lame and we gave him away to a companion home, and the TWH was donated to my school to do a necropsy on, which was very cool. He had cushings desiese and we were able to see the tumor that was on his pituitary gland. We also looked in the hoof and saw the rotation of the coffin bone. It was a great learning experience but sad at the same time. I miss all three of them very much they were great horses.

 Coincidentally, I just saw this thread after a nice hour in the ring and up in the woods on my 23-yo Quarter Horse.  He's got some old arthritis and can occasionally stiffen up in one hind leg if he's stuck in his stall overnight because of the weather, but he's the most fun of all my horses.  He's the one I can count on to do whatever i ask without an argument whether it's a quick turn around the barrels and poles or a little light dressage, and we always follow up with a tour of the farm.  Nothing spooks this guy!  I tend to be a little overly-cautious with him, but he doesn't put up with walking when we can jog and standing around when we can be moving.

Most of my herd are a bit long in the tooth.  My youngest riding horse is 13.  With proper care and a little consideration for their aches an pains (which are pretty much the same ones I'm sporting these days), they remain happy and healthy and I remain peacefully riding into my dotage.  

 I currently have 2 older guys.  Rascal is 24/25yr old Morab gelding, and Mojo, 28/29ish complete mutty rescue gelding.  Rascal is still ridden occasionally, when I pull out the saddles he walks up to me and stops like ok, plop it on and lets go!!!  Unfortanately his hips are starting to give him some trouble, though only under saddle. (To credit him he is only 14.1h and I am 5'9", so I am way too big for him, but when he begs me for a ride I figure that is what he wants!!) and he is still the fastest horse and most active horse I have (Tb mare and half Tb colt included)  I took Mo on trail rides last year, but unfortanetly his health isn't as good now, and I think his age, Cushings, and rescued status are catching up with him, and while the last time I rode him he looked happy to see the saddle, after a stroll he was quite stiff.

I also had a rescued TWH gelding, Major, that lived into his 30's.  I rode him right up until he had a horrible reaction to the West Nile vaccine, which is what killed him ( I will always blame myself for that, he deserved so much more)  He was one of the best horses I have ever known.  Not only was he a stellar horse, we actually used him for special olympics, and he won at state with a severly handicapped adult on him.  He was rought 28 ish at that point.

Old horses have gotten to be old by being wonderful horses, and to me a great horse does not equal a good riding horse, or a useful horse, but just simply a great horse.