Who said “Old minds are like old horses; you must exercise them if you wish to keep them in…”?

Disputed

It's credited to John Adams, but no reliable source from their lifetime has been found.

What the research foundNo reliable early source found for John Adams.

Evidence: Wikiquote · How we check

Source checked · Something wrong? Report a correction

Authors A–Z
“Old minds are like old horses; you must exercise them if you wish to keep them in working order.”
— John Adams
DisputedNo reliable early source found for John Adams. · evidenceMind

Cite this quote

APA

“Old minds are like old horses; you must exercise them if you wish to keep them in working order.” [Quotation attributed to John Adams]. (n.d.). Famous Quotations Network. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/29097-old-minds-are-like-old-horses-you-must/

MLA

“Old minds are like old horses; you must exercise them if you wish to keep them in working order.” Attributed to John Adams. Famous Quotations Network, https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/29097-old-minds-are-like-old-horses-you-must/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

“Old minds are like old horses; you must exercise them if you wish to keep them in working order.” Attributed to John Adams. Famous Quotations Network. Accessed October 24, 2026. https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/29097-old-minds-are-like-old-horses-you-must/.

Related quotes

More quotes by John Adams

“Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the weak.”
VerifiedLetter to Thomas Jefferson (2 February 1816) · evidenceDetails & citePower
“Abuse of words has been the great instrument of sophistry and chicanery, of party, faction, and division of society.”
VerifiedLetter to J.H. Tiffany (31 March 1819) · evidenceDetails & citeWords
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
VerifiedLetter to the Officers of the First Brigade of the Third Division of the Militia of Massachusetts, 11 October 1798, in Revolutionary Services and Civil Life of General William Hull (New York, 1848), pp 265-6. · evidenceDetails & citeFreedom
“Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.”
VerifiedLetters to John Taylor (1814) · evidenceDetails & citeDemocracy
All 24 John Adams quotes →