Desperate for help on re-homing my 6 year old TB

F

Foxy109

Active Member
Joined
31 March 2015
Messages
36
Visit site
HI! First time I have ever been on a forum in my life..................let’s hope I do this right!!

I need advice on the best place/home for my stunning and loving TB.

He is the most loving horse and has an amazing character on the ground. Unfortunately the fitter he is becoming (and I only ride her 3/4 times a week) the more naughty he is getting. And by naughty, he is getting me off and landing my in hospital. I have only had him a year and I have tried so hard and I am a very confident/competent rider with over 25 years’ experience with horses. I have looked into his past and breeding and have found this to be a breading trait in his blood lines as the horses reach 5-8 year mark.

I have decided enough is enough and have admitted defeat. I have had all vet checks, back, teeth, feet............you name it, I have been down that avenue.

I am a very confident rider but he is now making me nervous and I have been advised by very knowledgeable people to not ride him anymore. I have ended up in hospital twice.

I cannot bare him going into the wrong hands, which I am pretty certain will happen to him over and over again. He is too special for this to happen and I could not bear thinking that it is my fault if he ends up being past from pillar to post until something awful would happen to him :-(
He is a 6 year old TB so selling him is not an option as I am being offered £200 as I am being totally honest about him.
So I feel my options are:
Finding a place to be a field companion, which I worry as can be pasted on.
Giving him away through homes4horses and praying he can settle in a new home and not be passed on.
Having him go to a BB (advice from Wagtail would be so helpful as you seen you be very knowledgeable about this)
Or............having him PTS. I cannot bare this thought but even more so I cannot bare him going from person to person until he is in the wrong hands. It is breaking my heart as I feel this is what will happen to him.

As well as admitting defeat and knowing he has to go, I have had someone horrific family news meaning that I need my horse to go ASAP to be able to have this heart ache over to be able to concentrate fully on my family.

Help needed and thank you in advance.
 
Have no advice but my heart goes out to you I have had a similar problem though not so bad and eventually I did find him a good home but there is no guarantee he will stay there - he is rising eight and is in his eighth home :(
 
What exactly is it he is doing? I feel very sympathetic as I had to sell my tb because he got too much for me after my friend stopped riding and we had no company. He didn't get me off but I couldn't ride him and my nerves was shattered. I took about two years to sell him because I kept backing out but eventually gave it a good shot and got him a lovely home with a trekking centre owner (who has loned him to a friend at the yard who refuses to give him back because he is her perfect horse) so he really landed in his feet and was sold for £250. He had no ridden behaviour I just couldn't go out of walk and he started getting annoyed by it lol
 
Last edited:
What does he do to get you off? Maybe in a diferent situation he would behave differently. You say you have been offered 200 - don't automatically assume its a rubbish home, I paid 200 for my ex racer and love him to pieces, and he is really well cared for and loved as anyone will vouch for. Also (excuse my ignorance here) what is a BB?
 
I have been down the pain route and all is fine. I do not have the money or time to send him away to be re-trained............I wish I did :-(
 
stormox said:
What does he do to get you off? Maybe in a diferent situation he would behave differently. You say you have been offered 200 - don't automatically assume its a rubbish home, I paid 200 for my ex racer and love him to pieces, and he is really well cared for and loved as anyone will vouch for. Also (excuse my ignorance here) what is a BB?
Click to expand...

He refuses jumping...............which is what I bought him for. He just does not want to and I will not force him as I feel it is not fair. He has lovely paces and schools beautiful. He is totally unpredictable and get scared at the slightest thing. I have tried everything to re-assure him. He bucks, bronks and rears vertical when anything spooks him, he gets scared (which is every time I ride him). I have been severely concussed but was adamant I could turn him around but I cant. I have offered some outstanding riders to get on him and they don't want to. I am at a total loss.
 
Could you find him a non-jumping home? A lot of TBs have lovely paces, dressage maybe? You are being very defeatist - as equi says, one persons problem horse is another persons perfect one. There is probably a home out there that would love to have him. Why assume that if people are paying £200 for a horse they are going to be rubbish owners? Equi found a good home for £250, and my lad has a lovely home for £200.
Have you advertised him?
 
crabbymare said:
Have you tried places like Greatworth who rehome racehorses?
Click to expand...

He has never raced or been at a start yard so this is not reason he is being like he is. I have found out that his sister is uncontrollable apart from when she is work really hard by a 1* eventer. This not an option for him as he just can't cope with jumping.
 
stormox said:
But what does he do when ridden that is naughty? Buck? Whip round? You are being very defeatist - as equi says, one persons problem horse is another persons perfect one. There is probably a home out there that would love to have him. Why assume that if people are paying £200 for a horse they are going to be rubbish owners? Equi found a good home for £250, and my lad has a lovely home for £200.
Have you advertised him?
Click to expand...

