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

leflynn said:
I would say its more the change in routine and lifestyle that casues issues with ex racers not that they are cheap or people are inexperienced. It is one thing to be inexpereinced and another to not admit it or get help...
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Agreed - even the best natured racehorse can find it a difficult transition from racing life, they do need to be managed pretty carefully, although I would say that 90 odd % of them are retrainable in the right hands, there are very few that won't come good with the right help (having seen a lot with a lot of different riders, that's really all they show where I'm from). I've done a couple of off the tracks, I was inexperienced with OTTBs beforehand, so what? I definitely over-horsed myself, we went through some rough patches, I got some help where I needed it, and I did get them going to the point where they were easy horses, the only way you will learn to deal with them is by actually doing it. I'd been riding all my life and had done plenty of young ones, but OTTBs are very, very different.

That being said, if the horse is at the stage where they are actively trying to get you off and hurt you (rather than just playing up), I think you need to reassess what's happening, and probably get the horse retrained / rehomed if you can't handle it.
 
I don't think this is an ex racehorse, it is just a TB who is either too much for OP or has pain issues which need to be sorted, it is probably only worth about £200, if that as it is needs a lot of time and money spent on it., and if has serious issues it may never be any use. I expect OP paid a lot more for it, not realising what she was buying in to.
I would not buy a horse in the knowledge that if it could not be sorted, I might have to put it down. That plus x ray/scans etc will be about £1200, not to mention stress.
 
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Faracat said:
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.
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My non TB had similar problems, ordinary vets useless, I was lucky and he was referred to a superb equine hospital - bone scans and X Rays showed he has an abnormal neck structure and he was treated. He has needed rehabilitation work and is now calm and I am getting there. This has cost a lot, but he is a horse with great potential. If you cannot afford to send him for bone scans etc he sounds too dangerous to pass on to someone else and it would be better to PTS
 
I bought an ex racer a few years back – the owner didn’t ride him and said he ‘had issues’ and that if I didn’t buy him, he was being PTS. I took him and to be fair, the previous owner should have done the right thing and had him PTS. He was dangerous and if he hadn’t killed himself in the field one day he would have probably seriously injured/killed me. Sometime we all want to help but we need to look after ourselves first! There are too many good horses out there to be stuck with one that’s dangerous unfortunately.
 
Victoria25 said:
and that if I didn’t buy him, he was being PTS. I took him and to be fair, the previous owner should have done the right thing and had him PTS. .
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But it sounds like the previous owner was prepared to have him put down, but instead you chose to buy him!!
I think this thread is being a bit unfair to ex-racers/TBs - theres good and bad in all breeds of horses. Some of the posts on this make it sound like TBs are all nightmares, when they certainly are not. I have owned and known many that were absolute christians.
 
I wasn't being judgemental - I was saying one persons opinion isn't everyone else's - depending on their experience etc. I wouldn't have trusted the previous owner with a hamster never mind an ex racer. But life is too short to be taking on 'dangerous' horses.
One of my mare's was straight from the track and Id trust a 5 year old kid to take her down the main road in rush hour traffic she's so good/calm.
 
I do think some people are being a bit harsh. How can you possibly tell someone to Pts their horse without knowing the true facts. What some people describe as "dangerous" due to bucking, rearing, spinning etc could possibly be exaggerating the extent of the behaviour. I have known people to say their horse rears when in fact its only lifted its feet off the ground a foot! My horse naps, gives a small rear and spins, but I wouldnt say he is dangerous. Just giving you all something else to think about. Good luck Op and hope you get everything sorted out
 
stormox said:
But it sounds like the previous owner was prepared to have him put down, but instead you chose to buy him!!
I think this thread is being a bit unfair to ex-racers/TBs - theres good and bad in all breeds of horses. Some of the posts on this make it sound like TBs are all nightmares, when they certainly are not. I have owned and known many that were absolute christians.
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OPs horse is not an ex racer, it is a TB, not all TBs are racehorses. All racehorses are TB.s except for arabs and standardbreds and those racing in flapper races and most of them are TBs
People who offer horses who are not rideable may be taking the "easy" route, the buyer has to be tough enough to shoot it if it proves too expensive to sort or is unsortable, either way it will be expensive and stressfull.
People have posted on this thread to explain to OP that not all problems are sortable, and try to convince her to do something rather than nothing. AND if she can't do something that she can sell it for £200, as that is probably reasonable, IF she can find someone willing to take it on. The only certain future can be if she shoots it herself.
 
