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Mickey Mouse is so old his caretakers have stopped counting.

The slight and sluggish beast with shaggy gray hair is listed as "indeterminately old" on his veterinary records, and the crew at Wheaton Park Stables consider it a miracle every sunrise they unlock his private box stall to find him standing on all four hooves.

"We've been saying he's 45 for five years," Wheaton stable owner Sandy Creecy said outside his stall last week as the toothless Mickey poked his head around the door and sloppily nibbled on Creecy's shirt pocket with his gums in a quest for hidden food.

Mickey Mouse is technically a pony, which is a small breed of horse. And while ponies typically live longer than their larger full-grown counterparts, Mickey has blasted through all expectations by more than doubling the average pony lifespan.

No one really knows Mickey Mouse's true age, but Creecy, who leases the stable from the county and then buys and houses horses for lessons, said she can confidently estimate he's in his mid-40s.

The nag, who has carried generations of Wheaton riders, has become a legend at the stable.

"He's gray and fluffy, and his new saddle pad, the lime green one, really suits him," said frequent Wheaton rider and horse-lover Holly Greenleaf, 9. Riding Mickey Mouse is a family tradition for Holly, whose mom, Sember Greenleaf, saddled up the horse herself when she was Holly's age.

But Mickey's bright saddle pad may be one of the old pony's only selling points — the senile horse has never been one of the youngster's favorites, even in his more youthful days.

"He was never picked first for anything," Creecy said.

That's because ol' Mickey was a hard horse to master, Sember Greenleaf said.

He was ornery, he thinks trail rides are "a traveling buffet" and he's notorious for stopping mid-walk, spinning around and nipping the horse behind him. Worst of all, he's fond of the game "how-many-riders-can-I-throw-from-my-saddle-today,'' Sember Greenleaf said.

"He's second only to one other horse in the kids he's dumped," she said, crediting her "Velcro butt" for never getting bucked off Mickey Mouse.

No matter how painful a trail ride with Mickey can be, Creecy still frequently takes him out with beginner riders. She believes the weekly trail rides are key to his longevity: It's exercise, but most importantly, he gets out at least every Sunday to see the world he's been clinging to for so long.

And yet, something about Mickey makes his owners think he's not taking this whole end-of-life thing too seriously.

Every once in awhile, Creecy will stumble upon Mickey lying motionless in his stall.

"This is it," she'll say, and somberly reach for the phone to call his veterinarian.

But as soon as the doctor arrives, the horse inevitably hops back up, blinks his eyes and whinnies back to life.

"It's as if he's saying, ‘Psych!'" said Yvonne Shahan, a student and instructor at the stables.

Despite his senile moments and rough-and-tumble ways, the gals at Wheaton Park Stables are dreading the day Mickey really doesn't pop back up.

"He was a great old man," Shahan said. "Now we can appreciate him for what he is and appreciate him for what he was."

When Mickey finally does retire to the great horse pasture in the sky, the Wheaton Park Stable ladies will plan a full-blown memorial service, complete with a slideshow and speakers.

"Then we'll name something big after him," Shahan said.

Wheaton Park Stables is located at 1101 Glenallan Ave. in Wheaton, on the outskirts of Wheaton Regional Park. The stables offer group lessons, private lessons, weekly trail rides and boarding. Some horses are also for sale. For more information, visit

wheatonparkstables.com or call 301-622-2424.