Horses age a factor?

[AceInTheHole]

Say you have 3 horses, lets use todays Fourstardave as an example; Datalink is 4, Wise Dan is 5 and Get Stormy is 6. When does a good horse start getting old and slowing down? Do they ever get better after say 5? When do they peak generally? Thanks!

[jorcus99]

The current form and health of the horse is more important than how old it is. In this particular case I would ignore the age of the horses and focus on other factors.

[cj]

Say you have 3 horses, lets use todays Fourstardave as an example; Datalink is 4, Wise Dan is 5 and Get Stormy is 6. When does a good horse start getting old and slowing down? Do they ever get better after say 5? When do they peak generally? Thanks!

I think horses are best at 4, maybe 5, then start to decline. There are always exceptions.

[ranchwest]

John Henry kept getting better until his retirement at 9 (I think it was). At 11, they considered bringing him back, but they lacked full confidence in his ability to run at the level he had been without injury.

[cj]

John Henry kept getting better until his retirement at 9 (I think it was). At 11, they considered bringing him back, but they lacked full confidence in his ability to run at the level he had been without injury.

I wouldn't say he kept getting better, but he held his form. It is a little easier to do on turf than on dirt, I should have mentioned that in my post.

[sammy the sage]

Let's...seen 10yr old won Gr.2 on turf at Woodbine...a few weeks back...

Saw 9yr..off 18 month lay-off smoke an allowance field...