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Flora said:
I do think some people are being a bit harsh. How can you possibly tell someone to Pts their horse without knowing the true facts. What some people describe as "dangerous" due to bucking, rearing, spinning etc could possibly be exaggerating the extent of the behaviour. I have known people to say their horse rears when in fact its only lifted its feet off the ground a foot! My horse naps, gives a small rear and spins, but I wouldnt say he is dangerous. Just giving you all something else to think about. Good luck Op and hope you get everything sorted out
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Agree, but OP finds the horse too much for her, so she can't really "do nothing".
The OP has described the horse in such a way that no one would get on it.
she does not want to sell cheaply, who would loan it? she says she can t find a retirement place [?], so what other options are there?
Anyone who is capable of taking this on with all the risks is not going to loan it, possibly sort it and then have OP ask for it back!
 
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Flora, only the owner and people who have seen him IRL know exactly what he is like and how accurate, or not, the description is on here. However I do think that the fact that experienced riders who have seen him, won't ride him, speaks volumes.

I have offered some outstanding riders to get on him and they don't want to.
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The OP is having terrible difficulties in her personal life and it seems that going to an equine clinic for a full work up isn't an option. So I don't think that mentioning PTS as an option is unreasonable, plus the OP had brought the subject up herself.

ETA - I wanted to add that I really feel for the OP, it's a horrible situation to be in and I hope that a solution can be found.
 
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This case SHOUTS Pain one way or another even to the state of maybe a Brain Tumour. There has to be a reason for his behaviour.

It is unfortunate that he has not had a full physical work up and that the owner can not afford it.
 
Faracat said:
Flora, only the owner and people who have seen him IRL know exactly what he is like and how accurate, or not, the description is on here. However I do think that the fact that experienced riders who have seen him, won't ride him, speaks volumes.
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The only thing I would add here, is that I don't think what is needed is an 'experienced' rider, what is needed is a rider who has the skills to retrain a horse, which in my book is a completely different type of person, usually has to be ferreted out and don't come cheaply. I have in the past found some ex-jockeys have the sort of knowledge/stickability skills to help with this type of horse.
 
canteron said:
The only thing I would add here, is that I don't think what is needed is an 'experienced' rider, what is needed is a rider who has the skills to retrain a horse, which in my book is a completely different type of person, usually has to be ferreted out and don't come cheaply. I have in the past found some ex-jockeys have the sort of knowledge/stickability skills to help with this type of horse.
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That is all very well, but she does not know such a person, does not have time or money to sort this out, if it is sortable.
I have enuff horse training skill to sort many horses [provided it is not pain], but there is only so much that can be done in handling etc, a good rider still has to get on it at some stage, and why would they if it is dangerous? Also when things get to this stage two people are better than one. If only to ensure safety of rider.
OP has already said she has limited funds.
There is never a guarantee that any home will be a good home, regardless of whether she sells it for £200 or £2000. The only way you know what has happened to a horse is if you keep it or pts.
 
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Bonkers2 said:
That is all very well, but she does not know such a person, does not have time or money to sort this out, if it is sortable.
I have enuff horse training skill to sort many horses [provided it is not pain], but there is only so much that can be done in handling etc, a good rider still has to get on it at some stage, and why would they if it is dangerous? Also when things get to this stage two people are better than one. If only to ensure safety of rider.
OP has already said she has limited funds.
There is never a guarantee that any home will be a good home, regardless of whether she sells it for £200 or £2000. The only way you know what has happened to a horse is if you keep it or pts.
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I don't disagree with your thoughts in this situation, but I just thought I would point out that the fact that experienced riders don't want to ride it doesn't necessarily mean anything is seriously wrong, it may just mean that they don't have the necessary skill set to deal with the horse. I speak from experience, I had a 'dangerous' horse dumped on me once, I sent him to a person, who was in fact an ex-jockey, with access to good chiros, dentists, etc who assessed the horse and then set about retraining. It all ended well as the horse found a lovely home. In the end the livery bill was just slightly more that what he was sold for. I accept there is a gamble the horse may not turn out right and therefore this may not be an option for OP.
 
However, if the rears were in fact only a foot off the ground (as suggested) and that the horse wasn't dangerous, but the owner exaggerating, I do think that experienced riders not wanting to get on is still pertinent and suggests that there is more to it than exaggeration.
 
As for experienced riders not wanting to get on the horse, OP didn't say whether she was offering them payment, or just offering them a ride. I wouldn't get on a difficult horse for someone unless it was a friend and I thought I could do them a favour and sort it in one or two sessions, or I was being paid to re-school a horse, in which case Id probably need to keep the horse for many weeks.
You are in a 'no win' situation if you ride someone elses horse for nothing- the owner would be wanting to see a 'quick fix' but all you do is make the owner feel bad if you can ride it, or maybe injure yourself or the horse if you can't!
 
