Does your horse have a home for life?

Field ornament????!!!!**!!????

Sometimes things happen to horses, usually because of people, that mean they can't be ridden any more but can still enjoy as close to a natural life as possible. That's the case with one of my 2 horses. But field ornament she aint. It is a pleasure to have brought her back from the brink and to see her now enjoying horse and human company, and to lean on the gate at the end of the day and watch a group of horses just being horses has to be one of the greatest pleasures in life. That doesn't make them field ornaments any more than, say, a red kite drifting on the thermals is a sky ornament. It is simply a deep, quiet enjoyment of the natural world.
 
Intention for Dan yes but he won't become a field ornament as he just wouldn't do that well
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as long as he is rideable I will own him and perhaps loan him out (trying at mo
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) if the time comes where he is permantly unrideable due to reoccurance of his lameness/injury then I will almost certainly have him pts.

Pony wise still have 4 at home which are all on loan with various people but stay at my mum's. one is 30+ one is 25, another 20ish and the last 17. They are there to stay. tricky the 30+ (about 32/33 not 100%!) has been with us since I was one and will never leave, owes me nothing and I owe him everything so he enjoys his happy although slightly blind retirement, although he is still worked lightly to keep him active and mobile to fend off the stiffness. All 4 have provided a lot of kids in the past and present and hopefully in the future to come with a lot of fun and as we have the ability to keep them still there is no point or reason that I would want to sell them.

Others (well one
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) have sold in the past and would happily now buy him back given the oppourtunity to let him live out his golden years because i'm a sentimental softy!
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but as said won't keep a lame horse around as a field ornament, and if couldn't afford to keep them there would be no choice to sell if appropriate.
 
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That doesn't make them field ornaments any more than, say, a red kite drifting on the thermals is a sky ornament. It is simply a deep, quiet enjoyment of the natural world.

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100% disagree!!! A horse kept in a field is there because of humans, a bird is living in its natural environment!
 
One of my mare's is coming up to age 22 this Jan and I intend to keep her for ever. After just splitting up with my husband, having to get a job, new house and rent a field and stables for my horses I feel in a position to say yes.

Fingers crossed nothing will come up to prevent me from that. My mare has given me so much over the years and as an old lady she deserves a lot back.
 
The younger ones no. They would be for sale if the right home came along.

The hysterical arab mare, probably yes, although that would actually be more for welfare reasons than emotional.
 
I would very much like to think they are with me for life...

When I bought Hannah she has been shunted around six times in the space of seven months. I swore to her the day she arrived that she would never again be sold on, as she had so many issues about 'moving' then. Even if we moved into the next stable because it was bigger, she gave herself colic because she was so worked up about it. Now, she will move incredibly easily, and has gone to and from stud several times without any fuss whatsoever. There is also no doubt horses remember... When I went to visit her and Troy at stud she did the biggest whinney when I shouted her name
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When I took on Grace, most of you will already know it was for a 12 months loan period. She had some great paces on her, but I never ever intended on keeping her longer than that time. However, the more I got to know her, the more she started to shine through as the dressage horse I was trying to breed from Hannah... Dad bought her for me in March 2007 and I would like to think she will always be with me as we have so far to go!

Troy was bred for me to keep, so I have no intentions of ever selling him on. I always wanted to breed then I would have a horse from day dot and know exactly what had happened to it, what it had been through, and know I had brought it into the world
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YES ! Well I have had him 25 years now! Did have a pony for 4 years before him whom I out grew. I have had him since I was 14
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He is 30 now and still very much alive and kicking and still a handful at times
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I tend to think he is eternal.......
 
Both of mine have a home for life, and no matter what my circumstances they come first. I've had Maddy 8 years and she's now enjoying her retirement, she had a very rough start to life and has given me and my sister everything she had. When I bought Flash I bought him for keeps, I could never part with him, I think I'm closer to him than any other member of my family
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I have owned Honey for 10 years and due to various issues she has been unrideable for the last 3. However due to her age (29ish) she will be with us til the end. She has a lovely time running with the other ponies, really enjoys being groomed and played with and spends most of the summer with a lady down the road (rent free yay) as a lawnmower.

We have only ever sold 1 horse and it went so badly wrong we would never do it again unless the horse was really not suited to our way of life.
 
I will keep mine as long as I am able to give him what he needs. Things do change in this life and I would hate to try and keep him if I couldn't afford to have him vaccinated, fed, wormed, rugged, shod and whatever else necessary. If it came to the crunch and I wasn't physically or financially able to look after him, I would have to think about what's best for him, not me! In an ideal world, of course Henry will be with me for the duration of his life, be that as a "field ornament" or a riding horse!
 
