Do You Think You Owe Your Horse A Retirement?

Absolutely I do. They both mean the world to me. I saw a 27 year old horse for full loan the other day - made me very sad to think of having to part with either of my boys in their twilight years and I hope to be with them till the end of their lives.
 
I think it would be sad to have a horse PTS if they could have a happy retirement.

I will give Badger one - hoping I can afford a house with land by that point!
 
Flame_ said:
No, not really. I'd only keep a horse in retirement because I wanted to, I don't think there is any obligation or debt to repay by doing it.
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Sorry but I think this is bs, but that's probably because I'm a softie. I feel that if you have a horse and it gives you everything, you achieve and enjoy because of this horse, why should you not feel obligated. As I said I'm a softie, my horses/horse is part of my family, I would take care of my parents, why not my horse.

I would have loved the opportunity to have been able to do that for my girl, sadly that was not the case as she became ill when she was still being ridden. However, I would have considered it an honour, I would have enjoyed wrapping her up in her twilight years and making sure she was cared for and happy, and if I could have only afforded one horse, I would have forsaken riding to be able to give this to her. Our horses give us so much, I do believe that we should take care of them in their latter years, and if we are unable to, we should ensure that they will be taken care of or PTS to protect them from harm, we owe them that much.
 
My pony has been pretty much retired for some time now. Tried un retiring him but he was horrified at the thought and is far happier being an utterly useless field ornament :rolleyes: When I get an animal I don't plan on getting it and keeping it for only as long as its useful to me, if for what ever reason it gets retired then I think you should keep them for as long as they are happy and well, you may want to ride but if it came down to it I wouldn't trade my pony in for something younger just so I could ride... hes not a car. I have 3 and the only one fit to be ridden is the mini shetland who unfortunately I would squash so I just don't ride. Yes I would love to have a rideable horse but not at the expense of my current ones.

You don't see people with dogs passing them on when they get old, say they had an agility dog and it got too old and creaky to do that, you wouldn't just give it away so you could get another dog to do agility with. So I can't understand why people do it with horses. I know obviously horses are more expensive to keep but you know that when you get one in the first place.
 
My horses do not get sold/loaned/passed on. Full stop. When any animal comes to us they become family, and whatever their problems they stay with us. If they begin to lose their quality of life and to suffer, they are put to sleep - always at home. If they are just old, they are still treasured and live out quiet lives. At this moment my mare is only 12, but I have a 16 y o dog and an 18+ y o cat

Itghas meant on occasions that I have not had a horse of my own to ride for some years, as I can't afford to keep two - so be it!
 
I'm wouldn't critisise anyone for having a horse PTS though, especially if they were unsound. Much better than selling on or carrying on regardless.

We had one horse who probably could have been retired who we had PTS. I had a few great seasons on him but the responsibility was out of my hands (I was young and he was my dads horse). He was 15 and had lameness issues for a couple of years. He gave us some great fun because he was a very talented horse but was probably the least genuine horse I've ever come across. He was a bad boy!

I think the decisions might have been different had he been a good boy.
 
Honestly?? No I don't think I owe it to them.They get well cared for and protected all the time on my part in exchange for a few hours work per week on their part,seems like a more than fair exchange to me and I don't consider there is a debt on my part to be repaid.

If I could manage to keep either or both as big pets with no purpose then I would for as long as i could,simply because I adore them (well one of them anyway,the other just lives to annoy me so not so enamoured of him lol),but if not i would PTS,as that would be the kindest and most responsible thing,and that much I do owe them.
 
As long as there was no medical reason to PTS yes. I would feel obliged after all the years of companionship and hard work my lad had given me to return with love and affection a happy retirement for his old age. I wouldn't be so callous as to turn him out on his ear after he could no longer do his "job" the way I wanted and would want to keep him till his die-ing day.
Edited to add that to me my horse is a pet not a business venture, I don't compete so my riding is for purely recreational purposes so to me he's the same as my dog, as long as he can live a happy and healthy life in a retirement situation I would not sell him on or PTS
 
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If you can afford it whilst you ride it you can afford to retire it ;)

Ok bit simplistic but as long as the horse can cope I personally belive some retirement is deserved. Not talking about people who loose jobs/incomes etc but having one PTS to make way for a newer model :mad: Maybe I'm a softy but that doesn't sit right.
 
While I accept and understand that there are a million worse things that can happen to a healthy horse than being PTS, it still makes me a tad sad.

I hope that my two will be with us forever. We have our own land and yard, so thats one obstacle, but it will still be hard work.. Personally I prefer the looking after them, watching them and general owning to the riding, given a choice.
 
Not read the replies, but yes my horse(s) will all get their retirement. End off. I would simply make it happen, there is (in my mind) no alternative.
 
