Advice needed - buying a retired horse

fredflop said:
who advised that the horse should be retired from work? The physio? That is not something they should be saying, and instead you need a vet to have a look.

It may be as simple as the horse needs a fair old bit of bodywork as its sore. Or it may not.

Also sounds like your loaning the horse on a “working livery” type agreement. So unless the contract says that all vets bills are covered by the RS, id be expecting you to be paying for physio, teeth etc
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Usual RS agreement is you have horse 2/3days a week and they use it the rest of the time.

But agree that declaring retirement shouldn’t be coming from physio and given the circumstances I’m surprised they agreed to treat it
 
Connemara244 said:
Also not allowed to get the horse vetted.
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I would assume that the RS are well aware that this poor old faithful will very shortly need either euthanasia or a well earned retirement, which they are obviously not prepared to give it. Please walk away and keep your money for a more suitable horse, and definitely do NOT buy anythign from this greedy and unethical outfit. ☹️
 
Beausmate said:
So they're working an unsound horse? No wonder its sharp.
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This. Lame and the sharpness "might be discomfort"? Lameness is pain, in the extreme as horses are pretty good at compensating to mask it. Why would a horse in pain not be sharp, or shut down/miserable? Two sides of the same coin so often.

This horse probably had signs that it wasn't moving well, that's how most lamenesses eventually show up, so the injury is repetitive strain, and could lead you down all sorts of expensive routes.

I won't say don't do it, not at all, but you will spend a lot of time and money to get this horse reasonably comfortable in all likelihood. If that journey interests you enough, and you can afford it, and don't mind not riding, then maybe.
 
Having been "gifted - OK persuaded 🙈🤣" to take on the coblet, with all his vet problems, but who is sound and got me back driving again :)I have to agree with rest of advice - walk away from this bottomless money pit and find something you can ride, love & enjoy. I know it sounds harsh but there will be the right one for you in the future.
 
Jenko109 said:
You can report this, assuming the RS is licensed.
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wont make a difference i local very popular riding school bhs etc with bhs instructors etc sell some of there horses off all the time I no of someone that bought a horse for 11.000 and that was 10 years ago for a horse i would not of given 500 for horse was shot not long after legally they did nothing wrong morally they did
 
Jambarissa said:
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As far as the RS are concerned they're currently receiving an income from this horse, so as a minimum they'd want enough money to cover their losses until they would expect him to retire or to replace him. That's not unreasonable, and it may be thousands if they don't agree he needs retiring.

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It sounds as though Connemara224 *is* the main income, as the horse is rarely used in the riding school due to sharpness/unsuitable for inexperienced riders.
 
adamntitch said:
wont make a difference i local very popular riding school bhs etc with bhs instructors etc sell some of there horses off all the time I no of someone that bought a horse for 11.000 and that was 10 years ago for a horse i would not of given 500 for horse was shot not long after legally they did nothing wrong morally they did
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I have reported a riding school in the past and the complaint was followed up.

An inspection to assess the condition of this pony and determine if he is unfit for ridden work, can only be a good thing.

I'm unsure how you have concluded that it won't make a difference.
 
No way is a physio able to be certain that a horse should be retired. Has this horse ever seen the vet. Is the riding school actually official?

I personally wouldn't. As the owner of a horse I saw ridden and sound then got home for 3 weeks later to injure a check ligament and then sustain a serious ligament injury that involved bone and having vet bills exceeding 7k and still rising I would walk away. There will be other horses that you get to enjoy that are sound and will be fun. There's no guarantees any horse will stay sound but buying a horse that should be retired suggests massive red flags to me. It sounds like the riding school want you to cover their loss to replace the horse in the school. Honestly this will be hard to walk away but you will face nothing but ongoing expense and heartache and never have your dream of your own horse and having fun.
 
ester said:
But agree that declaring retirement shouldn’t be coming from physio and given the circumstances I’m surprised they agreed to treat it
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In fairness the OP didn’t say the physio had done any treatment, just that they had seen the horse.

I would expect my physio to suggest I don’t ride my horse if they found issues and maybe since the OP can’t get a vet, the physio suggested to OP the horse could be looking at retirement so they were forewarned before purchasing.
 
Jenko109 said:
I have reported a riding school in the past and the complaint was followed up.

An inspection to assess the condition of this pony and determine if he is unfit for ridden work, can only be a good thing.

