Does your life experiences/upbringing influence

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vennessa

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your views on horses?
i.e. Sentimentality, horse is for work if not pts etc.
I have these mad thoughts whilst poo picking. Many people have different views and i was just wondering how they are formed.
Nothing too personal just if it has, and how if not too personal.
P.S. No nasty comments please
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if you don't like what someone says, just ask about it and why they have that view if you need to comment.
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Yes I personally think it does. Depends where you are brought up and how you are brought up. Don't think either is 'right or wrong' just different for different reasons.
 
Yes, my childhood certainly did. My dad was a vet and we lived in France so we had a lot of land and space. Sometimes he even did his house calls on horseback! He is very matter of fact about life and death, and if the animal is not having quality of life he would always recommend putting to sleep. We took on a lot of stray animals because we could afford to and they lived out their lives with us. But he was always very firm with me that I shouldn't have an animal, horse, cat or dog, unless I was prepared to look after it until it died. If I couldn't afford that, I shouldn't have one. He used to get upset if he saw neglected animals but he was philosophical about it - you can't help every animal out there but the ones that you come into contact with, you should do your best for them. So I only have as many horses as I can afford and they will stay with me for life. But I do harass all my friends and family into taking on the waifs and strays I can't afford!
 

I think it is more your own way of thinking tbh (but life experiences and influences have an effect on that). Hard to say as my parents were not horsey at all. We had pets for life though but for me horses are different because of the amount of work and the financial strain they can put on your life.

It also depends massively on circumstances and individuals. I have three horses - if the one that I ride could not be worked I would not keep her. My broodmare however will never ever be sold.

That said, if she became sick and it was ongoing she would be PTS. I would not be prepared to remortgage my house or get myself into financial difficulties to give my horse an operation that he/she may not survive.

This may seem harsh to others but I will not put a horse before a human I love or before my own wellbeing.
 
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Yes, my childhood certainly did. My dad was a vet and we lived in France so we had a lot of land and space. Sometimes he even did his house calls on horseback! He is very matter of fact about life and death, and if the animal is not having quality of life he would always recommend putting to sleep. We took on a lot of stray animals because we could afford to and they lived out their lives with us. But he was always very firm with me that I shouldn't have an animal, horse, cat or dog, unless I was prepared to look after it until it died. If I couldn't afford that, I shouldn't have one. He used to get upset if he saw neglected animals but he was philosophical about it - you can't help every animal out there but the ones that you come into contact with, you should do your best for them. So I only have as many horses as I can afford and they will stay with me for life. But I do harass all my friends and family into taking on the waifs and strays I can't afford!

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Must have been lovely to go to work on horseback.
Some good views.
 
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I think it is more your own way of thinking tbh (but life experiences and influences have an effect on that). Hard to say as my parents were not horsey at all. We had pets for life though but for me horses are different because of the amount of work and the financial strain they can put on your life.

It also depends massively on circumstances and individuals. I have three horses - if the one that I ride could not be worked I would not keep her. My broodmare however will never ever be sold.

That said, if she became sick and it was ongoing she would be PTS. I would not be prepared to remortgage my house or get myself into financial difficulties to give my horse an operation that he/she may not survive.

This may seem harsh to others but I will not put a horse before a human I love or before my own wellbeing.

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It is a different way to me but can totally understand your view. It is good to hear peoples reasons, gives you something to think about.
 
Yes, but once or twice he got bucked off (it was a rescue Selle Francais) and his transport arrived home for dinner before he did... I bet a Peugeot wouldn't do that..
 
All our horses generally are kept for life although we have sold 2 as one was an outgrown pony with plenty more to give another child (which he has done) and another who didn't really want to do the sort of work we wanted and needed a less pressured environment really - ie no jumping!

So far we have 4 of our horses buried in the field and yes i dread the day I have to make 'that' decision but I think you knwo when you've done all you can for them. I would though resort to credit cards etc if my horse now became ill and needed an operation or whatever because I feel I owe that much to him at lthe very least although that would be now, he is 17 and in my mind has many years left. If he was a fair bit older then no, i wouldn't put him through anything traumatic like that.
 