Yes - but to a point - obviously the horses health, ability to provide retirement, and fund it need to be considered. if I found myself in financial difficulties, I would look at options.

We have a 30 year old horse and he is slowing down, by himself away from the herd, getting stiff, a few minor health issues. I am aware that at some point, I may just have him PTS before his condition drops off.

We have 7 horses and nee dto get down to 5 horses for the paddocks and as a result of seperation from OH.

I will wait as long as I can - but really he has basically been retired 7 years, I feel like he has had a good life. He does not owe us. I would not feel bad about PTS.
 
Yes. Absolutely. You find the money. My oldest is 32 and has been retired for 10 years and I have 2 x teenaged ponies who won't be going anywhere.
 
I have a 19 yr old tb who is 'retired' in that he doesn't do anything more than hacking anymore. He's really happy, well and deserves a nice time now he's a bit older. He broke his leg 2 years ago and we never gave up on him. Back then we would have done anything for him to just get better so now it's a huge bonus to still have him. He'll be a pampered boy for the rest of his days. I'm hoping we can do nice hacks for a good few years yet as he likes going out and he is so much happier and healthier for it, but if not we'll let him retire in style and just be a pampered boy and will go out for in hand walks instead!!

However, my other pony causes me lots of worries. I bought him to make sure he would be safe and happy knowing he had probable future health issues and lots of behaviour issues. He's currently lame - I'm hoping its just something minor / he's tweaked something in the field. My issue with him is he would not cope with box rest for injuries or with being retired. I haven't been able to ride since sat and already he's becoming a bit of a nightmare. He gets bored, frustrated and grumpy. I bring him in when I ride my other boy - and yesterday he just box walked and got himself in a total stress until we got back. (Leaving him out isn't an option either). When he's stressed his sweet itch gets worse too so yesterday he was rubbing himself badly because he was getting anxious. He's just a little stress head that gets himself worried. He used to be a jumping pony before I got him and when he stopped winning was literally left in a field and not bothered with anymore. As a result he has awful anxiety about being left anywhere alone and gets very stressed about all sorts of things.

He certainly won't ever be a happy hacker or a happy field ornament, so if he had to be retired I'd have to say goodbye to him. It would break my heart as despite all his terrible habits and hard work behaviour I love the little man dearly - which is why I would not allow him to be unhappy and stressed, so I will do the right thing for him not for me.

Also there's nothing wrong with selling a happy hacker in their later teens - lots of people want an older quieter horse to hack so a perfect partnership could be formed!
 
It would be interesting to see if the people on here who don't feel they have a responsibility to their elderly horses would feel the same about a dog. Would they be prepared to sell an elderly dog or would they keep them to the end. If not why do they feel a horse is any different? Just a thought.
 
Yes definitely, he has already given me 8 happy years and hopefully will give many more. When he is no longer able to be ridden the least I can do is give him a happy and safe retirement.
 
I had my old boy put to sleep in te autumn. Much as I would have lied to have kept him for his retirement, ultimately I wanted to ride, and couldn't afford two at livery, especially as a poor diet with bad feet he would need hard feed Nd shoein year round even out of work. He was also lame to the point that there was no way I could even lightly hack him, although he was ok in the field. So I did pts to make room for the new one, but I will always feel sad and a little guilty as he was my heart horse. But I would never have just passed him on as a companion - he was always going to end his life with me one way or another.
 
Also, about why horses are different to dogs? Because they are a hell of a lot more expensive, and unlike if your passion is walking, you can't just carrying on riding alone without it once it can't cope any more. Paying for retirement livery, especially for ones like mine that still need shoeing and lots of hard feed, isn't like paying to keep your old dog going!! They make very expensive pets, if that's all their going to be ..
 
I would always have said yes, but having kept my old horse for 30 years, I think my view has altered slightly.

I owned my chap from a 4 year old and although he slowed down gradually, I continued riding him until he was 32 - just light hacking.

He then spent 2 years fully retired in the field. I don't think for one minute he was miserable, but I wouldn't keep another as long. He missed the daily attention and routine of being brought up, groomed, fussed with. He slowed right down when I stopped riding him, lost a lot of muscle and got stiffer. He began to get anxious when others were brought out of the field and I think he missed having a 'job' to do. And I think once you stop riding it is difficult to notice those small, but important changes in an old horse.

I think I kept my old horse for me and because I wasn't really brave enough to make the decision. I now think there is something to be said for PTS rather than retiring (completely) to the field.
 
paddi22 said:
I think you DO owe them a debt though. They aren't machines. I think it's like a marriage, for better or worse. If you take on the responsibility and enjoy the good years with them, then you have to support them in the older years.
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On the whole I agree with this morally it does not sit right with me when people just throw away their long serving horses when they are of no use to them. Whether that is by selling when the horse is unlikely to get a good home or just by PTS like you would dump and old coat in the bin it feels wrong to me.