Bucks, whips round whilst rearing, rears vertically, bronks. I am going to advertise him today and hope/pray that homes4horses or Equi can find him a forever home.

Thank you
 
The thing is the way horses behave can often vary according to their environment, some will be unsettled in a busy yard some thrive on it, how is he kept? What is his daily routine? Have you maybe thought about turning him away for a bit it may just be that he needs to grow up a bit if his going through that teenage strop period a break might be all he needs, or it could be that he needs more regular work you say his ridden 3 to 4 times a week I have one horse that would be fine with that but my other horse is better getting 5 or 6 days work.
 
Have you tried contacting one of the racer charities? They may be able to help.

Exactly what vet checks have you had done. Telling us "everything" isnt really much use, as everything to one person means the vet's come and had a look and done a couple of flexion tests, and to another, it's horse taken to the vets for nerve blocks, xrays, bone scans, gastroscopes.

You could potentially send him to the bloodstock sales - the quality of buyer there should be more knowledgeable than a "normal" horse auction.
 
I also think you should advertise him in H&H as you get more professionals looking there than Preloved, horses4homes etc. Good luck Im sure someone will love him
 
I have never met a horse who can't cope with jumping at some level, but that does not help.
Sry, you will have to let him go to someone or pts, there is that or reirement, but that is long term, very long term.
A horse which is uncontrollabe except when worked hard is one reason why ex racers do not always cope with leisure homes, but at some stage they would be backed and ridden away as it is not possible to start with hard work. Discipline and regular routine and a competant rider is the solution for some types.
 
As long as he is not dangerous and pain issues have been ruled out completely (please do completely explore as many options as possible), I would say you have two options.

Selling does not mean the death of him, or that he will end up in a horrible home. There are plenty of people out there who have the time, patience and skill to either reschool a horse with these issues, or are happy riding something with these traits. However I do understand they are the minority, and because of this it may be harder to ensure you find a home you are happy with. It also does not guarantee that he would not be sold on from the home you sold to, and so I completely understand your concerns, and the responsibility you wish to take for your horse.

SO, have you considered loaning? You have to really consider that it may take time, that he could end up back with you at absolutely any point, for any reason, but it does meant that you can thoroughly vet homes, and also have a final say should you ever need to. There is absolutely nothing wrong with advertising him for loan (nothing says you have to follow through if you decide to then sell).

You will hear plenty of for/against stories for loaning. I am in the for camp as I have loaned my horse out previously. I got a lot of time wasters (particularly through facebook) but also met a lot of genuine people- some not right for my horse, but eventually found one that was. It took time, and it took a lot of saying 'no thanks' to people. But if you are happy to invest in a decent advert, be honest with his quirks, write up a good contract (BHS do a good template), have the time to dedicate to visit potential homes, do regular checks etc, you will minimise your risks with loaning. I advertised through facebook, horsemart, equine adverts and a few local tack shops. Word of mouth and your horse friends are also a good source. I recently also tried Horses4Homes and found them extremely helpful. People have to pay to apply for your horse, and you can set a donation- for a horse with quirks I would set it slightly higher to try and limit any daydreamers.

There ARE homes out there that are suitable and I really wish you luck in helping your horse find one.
 
Last edited:
i had the same thing with my exracer. he was a nightmare around that age, rearing and flipping. Lovely and happy (but a bit lively ) on the ground, but dangerous ridden. I felt the only options he had were that i keep him or else he's pts, as he had landed people in hospital. I hadn't any cash at the time for vets but i still wanted to be learning stuff, so I gave up riding him and had a few lessons with a natural horseman guy, bought books on in-hand schooling and did inhand showing with him. The groundwork stuff was amazing, and I learnt how to lunge and long line correctly. We did horse agilty and stuff too and he loved it. His behaviour improved 100% on ground but he was still dangerous ridden. I also moved to a yard where he was out 24/7 and he just turned into a much more chilled character

Eventually i had the cash and I had vet checks but it was only a proper work-up that showed kissing spine. Once i got that fixed he was much easier. I also sent him to get properly schooled. I have horses 30 years but I didn't have the skills to reschool him properly. He came back a much happier horse who understood his job.

I wanted him for eventing, but he's just a dressage horse now. Luckily with the cheaper livery i could afford another horse to jump on. But if I hadn't been able to I would have just switched to dressage fulltime for him.

Being honest though, its just that he was such a sweet character on the ground that I kept him. If I hadn't liked him so much I wouldn't have made the sacrafices for him, but i always had faith he'd come right.
 
misskk88 said:
As long as he is not dangerous and pain issues have been ruled out completely (please do completely explore as many options as possible), I would say you have two options.

