Do you owe your horse a retirement?

QR
There are so many downsides to keeping older horses though - they cost as much to run as a younger horse if not more - extra feed, more care, more rugs etc.
They are difficult to insure.
Yard owners/vets don't like them as they don't see the point in using up valuable livery spaces/fields/time on them.
You can spend endless amounts of money on them - and eventually they all die anyway as nothing is immortal except suffering.
Would you not be better off speeding them on their way and buying a nice car?
S
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I could never have sold my old horse. He had too many ongoing conditions to make him worth anything so he stayed with me until he developed an untreatable condition when he was PTS. If I had been less sentimental he would have been PTS when his problems that ended his ridden career were diagnosed. Selling was never an option.
 
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QR
Yard owners/vets don't like them as they don't see the point in using up valuable livery spaces/fields/time on them.


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How does that work - do you get a discount on livery/vet bills once they get old?
 
The horse I have now I would absolutely keep him until his dying day - but I haven't felt this about every horse I've had nor have I been in the position to offer it.

Horses and peoples circumstances vary - some older horses make great first horses for novice riders - if noone ever sold them what would they have to buy?
 
Oh what an emmotive subject!

Yogi suffered a tear to his DDFT when he was nine and I was told he could never be ridden again. He taught me more than I ever thought possible in the four years I rode him though and I feel I do owe him a retirement.

This however means that I cannot afford another horse as he is at livery (plus twins at university kind of soak up any spare cash). Oneday I will have another horse to ride and fulfill my dreams but Yogi will continue to enjoy his retirement at the horsey Hilton. I will not pass him on, although I might consider a companion loan provided I could have access.

JDx
 
After 20 odd years of knowing the horse world I wouldnt ever sell on an old horse, loan yes if they were working fit. But then you never know whats around the corner and what circumstances bring I spose
 
I always said they'd get another summer to enjoy but wouldn be pts after that. And along came my current chap ... And I have changed my mind. He'll stay and be loked after in his old age (as long as I can afford it of course)
 
Most definately
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my lad has given me so many yrs of happiness and pleasure that i feel the least he deserves is to be spoilt rotten in retirement by me
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I have one that I have owned for 28.5 years he's 29, he is now fully retired due to arthritus, he's totally sound an d loves going out with his gf, we do shw him in hand occasionally when some one is feeling brave, he will stay with us until he is time is up, he has given u so many years of service he deserves it.
 
i personally will keep V forever if i can, i think if they work hard for you the least we can do is provide a safe comfortable retirement, saying that i dont think badly of people who do sell, their circumstances may change they may no longer be able to afford their horse anymore. If the horse is still sound i see no problem in selling on. howver if they have lameness or health issues i think i'd rather pts than sell on. Say if i lost my job and could no longer afford him i'd take these things into account when making the desicion. I hope it will never come to that.
 
I think we owe our shire a retirement, we brought him ten years ago and he has worked damn hard in that time doing wagon rides and weddings etc, he is slightly stiff in one hind leg now and does;nt cope so well with long days pulling grocks about, he is twenty three now and can still be ridden but we don;t do the rides with him any more. We owe him he dose'nt owe us anything.
 
i hope my post hasnt sparked this of shils !

my lad came to me after being retiered from his hard working life,so he could live out his days being pampered like a baby of which he has,but due to his hard working life he has ended up with the problems he has now,i have 4 horses and he is no way a drain on my finances,i prob love him more than all of them and will be devastated beyond believe but i dont want him to be in pain any more than he has to,basically he came to me for his retirement what more can i do ?
 
I've not read the replies but I personally feel we owe it to them to keep and look after them until their end.
 
Agree with you I would never sell on a horse that I didn't think had a good future with someone else and would never sell on a horse if it were unsound. This would include not selling an elderly horse. I was thinking more along the lines of late teens rather than twenties plus.
 
I owed him everything. He was a veteran when I bought him, and after 11 years of racing, and 5 years of giving me fun, tears, and brimming confidence, he never got the chance to retire. He worked up until 3 weeks before he was PTS. So I gave him the second best thing which was a massive dose of bute, and a full pain free day in the field. I tried to do the best I could for him, and my final thank you was having him PTS with his head in my lap.
But I am soft over him, he was the horse of a lifetime, and the last horse I loved. I won't ever get that attached again
 
I would like my horse to have a retirement but shes not having any of it!!! Doesnt jump/ compete any more but still loves being ridden especially if near the beach....!!!
 
It is morally right for me to keep my old horses because they have been good horses to me in their glory days and now it is my time to give them their retirement. I dont think it is morally wrong for other people to sell on their old horses. I think situations dictate what is practical. If they can find a great home for their old horse then why not? There are plenty people out there who will take on old horses and care for them. Ive read about a number of people on this forum taking on really ancient horses and given them lovely homes. I think most people do what they can and they try their best for all of their horses not just their old ones.
 
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But you wouldn't keep a car that didn't run any longer - so why keep a horse which can't be ridden any more?
And if you can only afford one horse, then is it right to put your old, unsound horse down so you can have one to ride?
After all, you only live one life and have a right to enjoy it.
S
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I think keeping the car depends on whether you have space for it or not! (you have not seen OH's garages full of junk)
 
QR I will let you know in a few years.

What I can say is I am now responsible for whatever happens to Frank (17) in the future and I will make sure I remain responsible. Whether he will have a 'retirement' as such remains to be seen but it will be there if he needs it.
 
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But you wouldn't keep a car that didn't run any longer - so why keep a horse which can't be ridden any more?
And if you can only afford one horse, then is it right to put your old, unsound horse down so you can have one to ride?
After all, you only live one life and have a right to enjoy it.
S
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Oh Shills
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As stated on your other post. Because I strongly feel I have a duty of care towards my horse, the sort of duty I don't feel towards my inanimate object car. If Percy the Polo costs me more to fix than to replaceme I won't hesitate to dispose of it in the most appropriate and humane manner
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I don't feel it is ethical to PTS just because a horse is old or cannot work any more. We hope to have a good 15-20 years of work out of a horse, but if that doesn't happen or if it goes on past that, tough boots, your oldie is golden and still deserves a life if he has enough quality to enjoy it
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Get a share, get a lesson once a week, help a friend to get your riding kicks, but don't shoot for the hell of it!
 
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QR

Yard owners/vets don't like them as they don't see the point in using up valuable livery spaces/fields/time on them.

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I don't know about my Vet, but half my Boarders are oldies on retirement, so this YO, does, in fact, like them business wise. I don't have riding horses here. I don't care how much space they take up, they pay my bills, and in return get treated with the same care and consideration as my own horses.

Interesting thread Shilasdair
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I have always happily retired my horses ( provided they are happy and reasonably healthy to enjoy their retirement)

If not I PTS at home with dignity
 
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I've not read the replies but I personally feel we owe it to them to keep and look after them until their end.

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Exactly, it seems that everyone that has replied does, it is just the timing of the end that varies from person to person, situation to situation.

I still stand by my belief that a horse does not KNOW that it is his last day on earth, therefore a 'week, or month' too early isn't going to bother him.
 
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Is it morally right to sell on an older horse, or do we owe them a retirement?
Views, please (but be nice - no biting
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S
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If something is truly 'in your heart' then you could never sell on or give away, I find this question ludicrous, would you sell your granny? your dog? etc etc
 
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