Downgrade, carry on, on or retire?

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kanter

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I have a dilemma regarding what to do with my horse. I got LOU for him 3 or 4 years ago for a foot injury that meant he couldnt event any more. He also has back and SI problems. The vets originally said he would do no more than light hack so I brought him back in to work with view with putting him on loan or selling him but couldnt go through with it in the end for various reasons. I started to do some BD with him and with much dedication we got up to to Medium level where he was getting mid 60's. He is not really able to collect but gets by with a nice accurate test. Last autumn we started playing around with flying changes, but in retrospect I think it was a bit much for him and he broke
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He had his back injected and I have been slowly bringing him back into work the last few months. Meanwhile I have a young horse that I bought with the LOU money which is now 6 and really needs more work, and with a full time job I am struggling with time and money to do them both justice.

Here is the dillemma: do I sell the young horse , which is much more naturally talented than the older one but also more challenging to ride, and focus on getting the old boy back into work properly and do a few more seasons doing mediums on him, knowing that he is working at his limit, and that we are unlikey to qualify for anything or progress further? The alternative is to retire the old horse, I can just about afford to keep him if he's not in work as he is a real good doer and would pretty much live out. It would seem a shame as he is only 12 and does enjoy his work. The final option is that a friend of mine who has been hacking him out for the last two years has said she would like him on loan, to get some competition experience. He would stay on current yard. Since BD points have changed he is back in Elementary and as my friend hasnt competed BD before he would be in the restricted section and so there would be much less pressure on him both physically and mentally, and I would ba able to help my friend ride him to make sure he did the right sort of work to keep him sound. My only worry is that he needs regular physio and joint supplement which is expensive so he's not a cheap horse to maintain - is it fair to ask a loanee to cover these costs? Also will I regret it when I'm bouncing around on my naughty young horse and she is swaning around having a lovely time on my beautifully schooled and well-behaved old boy?!

Just realised how looooong this is. Thanks if you're still here
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Loan him - he can have some fun without pressure on his fitness/body and you can focus on your youngster contently knowing that your old boy is loved and looked after. Discuss the costs of his supplements and extras with the loanee, I'm sure you'll come to an agreement
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I would personaly retire your old boy and work on your youngster. You don't know how long you have left with your old one and if it's not that long, you might regret selling your youngster and will have to buy another one.
 
Loan your horse out, if your friend is already aware of the situation then surely she will be fine to cover the costs to keep him in work - she will be benefiting from riding him after all. Plus she will be getting a 'free' horse that is good to do a pretty good level of dressage on really and you said is a nice horse to do etc.
You will then get to have fun and spend time lots of time with the new one, and making him to be just as good/even better than your old boy - he won't replace him maybe, but you will get to hav lots more fun.

Just a thought on what I might do
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I would loan your old horse as you friend sounds ideal to take him on (you may want to come to some agreement over the physio etc tho) and enjoy your youngster. Youo could probably still have the occasional sit on your old boy so you don't feel like you have lost him completely but it will take the pressure off you to play with your youngster and go qualify for something exciting
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Let your friend have him and keep him in the custom he is used to. You are lucky to have found someone and it will be the best for him.Turning him out he will go downhill, pushing him to do more advanced work will aggravate his weakness. Let her have fun and you get on with your new horse .
If she can't afford the extra cost you could go halves with it.
 
Loan him but make sure the loaner fully understand the costs and treatments he requries , write down how often he must have these treatments and that if he does not have them you will terminate the load immediatly.

Or something like that? IF its too much money for your friend perhaps you could agree to contribute the money you'd be spending on him if he were retired?

I'd defintily investigate this loan option first.
 
loan him, he clearly enjoys competing... i think you need to sit down and talk seriously to your friend about her having him on loan sounds like the ideal choice to let her have him though
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Yes, loan him out, you have had a lovely few bonus years with him but ultimately you have reached the end of the line. With your youngster you still have it all to come and that's where I would want to put my time and effort.
 
Yes I had thought of that.

My friend would have to have him on assisted or part livery due to her work schedule, so I did think of asking her to pay me the part livery rather than YO, then I would continue to look after him as he is no trouble to do, and could absorb the physio and supplements within that cost ie she would pay me £80pw (that is the part livery fee) and I would pay the DIY livery, bedding, hay, feed , supplements and physio out of that plus look after him when she is unable to. I would also help her with him FOC and provide transport fro competitions. Does that sound fair?
 
Sounds like a great idea
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. Have done a simular thing with my old eventer. He is on loan to a friend and staying at the same yard. He is having a great time competing at a lower level and friend is getting a huge amount of experience.
 
sounds very fair too me.
I am probably way off track here, but in your first post I sensed a little hesitation with regards to the young horse? Is he a little more of a handful than you would ideally like?? If so there is one other option, loan the old faithful to your friend, sell the youngster and buy something else

Sorry if I was totally wrong there
 
No the young horse is not too much for me ability wise, just a bit sharp and hyperactive and I dont always feel like getting on her after a hard days work as she knows just exactly how to wind me up (my friend says she has eaten too many blue smarties
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). I am not sure she has the right temperament for dressage, which is what I wnat to do now, so yes I may well sell her as she has a phenomenal jump and may be better off eventing. However at the moment she is lacking consistent work as I only have time to ride one of them on a week day so she may settle down given more regular work. You are right though, I think this has to be a separate decision to what I do with the other horse.
 
I think you have answered your own question in a way, if you have thought out this option for your old horse you have obviously been considering it, to me it sounds like a great solution, and I agree once the youngster is in regular work she may turn into the horse you want, if not she will be much easier to sell and you can replace her with something more able to do what you want. Good luck
 
Agree with the advice but would add one thing: make sure you get all loan details down in writing and you and friend both sign it and keep copies: especially as it all sounds quite complicated! You hear lots of horror stories where misunderstandings occur but I loaned out my old eventer (all details in writing) and never had any problems at all. Good luck!!
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Thanks for the feedback guys, seems pretty unanimous, and reading all your posts has really helped clarify things. As a few of you have pointed out I guess I'm really lucky to have someone that wants to take on my lovely horse as he is not without issues. We are going to have a serious chat about it this weekend to sort out the details. Although it will be really sad not to be riding him myself any more in a funny way I am looking forwards to seeing him out competing at a level that is comfortable for him
 
I agree with the loan plan... and think you are being more than fair... all I would say is don't "throw in" transport to events... its not unreasonable for her to pay a contribution to the costs of running your lorry/car when she has a lift !!

Good luck!
 
OMG I can see your dilema
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Would you consider sharing both your horses with your friend? The reason I ask is that you obvioulsy adore your older boy and feel totally at home on him and the younger one may be more of a challenge. If you are very ambitious or a professional I can understand why you would want to pass your older boy on so you can compete at 'your' level but not being a professional I always feel that it's my responsibility to look after them even if I can't do what I want on them - I think I must be a bit mad
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OMG I can see your dillema
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Would you consider sharing both your horses with your friend? The reason I ask is that you obvioulsy adore your older boy and feel totally at home on him and the younger one may be more of a challenge. If you are very ambitious or a professional I can understand why you would want to pass your older boy on but not being a professional I always feel that it's my responsibility to look after them even if I can't do what I want on them - I think I must be a bit mad
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Having read your post again I think I agree with others - let your friend have him on loan
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