I'm unsure how you have concluded that it won't make a difference.
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just seen it far to many times round here and nothing is done even with reporting surpose it depends who they no
 
Connemara244 said:
I currently loan a older horse from a riding school who i have offered to buy. However horse has been seen by a physio which i’ve paid for myself and have been advised pony is retired. This horse would be my 1st horse and feel we have a very close bond so would like to buy and retire. However stables still want thousands for horse even though i will be retiring.

I would find it very difficult to walk away, knowing what I have been advised in regards to horses health. Having this horse would also mean giving up riding completely as i could not easily afford 2 horses. Any advice appreciated.
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Hi, welcome to the forums.

Firstly, your physio should not be diagnosing your horse. That is your vets job. The physio can reccomend having the vet out.

Secondly, retired horses cost just as much, if not more, than ridden horses to keep. If you cannot afford two horses then you cannot afford one ill horse. Retired horses who are old, unsound and have back issues are very expensive!


Connemara244 said:
Also not allowed to get the horse vetted.
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This is a massive red flag- don't walk away .... run away, fast! There is a good chance the RS know there are issues. If they thought the issues would be cheap to fix they would have fixed them.
I know you have a bond with this horse but this horse sounds like it could be a money pit.
All the responses you have had are from very experienced horse people and I doubt any of them would take on this horse.

If you want a horse of your own I would suggest looking for a share where you can afford to keep on taking lessons on the share horse.

Don't buy this horse, it'll break your bank balance and then your heart.
 
This breaks my heart.

You are at the beginning of the negotiation process. Don’t play hardball and threaten to walk away. Go to them with an offer you would consider reasonable if you were to buy the horse. Your offer will of course be subject to a full vetting so you know what you are in for.

Post vetting you can make a decision on whether you truly have the financial resources to take on this wonderful friend and see him through his retirement.

Be clear without threatening, you are comfortable terminating your lease/loan agreement whilst this process with vet plays out as you have concerns about welfare.

Given you have advice from a physio albeit an allied professional not a vet, be clear also that continuing to use a horse when welfare is compromised gives you ethical challenges and regrettably you will have to report it.

I’ve got oldies in my field. One that has been “retired” twice. In doing rehab to keep her comfortable, she became well enough to begin jumping out of the field - repeatedly. Vet reversed retirement decision and advised light riding or in hand work.

Btw - there are excellent rehab vets now. They are costly and there is a lot of daily work to be put in consistently but the results are great.
 
Please let's not impose one's own desire to rescue and care for old and sick horses onto OP .

Obviously it can only be their own decision, but an inexperienced king hearted loaner being completely ripped off by the riding school in their highly unethical and downright manipulative attempt to lumber the loaner with a very old and probably extremely unsound or otherwise health compromised money pit.

If they continue with this scam purchase from these grifters not only will they lose a great deal of money they will also suffer great heartache and regret within a very short timeframe.

IMHO to encourage the OP is irresponsible especially without knowing any background, their financial position and expertise to safely oversea any ongoing health issues and quite likely euthanasia at some not too distant point.
 
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I know people who have paid a RS for horses that can no longer work. These people have spent lots along with livery and all the usual expenses. The horses are field ornaments and get pampered at weekends. Owners have no desire to ride.
 
I feel for you OP having been in a similar scenario myself with my own horse, who I had on part loan for 2yrs, loved and ended up buying, knowing she had issues but hoping to have her as a happy hacker. Managed to get her insured as she wasn't vetted and eventually ran up 10K in vets bills on insurance before retiring after a year of ownership on vet advice.

I too can only afford to run one horse so I rode other people's at my yard for a while (surprising how many people don't have time to ride!!) before taking on my friend's horse on a full loan basis. She doesn't have time to look after/ride her due to having a young family/health issues, but doesn't want to sell (I pay feed, she pays everything else as she values having someone she trusts to look after and ride her horse). I know I'm extremely lucky to be in this situation.

Luckily my horse is enjoying a comfy retirement; she has a home for life with me and will be PTS if she deteriorates in the future.

I would advise you not to start your horse ownership with a compromised horse. It's a fast track to heartache and poverty 💔

Having said that, I don't regret buying my mare (I didn't pay much money for her at least) but if you value being able to ride, it's time to walk away.
 
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