Jumping, just like any other equine sport, puts stress on the horse's body.

Is jumping any worse than:

Reining?

Barrel Racing?

Dressage, even?

Is it natural for horses to chase cattle?

Or carry several adult acrobats while turning in circles all day?

Maybe, but the sports mentioned above stress joints more than you'd think. Jumping gets a lot of attention because the falls are often the most spectacular.

Have you ever ridden a horse that truly loves to jump? Many horses in jumping sports live for it. A horse that I rode while I was eventing was a cross-country demon. He loved to gallop across the open field and launch himself over jumps and into the water. You could feel his excitement the moment he entered the start box. And there were dozens others at the same event just like him.

I also jumped my bull doggy QH (NOT built for jumping, at all) and he's fit as a fiddle to this day at 24 years old. He never jumped 5 feet, but he did fall one time with me... He tripped over a fence that was only 1 (one) foot off the ground.

As others have mentioned many Grand Prix jumpers and Eventers continue to jump well into their teens and twenties and live beyond that. Mark Todd's great Eventing horse, Charisma, lived to 30.