Anyone's horse a rescue horse?

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Marble Arch

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Evening everyone.

Just wondered how many of you have rescued horses from charities etc on here? I have been looking for my next horse and have viewed some private sales. My friend suggested to me that I should think about supporting my local horse charities so I called up a few and am visiting one this weekend. They have lots of horses there. Some with problems and not suitable as riding horses and others just needing good homes with great potential.

Any good/bad stories?
 
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yes :) we have a pony from Ada Cole (now redwings) who was rescued as a 2yo by the charity at Christmas with his sister. I re-schooled him and taught him to jump (i have very close connections with the charity at the time who allowed me to do this) and he is now out winning regularly, won county shows, been in all pc teams and is just a general absolute star! We would never change him for the world! (His sister also went onto be extremely successful!)

I also had a show pony who was flighty but also did all pc/ sj etc with great success until i outgrew him.

It would be well worth contacting them :) x
 
That's fantastic news! Well done you! :D

They have about 4 who they think might be suitable. I just thought with the love and attention I give my horses why not give it to something that has been deprived rather than something that has always had it.
 
I had an ILPH mare. She wasn't suitable, she was half dead and she took a lot of loving.

But out of it I got my bestest best friend ever and she'll always live on in my heart.

Whatever you get, it's rewarding. An animal will love you who has previously known fear and hatred of humans. Carrie never "came right" (She was a welsh cob, which didn't help either...) but she loved me and my mum like we loved her.

Losing her was the worst thing to ever happen to me.

Unfortunately, I never coped with the fact she was a rescue (especially as I only found out thanks to the ex husband of Camilla Parker-Bowles writing us a letter to explain Carrie's Ragwort poisoning!! What a way to find out!!!) and given her vaccination details carried the name and address of her abuser... it was always very hard.

But the day I held my horse and said goodbye, I knew I'd undone everything that had ever happened to her and I've been at peace ever since.

It's hard work, but do it. Deffo do it.
 
I am hoping for success. I think its a wonderful thing to do if i can get smething right. I am trying about 6. I just hope it wont be heart breaking to find something and have to say good bye to the rest :(
 
My OH took on a horse, not from a charity, but definitely a rescue case.

She would sometimes take an hour to get from the field the short walk to the yard. She would rear and spin to avoid having tack on and plant / nap / spin / reverse to avoid being ridden. In fact she had every trick you can imagine to avoid being ridden, other than violence towards her handler.

We know what the cause of this trouble was, but I'm not going into details.

It took two years to return her little by little to a happy riding pony, and eleven years later she is still with us, and always will be. She is a wonderful character and very generously has accepted both me and my gelding into HER family :D

If you have the love, determination, skill and patience to take on a horse who has lost all trust in people, then the rewards are unlimited.
 
i got a rescue horse, love him to bits but he was a massive amount of work and worry. It's very rewarding but they definitely can come with issues!
 
in my experience a rescue horse can be cheaper up front cost, but lots more $$$ in training and care. depends on each individual case, but a rescue if often because it is not straight forward to handle, not backed/started, or has had health issues, or maybe all three.

that is not to say you should not do it, but, have you got plenty of resources, experienced helper or are experienced your self and plenty of reserves of patience/resilience, or do you fall apart when things go wrong/get stressed out

I learnt a ton of stuff from mine, but $$$ and effort were huge,

list down what you want from your horse, what time frame, what is most important to you and work it out

some rescue horses just need a bit of feed and tlc, in which case it is not really a big ask, so don't want to scare you off, but just make sure you know what you are taking on - history of horse
 
my friend resuced a 15hh mare 3yrs with foal at foot so thin when she went into the centre it was unbelievable she took her on after foal was weaned still like a hat rack how they survived beggers belief ,four years on she did sfs at hoys cobs and won and now also has her son who also qualled for hoys sfs cobs although wasnt placed she now has two excellent little cobs x
 
My previous horse was.

I purposely didn't go looking for another rescue horse, not because I don't want to do it again at some point - I do, more than anything. But, I was SO emotionally drained after going through so many, quite extreme, ups and downs with him through his rehabilitation and training, right up to being PTS two years later, I couldn't quite face it all over again.

As someone else said, it is a LOT of work - and a lot of emotional commitment, more so than any other horse I've owned.
 
