B Has A Big Move - Reassure Me Please

sasquatch

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So I am now booking transport and now beginning to wonder if I am doing the right thing.

B needs to move from where he is now, I am at uni 2 hours away from him and mum is moving house to 40 minutes away. He has to leave anyway.

I've found a lovely retirement home for him. Bit more expensive but not so expensive it's not doable, about 30-40 minutes from where I am at uni. He'd be out in massive big fields with other retired geldings (fields so big the owner has to take the quad to feed them all!) and would get his own pile of haylage when needed rather than all sharing from one big pile. YO really impressed me as he knew all the retired horses and their ailments, horses all came over to see him and say hello.
Master farrier would do feet and is 5 minutes up the road, worming would also be done by YO. YO has also said if I bring a rug down it's no trouble for him to throw it on him if he looks very cold when he checks on them in the morning.
Grazing/turnout 24/7 all year round and plenty of shelter as there's lots of trees and natural shelter.
I'd be able to go and visit him whilst I'm at uni on weekends, atm I see him whenever I'm home which isn't that often. Transport is easy as it's just travelling him down the motorway and he has travelled a similar journey before.

I have possibly found somewhere around the same price closer to mum's new house but would be relying on a friend who keeps her horses there to check on him (and she was the one who suggested it) and make sure he was alright which puts me off a bit, but I'd be able to see him more over summer. But I don't want to be reliant on a friend as I feel it's not fair, especially when I'm away.

Please convince me I'm doing the right thing in moving B down. He's hardy and being out 24/7 would suit him much more, especially in such big green flat fields and with a YO who checks on them and lets them be horses whilst also looking out for them.
 

be positive

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It sounds as near to perfect as anywhere can be, having a YO that knows what they are doing and is there to check on the horses is worth a lot in my experience, once he is there you can relax knowing that he will get what he requires as part of the service rather than relying on friends who however well meaning they are can and do let you down if their life changes for some reason, you may not see him as often as you would like to but there is no reason you cannot ask the YO to send you an email with a photo now and again or even every week if it puts your mind at rest.
 

sasquatch

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It sounds as near to perfect as anywhere can be, having a YO that knows what they are doing and is there to check on the horses is worth a lot in my experience, once he is there you can relax knowing that he will get what he requires as part of the service rather than relying on friends who however well meaning they are can and do let you down if their life changes for some reason, you may not see him as often as you would like to but there is no reason you cannot ask the YO to send you an email with a photo now and again or even every week if it puts your mind at rest.

If he moves down to the place where YO does everything he is 30-40 minutes from me at uni so I can go and see him during weekends, it's just over summer and Christmas when I'm not at college I won't be able to see him (and it's only a 2h30 drive away from where I am not during term time) but if he was to go to the other place I can only see him when I'm home and not at college.

I am definitely doing the right thing aren't I? It's very reasonably priced and it was the reaction of the horses who came over to greet YO and YO who was able to point out each one that reassured me the most. B has never had as big a move and I think I need more reassurance than him, he'll think it's great to have so much grass to eat without other horses annoying him
 

cbmcts

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I sent my very difficult horse off to retirement livery 70+ miles away and like you, I was very worried about it. This horse was very special needs, mentally rather than physically but the yard he had always been on changed hands and just didn't suit him (or me tbh) any longer even though he'd been there since a 2 yo.

But he needed to live out, not be mithered by inexperienced wannabe horse whisperers who were unable to take to remove a single horse from a field without leaving a gate swinging (20 horses loose on a main road, yes it did make the local news, yes it did take me nearly 2 hours to get back from work to catch him as funnily enough running around swinging leadropes does not actually catch a panicking welshie) and to have access to functioning water troughs and I had to go right out of my local area to find somewhere suitable.

I'll be honest, it was difficult to get used to someone else having responsibility especially for a horse like him and while the YO was very knowledgeable I did have to bite my tongue a bit at the start as despite being very upfront about his issues I suspect she thought that I was a silly moo who couldn't handle a horse so in some ways I had to let her find out for herself what he was like and why I insisted he was handled the way I wanted. That first few months was hard and he did take a while to settle. In saying that, he lived out the rest of his life there going happily slightly - ok, very - feral only being handled for field moves, farrier and worming which I went down for and when my other horse retired I was happy to send him there too as he also needed to live out due to his arthritis. I did visit at least once a month, no appointment needed just a text the day before to find out where they were in the winter as they moved fields regularly!

I would recommend retirement livery but with the caveat that you always make sure that you or someone you trust actually sees the horse regularly, take into account how long it will take you to get there in an emergency and to have an advance plan of what you would do if they needed stabling/box rest or got laminitis and could live out any more.
 

Damnation

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I would go with option A, it sounds perfect with a YO who seems to know what they are doing and a good set up for retirement.

I don't like mixing friendship with business, it's an easy way to loose friends if you don't like the way she is caring for your horse or she doesn't go up one day etc.
 
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