Selling does not mean the death of him, or that he will end up in a horrible home. There are plenty of people out there who have the time, patience and skill to either reschool a horse with these issues, or are happy riding something with these traits. However I do understand they are the minority, and because of this it may be harder to ensure you find a home you are happy with. It also does not guarantee that he would not be sold on from the home you sold to, and so I completely understand your concerns, and the responsibility you wish to take for your horse.

SO, have you considered loaning? You have to really consider that it may take time, that he could end up back with you at absolutely any point, for any reason, but it does meant that you can thoroughly vet homes, and also have a final say should you ever need to. There is absolutely nothing wrong with advertising him for loan (nothing says you have to follow through if you decide to then sell).

You will hear plenty of for/against stories for loaning. I am in the for camp as I have loaned my horse out previously. I got a lot of time wasters (particularly through facebook) but also met a lot of genuine people- some not right for my horse, but eventually found one that was. It took time, and it took a lot of saying 'no thanks' to people. But if you are happy to invest in a decent advert, be honest with his quirks, write up a good contract (BHS do a good template), have the time to dedicate to visit potential homes, do regular checks etc, you will minimise your risks with loaning. I advertised through facebook, horsemart, equine adverts and a few local tack shops. Word of mouth and your horse friends are also a good source. I recently also tried Horses4Homes and found them extremely helpful. People have to pay to apply for your horse, and you can set a donation- for a horse with quirks I would set it slightly higher to try and limit any daydreamers.

There ARE homes out there that are suitable and I really wish you luck in helping your horse find one.
Click to expand...

This has been so helpful. Thanks you so much. I really appreciate your time :-)
 
Foxy109 said:
Bucks, whips round whilst rearing, rears vertically, bronks.


He bucks, bronks and rears vertical when anything spooks him, he gets scared (which is every time I ride him). I have been severely concussed

I have ended up in hospital twice.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't feel happy passing a horse with serious problems such as this on. To be frank, he could kill or seriously injure someone.

He needs a full lameness workup including scoping for ulcers, bone scan etc... and then go forward from there depending on what is found. The only other option is PTS.
 
paddi22 said:
i had the same thing with my exracer. he was a nightmare around that age, rearing and flipping. Lovely and happy (but a bit lively ) on the ground, but dangerous ridden. I felt the only options he had were that i keep him or else he's pts, as he had landed people in hospital. I hadn't any cash at the time for vets but i still wanted to be learning stuff, so I gave up riding him and had a few lessons with a natural horseman guy, bought books on in-hand schooling and did inhand showing with him. The groundwork stuff was amazing, and I learnt how to lunge and long line correctly. We did horse agilty and stuff too and he loved it. His behaviour improved 100% on ground but he was still dangerous ridden. I also moved to a yard where he was out 24/7 and he just turned into a much more chilled character

Eventually i had the cash and I had vet checks but it was only a proper work-up that showed kissing spine. Once i got that fixed he was much easier. I also sent him to get properly schooled. I have horses 30 years but I didn't have the skills to reschool him properly. He came back a much happier horse who understood his job.

I wanted him for eventing, but he's just a dressage horse now. Luckily with the cheaper livery i could afford another horse to jump on. But if I hadn't been able to I would have just switched to dressage fulltime for him.

Being honest though, its just that he was such a sweet character on the ground that I kept him. If I hadn't liked him so much I wouldn't have made the sacrafices for him, but i always had faith he'd come right.
Click to expand...

Another issue is. I bought him for jumping. I was told he could and I possibly rushed him. I personally would not be happy spending all the time and money for him to be a showing horse or a dressage horse. I think I will advertise him and see how I go. Thank you so much.

I did not mean rushed him.............rushed into buying him.
 
I have recently listed my Thoroughbred on Horses4homes. I can absolutely relate to your situation - it's incredibly hard. Mine is a very good hack/light hunt and I'm still struggling. It's very stressful.
 
I think so long as you are honest about everything her has done, then you could advertise him on a website such as project horses. If all else fails and you wanted to consider the BB, then he needs to be 16hh or over, and good to handle on the ground, good with other horses and needles. But they only take horses in once a year and I expect the list will be full for 2015 by now.

Good luck with him. I hope you get a happy solution. He is lucky he has such a responsible owner.
 
What 'vet checks' has he had? Does that mean a vet has done a quick exam at home and found nothing, or has he been sent away for a full work up?

If you are going to keep this horse alive I don't think it is fair to rehome him under time pressure. Given you have family problems to deal with my suggestion would be to find him full grass livery somewhere. Turn him away for a few months, concentrate on your family, and then reassess the situation down line line.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top