Horse to Human Years: Comparison Chart & Calculators

Ever looked at your horse and wondered what would its age be in human years? Well if you have, then you don’t need to worry as wanting to translate horse years to human years is a rather common wish of horse lovers and owners. 

Your horse might be family to you, however, it doesn’t share the same aging process as humans. Animals age differently and if you want to know the age of your horse, you need to know how to convert horse years to human years. 

Therefore, compiled below is a chart that tells you all about horse years to human years and also lists some horse life stages to give you a clear idea.

Horse to Human Age Comparison Chart

Horse Age Stage of Life Human Age Stage of Life
1 Foal 6 1/2 Infancy or Babyhood
2 2 year old 13 Adolescence 
3 3 year old 18 Teenager
4 4 year Old 20 1/2 Young Adult
5 Physical Maturity 24.5 Adulthood
7 Physical maturity  28 Adulthood
10 Physical maturity 35.5 Adulthood
13 Middle Aged 43.5 Middle Aged
17 Middel aged 53 Midlife
20 Senior 60 Senior
24 Senior 70.5 Senior
27 Senior 78 Senior
30 Extreme Old Age 85.5

As you will see in the chart, a year-old human is not even included in the horse years. 

Why?

A one-year-old human cannot walk or do anything for that matter. A horse, on the other hand, starts walking right after birth. This means that a horse matures at a greater pace in comparison to humans. 

As the chart suggests, your horse at the age of 1 is referred to as a foul and is just like a human toddler aged 6 to 6.5. Moreover, at 2-4 years of age, the horse hits puberty and soon becomes a young adult. Thus, it can be said that a 3-year-old horse is like an 18-year-old teenager.

A horse aged 5 to 10 years is at its physical maturity. This age is just like adulthood in human years. Then comes the age bracket of 13-17, this is a middle-aged horse just like a human aged between 40-50. A 12-year-old horse is like a 40-year-old human. 

Then come the senior years. You can expect this phase after your horse’s 17th birthday. This is the age of seniority and not much physical vigor can be expected of your horse. 

Free Horse to Human Age Calculators

If you know your horse’s age, then you can also use some free online calculators to help find its age in human years.

Here are two free horse to human age calculators:

It’s important to remember that these are ballpark figures and that an age comparison between two different species can never really be accurate as there are way too many factors at play here.

Horse Lifespan and the Oldest Horses in History 

Now that we have talked about the stages of a horse’s life, let’s talk about their lifespan in general. On average, a horse lives for a good 25-30 years. However, crossing 40 years is not unheard of when it comes to horses. 

Interested in learning more on this topic? Read our guide on the average lifespan of horses

As per the Guinness World Record, the oldest horse to live was Old Billy who lived to the age of 62 years. A horse’s life span depends on various factors, one of these, and the most important one, is its breed.

That being said, given the advancements in science and veterinary services, animal health has improved. This along with thorough care in terms of diet, in general, can help improve your horse’s health.

What more can you do?

Your horse needs maintenance, especially when they reach seniority. From dental care to paying attention to their hoof, make sure to keep it in shape. Your horse will age gracefully in return. 

How to Tell a Horse’s Age? 

The most common form of telling a horse’s age is by examining its teeth. A foal gets its first pair of milk teeth soon after birth. When it is nine months old, the milk teeth are all developed. At the age of 2 to 3 years, permanent teeth start appearing. By the age of 5, your horse has shed all the milk teeth and has a full-grown set of permanent teeth. 

Now:

Even though a horse’s teeth are not like the rings on a tree, they are the closest to telling a horse’s age. 

Milk teeth are paler and shorter than the permanent teeth. Meanwhile, the permanent teeth are concave on the surface. As your horse ages, this concavity flattens. The flatness, however, depends on the grazing habit of your horse. Horses that graze on sandy grounds get flatter teeth faster than those who graze on clay type soil. 

Moreover, the permanent teeth have a groove on the vertical outer surface which grows out with age. This concept is referred to as the Galvane’s groove. 

When the horse is 10, the groove line appears near the gum. 5 years later, the groove reaches midway. By the time your horse is in the mid-’20s the Galvane’s groove starts to disappear. 

Also with growing age, the horse’s teeth increase in length and become more angular. Moreover, the teeth become paler and stained. 

With that said, a 2007 research suggested that the Galvayne’s groove is a poor indicator of age in horse teethNonetheless, it can potentially give you a ballpark figure.

Factors That Affect Aging in Horses 

As discussed, horses age differently than humans. Horses, in fact, have a very small tenure of childhood and a rather lengthy adulthood. 

While each horse is unique in its aging, there are a few common factors that decide how fast that happens.

Firstly, the breed of the horse has a huge impact on its life span and aging. Arabian horses, for example, have a longer lifespan in general and thus age slower than other breeds. If that piques your interest, check out our article on the Arabian Horse Lifespan.

The second factor that affects the aging of horses is health care. If the horse receives good health care and is treated for any illness it suffers from at an early stage, then it will certainly live longer. Health care here refers to dental care, vaccinations, hoof maintenance and good nutrition. 

The last factor that plays a role in the aging of horses is that of workload. If a horse goes through straining workload over an extended period, it is more likely to age faster. 

Horses are precious creatures who are top in the loyalty chain. Through love, care and proper diet, your horse can live up to being a friend for life. Each horse is different, so it is best to understand the horse first and then provide care according to its needs and life stage. 

Horse to Human Years FAQ

So, there you have it!

In this article, we tried covering everything about horse to human years and even provided some great free resources where you could calculate your horse’s age in human terms.

With that said, here are a few questions that we regularly receive from our readers.

How old is a 24-year-old horse in human years?

A 24-year-old horse is in the senior stage of its life. Thus, a horse aged 24 is like a 70-72-year-old human. However, horses age differently than humans and it is thus hard to tell an exact figure that compares both species’ age. Regardless, a 24-year-old horse is certainly a senior citizen in the horse community.

How old is a 26-year-old horse in human years?

A 26-year-old horse is approximately 78 human years old. There is no exact calculator that can be used to determine horse years in human years. However, the senior stage of a horse is just like that of humans. 

Is 20 old for a horse?

No, 20 is not too old for a horse. The average lifespan of a horse is 32 years. With that being said, a 20-year-old horse has just entered its senior stage. However, horses age differently from humans. They have a lengthy adulthood and perform well during their early senior years.

How old is a 32-year-old horse?

A 32-year-old is at extreme old age. Consider such a horse as an 85-plus human. However, each horse ages differently. If the horse had good nutrition, proper health care and nominal workload, then even at the age of 32, this horse would be in good condition. 

The oldest horse in the world lived for 62 years, this can pretty much sum up how a 32-year-old horse could live a normal life. 

At what age is a horse considered a senior?

After the age of 17, a horse is considered to be a senior. A senior horse who is 17 years old, is like a 53-year-old human. A horse’s age is divided into many stages. It starts with being a foal to 2, 3 and 4 years old. This is then followed by physical maturity, middle age and then seniority. However, the concept of horse to human years isn’t very concrete and shouldn’t be considered so.

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