OP, I have a Tb mare that hasn't been ridden for about 2 years now who sounded similar to your boy under saddle, she had a full work up which led to remedial shoeing, chiro, physio the full Monty and a lot of money. Whilst these helped to a certain extent it was clear that in some situations she was still too much for us. Now she is just turned away living in a field, luckily as a companion to my friend's mare. Not long after I bought her our EDT offered us meat money for her,( he bought on and sold horses as well)I often wish I had let her go, for both of our sakes, because he might have made her into something really special. Later, we tried LWVTB homes but she came back each time. If someone offers to buy your horse, as long as you're open and honest about him (as you have been) I would let him go.
 
canteron said:
I don't disagree with your thoughts in this situation, but I just thought I would point out that the fact that experienced riders don't want to ride it doesn't necessarily mean anything is seriously wrong, it may just mean that they don't have the necessary skill set to deal with the horse. I speak from experience, I had a 'dangerous' horse dumped on me once, I sent him to a person, who was in fact an ex-jockey, with access to good chiros, dentists, etc who assessed the horse and then set about retraining. It all ended well as the horse found a lovely home. In the end the livery bill was just slightly more that what he was sold for. I accept there is a gamble the horse may not turn out right and therefore this may not be an option for OP.
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It is not an option for the OP because she wants the horse gone quickly because of family problems, that much is apparent from this thread and if she is not happy to sell cheaply surely would not be happy to sell at potentially a huge loss? I wonder if this thread is not about getting help but to make it known the horse is available in the hope someone on here will take it on.

Bonkers2 said:
she says she can t find a retirement place [?],
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The OP says no one will take him so I think she has tried to give him to a charity or give away as a companion, rather than looking for retirement livery.

Anyone who thinks I was harsh telling the OP to PTS how would you feel if it was someone you knew who took on a horse believing it go be merely difficult but in fact was dangerous through pain or temperament and it lead to the death or serious injury of your friend? I feel for potential future owners far more than I feel for someone who will not do the responsible thing, however difficult the OPs life may currently be. Nobody is going to take this horse on unless that think they can fix it. With all the problems described in this thread and all the free or cheap horses available why would anybody want this one? Unless they had been led to believe the problems were not as bad as they are described here. It is a disaster waiting to happen.
 
**UPDATE**
After having more blood test last week we have found that everything is clear for Alfie and I have re-homed him to a lovely lady in Warwickshire as a companion for her 4yr old. He is very happy and having lots of attention. This situation could not of been more heart breaking but also more perfect.
Thank you all for your advice :-)
 
Remind me, what was the blood test going to do?
OP you have "got out of jail free", I suggest you just go and get some riding lessons or maybe a trekking holiday where the horses are "just for the day". As you have discovered, horses are an expensive hobby.
 
Foxy109 said:
**UPDATE**
After having more blood test last week we have found that everything is clear for Alfie and I have re-homed him to a lovely lady in Warwickshire as a companion for her 4yr old. He is very happy and having lots of attention. This situation could not of been more heart breaking but also more perfect.
Thank you all for your advice :-)
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Did you visit the new home, or did they come and pick him up from you?

I sincerely hope this is what you've been told it is, but a six year old high maintenance tb would not be many people's choice of a field companion.
 
You really do need to stick to hamsters if you think a blood test would rule out any problems. I really feel for Alfie. You've just signed him off to a totally uncertain future. I really hope for his sake (not yours, you don't deserve it) that his new owner is genuine. Sadly I fear this horse may be on a downward spiral of sales or Potters.
 
Foxy109 said:
**UPDATE**
After having more blood test last week we have found that everything is clear for Alfie and I have re-homed him to a lovely lady in Warwickshire as a companion for her 4yr old. He is very happy and having lots of attention. This situation could not of been more heart breaking but also more perfect.
Thank you all for your advice :-)
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I just tried to post on your other thread put I think its been pulled.

Cant believe you have come on here practically looking for a free horse after ignoring everyones advice about the poor horse you have just given away, lets just hope his not sold on as a riding horse and seriously hurts somebody. Unbelievable!
 
I wonder if the OP is one of those people who takes FTGH horses then sells them and if they cannot be sold gives them away to anyone that will take them? Nothing about this thread makes sense. If you want to know where to advertise a horse for sale there is no need to come onto a forum to ask where is there? That information is freely available via Google. The blood test post makes no sense in relation to the thread. Then looking for another horse when the reason this one had to go is family problems? So those have miraculously resolved have they? It all smells fishy to me!
 
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