Thanks guys - I have a few options. I am viewing 3 rescues tomorrow and one private loan. I hate the thought of private loaning though as the owners might want them back. I thought about buying too so not too sure on the way forward.
 
I resuced mine from meat market in france of to italy that day. If i had my time again i wouldnt have go to a proper centre who know something about the horse
 
Mine was a rescue, but not from a centre - he'd just been left in the field for years, long feet; laminitis, acting wild even though he'd been schooled apparently as a youngster!

A couple of years of TLC and reschooling and now he is a happy chappy, who loves being ridden, and generally loving life!

I would struggle choosing one out of the many who need homes if I had to look for one, mine found me, so a little easier!
Good luck though!
 
Right I am keepnig myoptions open and my current diary is:

Viewing 3 rescues and 2 private loans with view to buy. I am hoping something good will come out of it!

One of the rescues is a 3yr old , I don't know allot about his history but he schools and rides very well. He is the one I keep thinking about the most at the moment for some reason. Only thing is I only ride three times per week. Not sure if that's enough for a youngster. In the winter it might only be twice on the weekends.
 
I've had three. One I still have at the age of 25+. I broke her to saddle and harness, we did all kinds of hacks and shows together, and now she has a happy retirement out at grass. Another was her lifelong companion due to dodgy conformation, and she was PTS two years ago. Both were lovely and I rescued them myself; unbroken, obese, louse-ridden, thrush-infected, curled-up feet, being used as field ornaments by a rich couple who'd just moved to the country but knew nothing about horses.

My last horse was an ex-racer and had had an accident resulting in almost being PTS, but the wound healed well and although scarred, it came perfectly sound. She napped at first but soon came round, although she was always very sharp. Unfortunately she developed arthritis and then narcolepsy and epilepsy, and was PTS at 13/14.
 
I have had a few ponies over the past 10 years from SWHP in Monmouth, and haven't really had much trouble with any of them. If they keep being sent back after short periods then that would indicate a problem. Bigger ones tend to stay with loaners long-term as they are obviously not outgrown so if you are looking for something 14.2hh+ then a youngster would probably be your best bet, otherwise check the history carefully. Good rescue/loan ponies often don't make it back to the centre for re-homing as there is usually always someone in current loanees area/pony club/circle of friends who wants it. I think you have to be more careful with charities who take in a lot of horses with behavioural problems when their owners can't cope. I have found the SWHP mainly take in a lot of neglected youngsters and some serious cruelty cases but they give excellent care and a great start to many, which go on to be fantastic ridden horses and ponies.
 
Hello, I am a newbie and hope you don't mind me joining in.

I have two rescue horses, one who is just 3 and the other is a 9 year old ex racer both rescued from the meat man.

My 3 yr old - have had him since September last year

dillon110620112.jpg


My ex-racer - have had him since the end of April this year.

sammy110620112.jpg


I have spent a small fortune on vets fees for the 3yr old, mainly down to him being a clumsy accident prone boy but have so far *touchwood* not had any issues with the ex-racer
 
Dilmil they are lovely looking horses, where did you find them?
I know there's often a reason to send to the meat man but they both look gorgeous, was there actually anything wrong with them other than being out of a job?
 
thank you :)

the 3 yr old was abandoned and the ex-racer was part of a marital split from what I understand. They were both from Ireland and very underweight when initially rescued, I then adopted them after a period of rehabilitation. Neither of them have put a hoof out of place since I adopted them, the ex-racer is a total star, one of the nicest horses I have ever hacked out, he just needs some work on his schooling but he has such a sweet nature. The 3yr old is soft as muck and so affectionate. He needs some work on his teeth and I will then start him very slowly. He was wearing 5'9 rugs when I got him, he is now in 6'6!

Being new on here I don't want to name the organisation I got them from as it gets a lot of stick and I don't want this thread to start a big debate so I will pm you if that's ok? :)
 
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Hi. I have a rescue horse from World Horse Welfare, she was starved and they rescued her at 18 months old. I don't think she had been handled so she thinks people are wonderful because they fed her and rescued her. She doesn't have any issues related to her past (except for being greedy!) and is a really lovely horse.
I am glad that they chose me to adopt her and would look into getting another rescue horse in the future. It is also nice to know that if anything happened to me WHW would take her back and rehome her if necessary, although she does have a home for life with me.
 
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