>>>> The stallion "Blakkur" from farm Höfdabrekka in Kelduhverfi, northeast Iceland, died earlier this month at the age of 38 winters. Horses, whose years are measured by winter seasons in Iceland, rarely reach such an old age. .... The age of horses in Iceland is traditionally counted in winters because foals are born in the spring and are considered one year old after their first winter. The average Icelandic horse lives for 30 winters
That's interesting because of the lore that Icelandic's allegedly live so long. I've personally known of several ponies who have lived to be over 40 - and one who lived with us while his owners were building a new home was almost 50 when he died a couple of years ago. And I've known a good many full sized horses who have lived to be well over 30, including a QH stallion who made it to about 37, a TWH mare who made it to 36, a Morgan who was 32, a TB to 31 and another QH stallion who lived to be 30. Isn't it true that ponies typically can be expected to live longer than horses, much the same as small dogs live longer on average than big dogs...? Of course, all of these local horses I mentioned, all owned by personal friends, were always well wormed, their health and nutrition was managed well and their vaccines always kept up to date. Those were just a few that came to mind that I've personally known, so I'm sure there must be a good many more in that age bracket here. Karen Thomas [EMAIL PROTECTED]
