Each to their own but thought it was still a bit mean.

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proctor

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Me and one of the other liveries were chatting about my horse the other day, and another livery came into the room and joined in the convo, she then asked me how old my horse was, so I said 18. She said oh but you've not had him long, so I said no, only had him a year but he's great and doesn't act his age at all. Anyway she then went on to say that she could never own an older horse and once her's reaches 12 years, he's out the door.

Now is it just me or does anyone else think that that is really mean, her horse is lovely. :(
 
As you say each to there own. I think she is mean but atleast she's gonna sell him on when he is still young and not pass the buck on when he is old and/or sick (If you get what i mean)
My ponies are with me for ever. No matter how old they get or weather they can be ridden or not. But thats just me. Lucy cost me a small fortune in her last 8 months of life (I'm still paying the vet bill now and I lost her in July :( )Many people would have put her down as soon as she was diagnosed. But I would pay it all again to have her back even for just one day. But thats me. Not everyone is like this.
 
My initial reaction was 'more than a bit'. But then, my lot have homes for life and I am happy to adjust my riding to fit in with what they are capable of. I'm just a happy hacker. Is she a competitive rider? Some competitors retire at that age but they make sure they go to good homes and it does not mean they do not care about their animals.
 
Well, yes I do. I could never sell Len. I would gladly sell my organs to keep him into his retirement :p BUT I would prefer, from what you're saying, that she sold him when he is 12 and still has a long and useful life ahead of him than ending up older, with her not wanting him and nobody else wanting him either. Am I making sense? Also, and I don't know her, but she may want to sell him before he starts to drop in value too rapidly as she might not be able to afford to 'replace' him with his younger equivalent if she has sold him for a lot less.

I think it's a little sad, but at least at 12 he can have a second career being loved by somebody else. :)
 
Some people dont see their horses as part of the family like others do I guess. Perhaps like a car, she sells them for a younger model? At least at 12 there is a lot of people who would consider buying a horse that age and will keep them for the rest of their days.
 
If young horses are what she enjoys, then at least she is selling him in his prime so someone else can enjoy his later prime and give him that home for life.
 
Dont see the issue. Horses are a very expensive hobby! But to many people that is what they are- just a hobby! If she puts alot of work in while they are young then I dont see why its bad? If shes selling on nice animals that have done alot, good for her I say.
 
I can kind of see what she means - I like to compete and am looking for a new horse at the moment.

However, in the last 20 years I've only sold 2 ponies (well actually my parents sold them). All the others have been kept and are either retired in a field or out on loan. None of them owe me anything and I wouldn't sell them as I want to be able to retain control over what happens to them.

That said I've been lucky to find good loan homes for mine.

At least she is talking about selling on at 12 rather than late teens . . . . . .
 
She doesn't compete, has no real plans with him, she thinks I'm mad for buying my horse at the age of 17 (he's 18 now) but he had a 5 star vetting and passed so thats not an issue!! She rides another horse for someone who is 25 and she says they are cruel keeping him alive as he's old and passed it, yet she's happy to go and ride him 3 times a week!! Nothing she says really makes sence!
 
The horse is only 5 and he's lovely but obviously quite green. He needs a bit of schooling to bring him on but she wont, she just hacks him out round the lanes, which is fine, I don't have a problem with that, but if she wants to sell him at a profit then she needs to do something with him surely!!
 
I have a friend who sells her horse when it gets older. She doesn't insure her horses and sells them before they get any age related problems. I on the other hand keep mine. I still have my first pony, who is on loan and he will be 36 this year. I have had him since he and I were 11!!
 
Personally I think it's not as bad as keeping a horse until it can only do light work/retire and then selling it on! At least there are a lot of people looking to buy 12+ years.
 
God, I don't even keep mine that long. Brown horse is six this year and he's as old (just about) as I've ever had.

I like youngsters. I'm more interested in the early part than going out and competing. I'd rather let someone else do that part!
 
Well I wouldn't do it, unless there are genuine reasons I think it's sad to sell on a horse just because you fancy something else, but I'm soft. I saw a 35 year old pony advertised for sale today, obviously I don't know the circumstances but it quite upset me. Advertised as being ideal for a young rider.
 
She's going to miss out on a really good horse then if she offloads them once they get to 12. Some horses are only just reaching their peak then if not later. As you say each to their own.
 
I suppose it comes down to folks who want to build and maintain an empathy with their horse and folks who see them as a hobby and commodity to change to keep an interest. Personally mine are for life, but I'm not interested in competition..:confused:
 
I knew someone who was like that. She sold each horse before it reached its teens. The horse she had when I knew her was a gem and I couldn't understand her attitude. There was just no emotion involved. I do agree its more responsible to sell them at that age but for me it wouldn't be a good enough reason to sell.
 
I think it also depends a lot on your circumstances, and if you keep your current horse into old age and eventual retirement, have you the facilities, money and time to have another horse to ride?
Another factor is what you do with them - I think that somone who wants a 'happy hacker' can realistically keep them for life as the horse will always be able to serve this purpose, whereas if you want to compete, you may need a different horse to progress. I have sold 2 horses in my life, one at 14 and one at 16. I adored both horses and was very attached to them, but had got to the stage where I had achieved everything I could with them and as love to compete, wanted a new challenge. I was lucky to sell both to friends locally who wanted schoolmasters, and still keep in touch with them.
Definitely each to their own......!
 
I wouldn't use the term "out of the door" when they turn 12, but I generally do try and sell a horse by 12. The reason being that horses generally start going down in value (especially competition ones) once they get into their teens. I also already have 2 retired ponies (my very first ponies!) so I can't afford to 'collect' horses, once they get older, they're more difficult to sell and you end up keeping them. In an ideal world, if I could afford it I'd keep all my horses! I love them to pieces and every sale is extremely hard, but I would also hate to see my current horse get old - call that selfish but there are plenty of people out there who don't mind that. It depends a lot on why you have horses in the first place I think, if you're just a happy hacker than age doesn't really matter. I have horses to compete, so age does come into the equation.
 
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