A breed that ages late, and quietly
The Andalusian is built for longevity — a compact, muscular horse with a reputation for staying rideable deep into his twenties — and that hardiness is exactly why senior changes get missed. An owner whose horse still looks glossy and proud at nineteen may not notice the first dropped topline, the slower recovery after a trim-day, or the crest thickening under that famous arched neck. Shift his care from a performance mindset to a monitoring one: hands-on condition checks every fortnight, his weight taped and written down rather than guessed, and an annual vet visit that includes bloodwork and a proper look at his teeth, even when nothing seems wrong. With this breed, the plan is to catch the small drift early, because the big problems rarely announce themselves.
The grey-horse skin check
Most Andalusians are grey, and grey horses commonly develop melanomas as they age — firm, dark lumps that favour the underside of the tail, the skin around the sheath or udder, the lips, the eyelids, and the glands below the ears. Work a skin check into every thorough groom: part the tail hair and look, run your fingers where a brush never reaches, and note the size and position of anything you find so you can tell whether it has grown at the next check. Most of these lumps sit quietly for years, but your vet should see any that grow quickly, ulcerate, bleed, or begin to interfere with droppings, urinating, or the bridle — and a lump's history, written down over time, is what lets a vet judge it properly rather than in isolation.
Weight and the easy-keeper trap
Retirement is the danger season for an Andalusian's waistline. A breed developed to thrive on sparse Spanish grazing does not need a working horse's ration once the work stops, and the fat goes on where it does the most harm: a hard crest on the neck, pads behind the shoulders, and extra load on feet that are now at laminitis risk. Move him toward forage-first feeding, soak hay to reduce its sugars if he is gaining, use a grazing muzzle on rich pasture, and keep some light work in his week if his joints allow — in-hand walks and gentle schooling keep both his metabolism and his mind engaged. Judge him with your hands monthly, because that thick neck and baroque outline hide condition from the eye.
Joints, teeth and keeping him moving
Expect stiffness to show first in the hocks and in the warm-up: the expressive, collected movement the breed is known for loads the hindquarters, and an older Andalusian may come out of the stable short behind for the first minutes. Turnout beats standing in, warm-ups get longer and slower, and hard work on deep or slippery ground is retired before he has to ask. His teeth deserve the same schedule as any senior's — worn or loose teeth show up as quidding, slow eating, and weight loss that owners blame on age itself. Every dental finding, skin note, and weight record gathered in his KinsLe Pet Passport gives his vet the full arc of his ageing, visit after visit.