The bay one will definately be with me until the end (if he keeps biting my friends filly that may be sooner than he thinks, just kidding
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) no-one else will have the stroppy bu**er!
As for the yellow one, that changes on a daily basis
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I get too attached so he'll be with me until the end aswell
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*The_Stropster reaches for the bottle of Prozac*
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Bramble, Teazle, Lottie and Flo will never be sold, they have a home for life.

Rainbow and Phoenix are keepers for now, but depending what they are like as 4yos they might be sold. If I think they have talent they will be kept for a few years and then sold.
 
Depends what i'm offered....everything has a price, so really my answer should be no, they don't have a home for life
 
I couldn't get rid of any of my 3. The shetland i had on loan for the first 2 years for my son, he has now lost interest but i still brought him when his owner decided she needed to sell him, doesn't really have a purpose but i love him!
I would never be able to sell Liz on, a friends daughter has already decided she is going to evercise her if i don't have enough time when the filly has grown up. That's great but at the moment her legs come just pass the saddle flaps!
Bella's only a yearling so as long as she doesn't grow too big, she'll be with me for life.
 
I would love to be able to say that W has a home for life, but in reality I don't think its very likely! He has to keep doing what I ask of him and my circumstances cannot change so that I can't keep horses. I have no idea what could happen in a year's or so time - so who knows!
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To date mine have been with me until the end, apart from Topsy who went to Ada Cole at the age of 32, when mum died (could not cope with pony and bringing up my 4 brothers at 15), she had a happy time doing various things until 39.

Fleur has gone as a broodmare and has been sold for a token amount after several years of loan - she is happy and I have an agreement that she comes back to me if not wanted. She had an injury and was very suitable for the job she now does.

Cairo - we will never get rid of him unless we could not afford to keep him and he would be the last thing to go. Chancer - unless we fall into terrible financial problems, he too will stay to the end.

I have been lucky, my golden oldies have worked and been healthy until the very end.
 
Yep, Jack has a home for life; although I have sold and loaned horses in the past.

Ive had many horses over the years and never bonded with one the way i have him. He has such a massive personality!

Also, tbh, even if i woke up with a burning urge to sell him on, theres no way my OH would let me ;p

We knew when we bought him as a 12 year old that he was starting to hit the point in his life where they become less sellable. I promised my trainer who we bought him from that he'd never leave us and he wont.

Im lucky in that when Jack does need to slow down somewhat, we're in a position to buy me a second to fill the "job" side of the equation.

That said, im hoping he has several, happy working years left in him yet because i cant imagine how difficult it will be trying to find something to fill his shoes.
 
I would like to say he will be yes, but I dont know for sure. It depends if I am still happy doing what I am doing now in years to come, it may be that I want to compete at a higher level than he can, or it may be that I no longer want to compete and want a happy hacker (which he isnt), in which case he would be better suited to someone else. I was about to sell him a few months back when i was at my wits end and totally out of my depth with his napping issues, but thankfully I stuck with it and we have almost overcome this together and I am so glad I never sold him.

At the moment we are both progressing at the same rate and I would like to think I will be able to offer him a home till the end as I love him so much and he has taught me such a lot. I have only ever had one other horse who was sadly pts so I have never had to sell one yet.
 
I hope so, but you never know what might happen - if I became permanently disabled and wasn't able to work then he would have to go, for example.

But I wouldn't sell unless absolutely necessary, even if he couldn't be ridden.

I also wouldn't PTS a healthy young animal in any circumstances.
 
Yes!

However, no-one knows what is around the corner with regards finances, health, family etc. and I absoulutely love George to pieces but my family does come first, and if I couldn't look after him properly I would rather he was in a better home - but I hope this never happens.
 
JM07 i love your honesty! I jokingly mentioned selling mine the other day due to his stupidly increased value and OH and in laws went mental about it, totally ballistic
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As in second sentence of this post I was only joking.......however he may have to go on loan (to hopefully a very dear friend) some time next year as there may be some changes due that enforce that.
 
Lady, I will have for the rest of her life, but I know if anything happened to me she would go baclkt to the rescue centres retirement home.
When I brought Fudge I was planning on giving him a home for life, he's currently being professionally schooled to see if he is capable of being consistant enough to be the RC all rounder I want him to be. If he isn't capable of that, I probably wont sell him. However if my ME and arthritis was ever bad enough that I couldn't ride or work I would have to sell him as he's only 10 and is still green and very cheeky.
 
Mine has an owner for life - me, but I cannot guarantee that he ownt ever be loaned out again so that means he will have different homes. I did used to feel bad about this, but he is such a sweet horse and liked by almost everyone who knows him and he is fun to, but I know that at some point I will want to do more than he can, but I also know that there are plenty of others out there that could benefit from a little bit of Beau
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i love to think i'll have both my boys till the day they die but if the worst came to the worst i'd sell bear but NEVER buddie even though Bears my riding horse and Buddies a pet he's my little man!! ive had him since i was 15 and he has never raised a foot at a human in his life with me and he means everythng to me and my little girl!!
 
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