Am I being daft?

[noblesteed]

Hi all. I have posted about my problem before but wondered if anyone has any further advice....
I have a very nice 13 yo 15.1hh iberian x connemara gelding. I have had him almost 5 years. He is well schooled and jumps well, done all rc and hunted, but has been used as a schoolmaster for an inexperienced teenager, and happy hack for past 18 months. He is a bombproof hack which is why I love him so much. He has melanomas under his dock and sheath. I had a baby last year and he went on loan at the yard I was renting, I still saw him once or twice a week. Sadly in the space of 2 visits he got mild laminitis which I have been battling with since. He is currently sound and in light work having moved to a new yard close to home. My plan was to bring him back into full work this summer, maybe get a trailer and get to a few comps and have some fun.
Anyway I have a new problem, I am unexpectedly pregnant again. Baby is due in July so I will have to stop riding around March time, as I had problems with my pelvis during my last pregnancy.
So the question is what to do with horse. I advertised him for sale a few months ago but nobody rang. I asked £2500 including tack and rugs but I think that was too much. I can't send him out on loan due to the fact he's laminitic, and that's how he became laminitic in the first place. Would it be dreadfully wasteful to just turn him away for a year? If he was an old horse that's what I would do but it doesn't seem fair to one in his prime.
I wanted to keep him forever, but I don't know if I can. It's hard enough with one baby to juggle a horse, thank goodness husband is very good in that sense. But with 2 babies, it would be a struggle. I feel selfish enough missing every saturday and sunday morning with baby due to horse. And I want to be able to afford to take the kids to Disneyland etc. in future.
If I could find a wonderful forever home for him he could go, but how do you find such a home?
Any suggestions from anybody would be very helpful. I am driving myself daft mulling this over and over in my head at the moment! Thanks

 

[WelshD]

I'd put him on loan but keep close tabs on him

Not all loaners are irresponsible x

 

[Polos Mum]

I agree - try and find a loaner who has experience with lami - they must be out there, he sounds like a lovely boy and you'll your sanity even more with two babies!

 

[Spotsrock]

I'd loan. Better than doing the wrong thing and resenting ur family for having to make the choice

 

[limestonelil]

no you are not being daft and seems like you are trying to do your utmost to sort for everyone's future benefit. Ned sounds lovely.Could you put on loan again with someone experienced who you can trust. or working livery at a good RS/college. It would be nice if you allow yourself a break from being mum at times, and you can usually find childcare available from other mums on a swap basis so they can have a break too, when you feel your new baby human is old enough.
Whatever you decide, hope it all works out well for you (and you don't tie yourself in knots worrying in the meantime)

 

[Honey08]

Contact your local pc branch perhaps (facebook is quite good for that now) and speak to the DC to see if anyone they could suggest would be interested in buying/loaning? I think its a bad time of year to sell, but that things start to pick up and move again in the next few months.

I sold our old laminitic pony because I wanted her to be in a home where she would be worked, rather than leaving her as a field ornament and risking another outbreak.

Did you have the pony tested for EMS? Just asking because we didn't, and the pony got lami again a year later in her new home, and it came out positive for EMS. I really wish we had done it, but we just followed the vets advice at the time, who thought she was perfectly fine again..