Yes and no, I come from a horsey family, my Dad and Grandad had driving ponies, my Grandad actually ran a horse drwan removal company at a time when after WW2 people were moving out of the city and to the surrounding areas. I have always ridden, but drove as a child aswell. So when I see people talking about horses being 'tired' the day after a lesson I chuckle, I wouldnt want to see a horse worked to death but their is no harm in them doing a decent shift daily, it adds to the variety of their life and increases stimuli. I am not sure about PTS because they dont have a job to do, some horses can live out their days in a field, others would be very unhappy, that is an entirely personal choice.
In an ideal world all horses would do something purposeful everyday, but life is far from ideal!
 
I love my horses and give them the best I can afford to. But at the end of the day, I keep horses to compete, not to look at in a field. I dont have acres of lush grazing to turn ancient things out on.
If a horse has reached the end of its useful working life and I feel there's no chance it'd be useful for someone else, I'd PTS.

I'm quite realistic about injuries as well. In my opinion, a years box rest or 3 months immobility is no quality of life for a horse and would rather end it sooner than later. If I cant afford to pay for major colic surgery then it's PTS then, not 12 hours later when poor thing is in more pain.

My relatives send horses to slaugherhouse which I have no problem with.

Selling horses is logical if horse doesnt have a job for me but could for someone else. If I think there's a chance it'll just end up on a downward spiral then I'd rather PTS.
 
I agree that nobody is right or wrong. When I first started working as a Vet nurse I did have fixed opinions but very quickly found out what is right for one person is not right for someone else. The first horse I owned was a disaster from the outset...I was 13 and through a serious of naughty and very wicked ponies I was lacking in confidence - she was a TB x race horse (hindsight is a wonderful thing!). But within 3months of having her (She passed 5 stage vetting) she was lame with what was later found to be progressed DJD. With rest time and lots of money spent on her she came right but with lots of bouts of lameness inbetween - then came intermittent colic (spring and Autum) then, (yes there is lots more) she pulled a tendon horrifically and time was the only thing I could give her.
When it became obvious she was never going to be 100% I decided to buy another horse...But with the understanding that if this one went wrong or wasn't right for me it would go. The first horse when sound enough became a hack which she adored I had no more of the issues of bolting, bucking rearing I'd had before; if she wasn't ridden for weeks on end she ws very happy in the field. I eventually lost her to colic in Nov' 05. After all she'd been through I knew the time was right for her.
The Horse I have now (in my picture) would not retire, she hates being out in the field for more than half a day, I've tried roughing her off in the winter and end up with a very unhappy, grumpy mare.
As with us all horses are different, personal circumstances often dictate, I think its better to do PTS than leave a horse with a life of uncertainty after it has finished serving us. The charities have more than enough to deal with than have all our old faithful friends aswell - I do have the firm belief that we have a responsibilty to them once they get old
 
I think I have always been a "if he needed to be PTS then as a responsible owner I would hope I had the courage to make the decision" type bod.

I think I became a little bit more "hard nosed" at uni, which was an agricultural college. I hung around with alot of farmers for whom the death of animals be it by illness or humane slaughter was a way of life day in day out...... theres no real grief when a bunch of cows however friendly go off to slaughter, thats what they are there for. So I think that if I owned a horse now I might be inclined to have it PTS if it could no longer be ridden say (and I couldnt find it a compainion home, or whatever).

Having said all that i will still never forgive the people who loaned my old boy for having him PTS without my knowledge, and for not giving me the chance to say goodbye! (it wasnt a horrific accident which meant it had to be done immediately)
 
I think life experiences etc do influence everything we do. Not sure how mine specifically effect my views on sentimentality with horses.

My view is that my horse has a home for life, as far as possible, and I would have him as a 'field ornament' in his later days rather than PTS if he couldn't be ridden.

This is purely because I am a 'leisure' horse owner/rider - I do it for fun! I don't seriously compete and I own a horse firstly because I love horses (always have, from a young age with a definately non-horsey family) and secondly because I enjoy riding.

My horse, to me, is a big pet. I don't think any less of those who have them as competition animals and I don't expect these people to think any less of me.

