~Advice needed~ Should she have him pts?

silvershadow81

silvershadow81

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Sorry this will be a long one but could really do with opinions on it.

My friends horse fractured his hock about 3 years ago and he went on to make a great recovery. As she is heavily into dressage and he wasnt able to stay at the high level, she bought herself a new horse and was able to pop him out on loan (this lasted about 9 months).

Just before christmas, the loan lady said she didnt have the time for him, so my friend ended up with him back in livery (which she was really struggling to afford paying for two).

Managed to arrange for a local college to take him, which worked out well until they have increased his workload which has made them want a vet report done, which he has sadly failed so they wont use him in the college and want him returned.

When he was with my girl i rode him a few times and he is absolutly brilliant horse in the school and hacking. (would win most local dressage competitions!) He was even on the quadrille team last year, so will happily produce a great test all dressed up! I think that with a smaller level of work, say happy hacker he would be fine in a new home.

The problem with this is that my friend cannot keep sending him away for people who dont understand how to manage his previous injury to then give up on him and then sending him back, and is not thinking that it may be best to put him to sleep.

I can see where she is coming from as he is a 16.2 warmblood who is not the cheapest of boys to feed throughout the winter. He also gets himself in a total state if he is left in the stable/ field and his friends dissapear........ So would someone really pay to keep a horse like him going just to have a lightly worked horse on their yard?

If I had the money I would definatly take him! Though would it just be prolonging a decision which needs to be made sooner rather than later??
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Would really appreciate your comments on this one and my friend is very upset and so totally confused and I really wouldnt want to be her at the moment.

Thanks everyone x
 
Can your friend not fine a sharer, so she maintains control of his day to day management, but is still getting some financial contribution to help keep him.
 
how old is he? and how lightly does his workload need to be? could she not sign him over to a rescue
 
You haven't said how old this horse is, so lets assume that with reasonable care and appropriate work the horse could continue to enjoy a reasonable quality of life for several more years.

Yes of course there are loan homes out there where a rider would benefit from a low level dressage schoolmaster or quiet hack, but the separation anxiety is an additional complication - the right home might just take a little longer to find.
 
There are no free stables at our yard, plus is is £95 per week so im not sure someone would pay that for something they cant work a lot?? I maybe wrong though??

That would be an ideal solution if she could find someone, and soon.... maybe she should pop an advert online for him? Its got to be worth a try. I understand why she is so careful to not want him to go to absolutly anyone and i dont think she wants him to be passed from pillar to post in the meantime as she is so fond of him and its just not fair on him.
 
I think is rather drastic thinking of having him out to sleep when he is otherwise healthy. Does he hack out well? I'm sure there are other people who would be willing to take him on loan to hack and maybe do things like RC dressage etc. If she couldn't find someone would she not be able to hand him over to a horse charity along with a donation/monthly donations. They may be able to find him a suitable long term loan or just keep him in happy retirement.

In the meantime can she not find him grass livery (seeing as the better weather's coming) somewhere to keep hee costs down?

I find it very sad thet people feel their only options are to have a horse PTS just because they cannot afford the upkeep, what a waste of an animal's life.

I think she should advertise him for loan, tell as many people as possible, be open about what he can and can't do and I'm sure someone will turn up who can offer an ideal home. Sadly I'm not heavily into dressage or else I'd have him!
 
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how old is he? and how lightly does his workload need to be? could she not sign him over to a rescue

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He is now 17. He does get stiff if stood in for a long time so I would think he would need regular but light exercise.

The college were working him in the school for an hour a day which I think is too much.

I think the odd schooling session (as he is so good at that!) and a daily or every other day a hack. He dosnt struggle with a little canter up the hills either, and still enjoys life.

I think if she signs him over to a rescue she will see that as loosing control of his future, i will however add that to my list of suggestions to her, thanks.
 