However there are circumstances when the horse may become too expensive to keep esepecially with medical conditions and peoples lives do change and then sometimes difficult decisions have to be made. I would not think this as morally wrong as human lives are as important.

Personally I really hope I have my 18yr old into his twilight years even if it means I cannot ride. He is more to me than something to ride and has given me many years of fun and happiness and I love just being with him. He makes me laugh and smile every day.
 
Crugeran Celt said:
It would be interesting to see if the people on here who don't feel they have a responsibility to their elderly horses would feel the same about a dog. Would they be prepared to sell an elderly dog or would they keep them to the end. If not why do they feel a horse is any different? Just a thought.
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You do get people who abandon dogs to get a new puppy though, even if they're a family pet. Just awful.

Personally, I couldn't live with my conscience if I PTS a healthy, sound horse who simply couldn't compete to the level it used to. Fair enough if horse is on extensive medication, or unsound, but if its just simply getting a bit older - no. I'm no happy hacker and mainly ride to compete, but I couldn't live with myself if I had a good horse killed just to put me in a position to win a few more rosettes. I don't think rosettes are as important as a life.

Just a different stage of horse ownership, not necessarily any less rewarding.
 
Very much depends on the horse! If they have worked hard then yes retire, also if they are happy to live out their later years with little interference. We had an old boy on our last yard who was a big old hunter, died aged about 30 and to his last week was a devil to catch. I've had a few though that wouldn't cope well without the attention and enjoy being worked.
 
Agree with all of this, I don't like seeing a horse sent to the scrapheap like an old car. I think there is a moral responsibility, though obviously circumstances can change.
I looked after my 2 horses from my childhood/teens until they were PTS at 30+ and 27 due to ill health.
Couldnt afford a riding horse at the same time but that's life.
Currently got 1 retired 12yo who would hate to be brought back into a work and a retired 20yo.

sussexbythesea said:
On the whole I agree with this morally it does not sit right with me when people just throw away their long serving horses when they are of no use to them. Whether that is by selling when the horse is unlikely to get a good home or just by PTS like you would dump and old coat in the bin it feels wrong to me.

However there are circumstances when the horse may become too expensive to keep esepecially with medical conditions and peoples lives do change and then sometimes difficult decisions have to be made. I would not think this as morally wrong as human lives are as important.

Personally I really hope I have my 18yr old into his twilight years even if it means I cannot ride. He is more to me than something to ride and has given me many years of fun and happiness and I love just being with him. He makes me laugh and smile every day.
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Perissa died in my arms.

Minnie aged 30, Holly aged 26 and Ailsa aged 25 will be with me for the rest of their lives.

As will Dennis 13 and Morris 10.

I have never sold a horse in my life and don't intend to start now.
 
With my mare, we attempted retirement and she got depressed, I'd rather have her PTS next time than watch her wither away slowly tbh. It depends on the horse, for her, retirement is not a happy subject and would be a slow death, no horse deserves that. So after her new jockey gives up and there's no one left that can/will ride her, or she breaks some more, she will probably have a summer and then PTS.

Might sound cruel, but it's the best thing for her. My mini shetlands, however, love being out of work, so they deserve retirement (though you can't really retire a companion), I'm hoping to get a jockey for one of them and break the other to drive or do inhand showing at a local level, his markings are almost symmetrical and he's a handsome boy :) I guess after all of their adventures, they could be retired themselves. They cost less than £30 a month, and that's only because we don't have much grass and two large horses that scoff it all!
 
In an ideal world everyone would keep their oldies until it was time for them either to pass away or be pts, but people can't always afford to do this, especially as some horses end up being retired for many many years.
However, I don't think it's fair when people try to pass on an elderly/unridable horse either to a dealer, unsuspecting buyer or sanctuary and then go out and buy a new horse - I can understand why they do it, I just think it's ducking out and passing the buck.
 
Yes and no. I have an 18 yo capable of light riding only. I've had him since he was 9 and told by a vet then to put him down. He will not leave me. If my circumstances change then PTS. He's happy with his routine and makes it easy. I also have a 14 yo ex broodmare who also owes me nothing. She is here for the long haul as well. Again I can afford to and it's what I want to do. I have 3 younger ones. 2 in work and one not old enough yet. Can't see any of those leaving either. One of the reasons I stopped breeding in the first place. I have a hard time selling.

I said no as well because some people don't have a choice. Circumstances changs, only room for one, can only afford one,ect. I just hope they do the right thing and not pass them on. But it just depends. A schoolmaster has value. Horses with issues are difficult to place.

Terri
 
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