I also am of the opinion that sometimes PTS is the most responsible thing we can do for our horses, when pain and suffering means they have a poor quality of life.
 
I guess I'm somewhere between you and Arwen...
We've had horses since i was a kid, my parents learnt to ride not long after they were married, and my sister and i learnt from about the age of 4. We were always encouraged to help on a day to day basis, although they all lived out as much as possible. we usually did unless it was pouring with rain, or parents were in a hurry.
We've been very lucky with all our pets and horses in terms of very few injuries or illnesses.
But hens get killed by foxes, the cat kills mice and rabbits (even stoats!) and Mum and Dad were always careful to point out that it isn't wrong, that its part of life, and that we should do our best to let things be.
When my Mum's old hunter lost his quality of life through arrthritis at the age of 29, they explained to us (i was 13 i think, and my sister would have been 10) what was going to happen and that we should go and say goodbye before we went to school (Christmas Church Service at the end of term - 19th December 1995). Sure we were upset and it was a hundred times worse later that day because my welsh cob was cantering round the field looking for him, but because we understood that he couldn't have been enjoying his retirement if he was in pain all the time and that it wasn't fair to keep hin on pain killers, we accepted that it was the right thing to do and put our energy into looking after the others.

I don't find illness or injury of any pet particularly distressing - in the sense that I just cope with it rather than panicing, or being squeamish. We've been taught to do our level best by any animal, without bankrupting ourselves, or letting the animal suffer unnecessarily.
 
I love my horses, and they have the best of everything i can afford, but they are far to expensive to keep just as pets and i love competing, i have bought and sold quite a few, and i always try and make sure they go to good homes, and most of the people i have sold to regularly keep me updated which i really enjoy to hear, my old broodmare is with me until the end of her days as she has been a very valuble servant and owes me nothing, her daughter i plan to keep too. My parents are compleately non horsey, and are very sentimental over animals, i tend to look at things more realistically.
 
I love my horses and as a leisure rider, I would keep one or both of mine if they were no longer rideable as I feel that I should look after them for life.
However, if I had brought a horse I was incompatable with I would sell them to a more suitable home.
If either of mine were badly injured and likely to have to be on box rest for months or probably never recover from an injury, or be left in constant pain I would have them PTS.
I guess my upbringing (working class, unhorsey family) means that I would never take on an animal if I couldn't give it the time and money needed and wasn't prepared to commit to giving it a home for life.
I also believe that you should put the best interests of an animal before your own.
 
As I have got older I have become less sentimental. I dont abide cruelty, but I dont for instance see anything wrong in eating horse meat. I dont see this as any different to lamb, beef etc. What I do believe is the animal deserves to be well cared for & humanly pts. If I could not afford them then they would have to be sold. I dont look on the horses as pets as such, but I would do my damndest not to sell Mo. Having been made redundant for the 1st time in my life, I dont take things for granted.
 
Ours have homes for life, on the understanding that they are still enjoying life. We had our old Appy (in her 30's) pts at home in November 2007, as we felt she would not be happy over the winter. We are not sentimental about the remains and her body was taken to the knackers.
 
My family are not horsey, although reasonably strong animal lovers.

I feel that as a child and now adult brough up with a healthy respect for animals I have a very soft approach for animals and as such believe I will keep horses for life. When Tyler gets to the age where he can no longer compete, I will get a youngster to compete.
 
When I was 12, I used to ride a pony for a kid who couldn't ride one side of it. One day, he broke his leg in a fall (with her) and stood waiting in a box to be pts.
Her mother took her home.
My father was so disgusted, he said, he knows you. He loves and trusts you. Someone has to be with him at the end. My dad and the YO of the Riding School where this pony was kept (who was my hero and mentor, after my dad) came with me, but I stood with him, stroking his nose, until the end.
My dad told me no one who hasn't the courage to see it through deserves a horse, or a dog, or anything or anyone else. Love demands courage.
Then again, when you were tiny and you'd bang your head on a table, and all your aunties would say 'ooh, naughty table', my dad would say 'don't be so b** daft. the table didn't move, you walked into it, you dopey child.'

Yes I'd say life experiences and upbringing make all the difference in the world.
 
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