No - he would provide sufficient value to someone, if he's sound enough to hack and do odd bits of dressage is a nice horse to have around etc.
I can understand the issue with loaning (I couldn't cope with loan coming back either) and would therefore look to sell, if your very upfrount about the level of work he can cope with and can forward the college's vet report to anyone interested then provided the purchase price is right a good home could be found.
 
LadyT- I also think it is drastic to consider that, hence why i wanted to try and get some other suggestions from you guys for her to consider.

He hacks out really well. My friend popped her OH on him (who can just about sit on a horse) and they hacked out and had a little canter. He is very sane and kind and really really willing, this is why i think he has been taken advantage of and he had such a heavy workload. (I bet they all wanted to practice their dressage on him!)
 
If he can't cope with a hour of work, and would only be able to do a light hack every other day then I think the time has come to consider his complete retirement. Realistically no loaner is going to want to take on a long term commitment to a horse they can rarely ride.
Sale is not an option because if he is that bad he is now into the meat money catagory and his future is grim.
With the extra information you have given, if there are not the funds to keep him in retirement, I would also be tending towards having him PTS.
Rescue charities have enough to do with dealing welfare and neglect cases
 
My friend loans a horse with similar issues (sorry I don't recon I could persuade her to have another!) so there are homes out there, it just might take a while to find the right one.
 
I agree with all above, there are many people out there seeking this type of horse.
Your friend will have to be totally open and honest. We have constant requests.
Plenty of unsuitable people will also come forward. Horsey people are happy to dish the dirt and so i always ask everyone i can find about potential loanees.
I have some 'very problomatic horses' in fantastic loan homes.
Good luck.
 
i had a friend that had a 21yo dales x. he could not jump, he would do an unaff dressage test, walk & trot, he was a good hack though. he had COPD and was on regular medicine. she had him on diy and always managed to find a sharer. she was getting £100 per month for him. 2 days a week sharing, no shows or anything. i think it would be worth putting an advert on horsemart/horsequest and having a go to find a sharer (full or part)
 

What about Project Horses? They do loan adverts as well as sale adverts & at least that way she'd know that it's not just a 'wishful thinker' from the local paper having a browse.

At least PH people realise the horses there come with drawbacks/problems generally.

Good luck anyway. Would be awful to have to have him PTS
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I can understand the issue with loaning (I couldn't cope with loan coming back either) and would therefore look to sell,

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I dont think she will sell him. He was branded loss of use after his accident.
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She should def advertise him then. A horse that is sane to hack out and will do a nice test and in general is a nice horse would be invaluable to some people. There are plenty of people out there who only ever want to hack out (there's a livery yard near me full of them!). Yes, so one lady gave him back as she didn't have time to look after him adequately that's not to say another loanee wouldn't be able to.

he sounds like a nice horse so i sure she'll find someone right for him.
 
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What about Project Horses? They do loan adverts as well as sale adverts & at least that way she'd know that it's not just a 'wishful thinker' from the local paper having a browse.

At least PH people realise the horses there come with drawbacks/problems generally.

Good luck anyway. Would be awful to have to have him PTS
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The danger with project horses, or selling any horse with health issues, is that it isn't just knowledgeable caring people reading those ads, it is dodgy dealers too, who will talk a good talk about providing a caring home for life, and then having that horse through the sale ring full of bute and being offered as a riding horse with a few years knocked off the age.
 
I think it is such a shame when situations like this arise. Your friend should not have bought another horse if she could not reasonably afford to keep two. A loan is just that - and there is always the chance that the horse would come back to her.

It would be tragic for this horse to be destroyed - and I'm sure if she tries she would be able to find a wonderful home for him.
 
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it is dodgy dealers too, who will talk a good talk about providing a caring home for life, and then having that horse through the sale ring full of bute and being offered as a riding horse with a few years knocked off the age.

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Ohh gosh, that is definatly the kind of situation that she would want to avoid for him. The poor boy just needs a loving, kind sensible home
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Your friend should not have bought another horse if she could not reasonably afford to keep two.

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I know, but it is easier said than done. The loan lady who had him said that she would offer him a home for life, even offered to buy him from her, so all the signs were there that he would be living out his days with her. She was also only down the road and had her horses at home, so was a total shock to have him sent back. (she did offer to have him back for the summer months for when the college shuts- i sense a fair-weather rider who didnt want the hassle of going through the winter with horses).
 
If he can't cope with an hour a day non-jumping work, he has enough of a physical problem to mean he would be frustrating to most people. It isn't usually just time worked which aggrivates these things, its ground conditions, turnout, surfaces, weather.... I suspect if she loaned him out as anything more than a pet, a couple of layoffs and vet bills later he would come back. As he is a high maintenance horse struggling to do a job I'd PTS, but it is a personal decision. Charities don't want people off-loading their old riding horses which are their responsibility, to either care for in retirement or PTS.
 
This might upset some of you but I'm disagreeing with those of you who think it would be wrong to have him pts. She deserves a horse to ride for herself - after all, that is why we keep them. It can't be this one. She's tried very hard to give him quality of life and it's not working out.

Retiring a horse is very expensive - and for some of us, very depressing. Watching a horse get old is OK if you (and the horse) are into grooming and cuddles and both are happy. But not if what you see is a horse getting older, beginning to suffer (when is the "right time", when do you decide he has sufferred enough to pts?) and preventing you from enjoying life because he cannot be ridden and because of money worries.

I don't believe qauntity (length) of life is what determines a 'good' life, only that the horse (human or other animal) is cared for while alive and is given a peaceful death, as far as possible without suffering. That last bit is what she is considering doing now.
 
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it is dodgy dealers too, who will talk a good talk about providing a caring home for life, and then having that horse through the sale ring full of bute and being offered as a riding horse with a few years knocked off the age.

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Ohh gosh, that is definatly the kind of situation that she would want to avoid for him. The poor boy just needs a loving, kind sensible home
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Thats why you do the asking - lots of it!!!
 
is this Frankie???? there is space at my yard and i could help her out, plus the yard is only about 5 mins from her house??? Let me know x
 
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I can understand the issue with loaning (I couldn't cope with loan coming back either) and would therefore look to sell,


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I dont think she will sell him. He was branded loss of use after his accident.

In someways selling with LOU means he's less likly to be passed to dodgy dealers as they can't pass him off as perfect.
I'm afraid you freind is between a rock and a hard place, either you keep the contol and risk loaners returning him, or sell him/PTS. Quote:
 
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is this Frankie???? there is space at my yard and i could help her out, plus the yard is only about 5 mins from her house??? Let me know x

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Yup! Poor boy. He is so lovely! Thanks Lochpearl, I will let her know that x

She just needs to consider all of her options at the moment and i will print this thread off later on so she can have a read through them as they have all highlighted her options for him.
 
Not sure if anyone else has suggested it but if he is 17 what about the Veteran Horse Society. They do not take horses in but they thoroughly check prospective loan homes and I think the horse is then permanently signed over to the new home. I would think most people applying to them for a loan would be more than happy for the old owner to visit occasionally. They have quite a good website - worth a visit maybe?
 
Yes the veteran horse society will rehome them, the VHS retains the ownership of the horse and if the horse has to come back off loan then the VHS has centers where they can place them. The VHS home checkers regularly do checks on the horse (i had one as a foster for them and they checked up every few weeks, unnanounced!) and they will only rehome them to suitable home for the level of work the vetran can do.
 
I will add the VHS to the list. It is the whole concept of her loosing control over his future. (I am not doubting their ability to make the right disicion) but how horrible the decision is to make, at least you know that you have made the right one, without loosing the control. (does tht make sense?!)

I have placed an advert on other sites for him, but if anyone else knows of someone looking for something like him....
 
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I don't believe qauntity (length) of life is what determines a 'good' life, only that the horse (human or other animal) is cared for while alive and is given a peaceful death, as far as possible without suffering. That last bit is what she is considering doing now.

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Totally agree. He is happy and capable doing lower level work though and its because of this which makes it such a hard decision.
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