Field ornaments and companions

If your horse became permanently injured or too old to ride would you:

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Wagtail

Wagtail

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The fact is, that many horses end up permanently unridable due to injury, illness or just that they are old, but they are still quite comfortable and can happily live as a companion or field ornament if they are lucky enough to have an owner who can afford to keep them forever, or takes the time and effort to find a genuinely good home, or still keeps them and sacrifices their own needs for a riding horse in order to keep their much loved horse as a pet. Most however, are disposed for convenience, or because their owners cannot afford them and don't want to risk their future wellbeing. So, what would you do?
 
Out of the 4 "equines" we have here 3 are field ornaments. 30 + year old donkey, 19 year old pony with Cushings and 23 year old pony, retired after a leg fracture. I am lucky that I have my own land, and they will be with us to the end of their days. I can say this categorically because even if my circumstances changed and I couldn't keep them I would have them pts, as their various issues would make rehoming difficult and I would always worry where they would end up.

The 4th is in his late teens, when he is retired it may be a little while before we have another riding horse, as do not have the money or land for 5.
 
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Im lucky to have my horses at home, i have 2 retired boy's here 21yo & a 26yo. There kept the same as when they where working horses.

I always put the horses before my own riding needs & have had to take long breaks at points due to illnesses that have forced retirement. Now we have are own place im able to have more youngsters so i can keep riding however my luck still hasnt changed much & i now have a 3rd horse possibly facing retirement.

On a livery i would be restricted & would not be able to have the 2 youngsters ive got. I personally would not pts my old boy's to carry on riding, but i dont judge others.
 
MurphysMinder said:
Out of the 4 "equines" we have here 3 are field ornaments. 30 + year old donkey, 19 year old pony with Cushings and 23 year old pony, retired after a leg fracture. I am lucky that I have my own land, and they will be with us to the end of their days. I can say this categorically because even if my circumstances changed and I couldn't keep them I would have them pts, as their various issues would make rehoming difficult and I would always worry where they would end up.
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They are very lucky to have you as their owner. I can see me getting that way! I already have one field ornament and my other horse is not 100% as he has spavins.
 
dressagecrazy said:
Im lucky to have my horses at home, i have 2 retired boy's here 21yo & a 26yo. There kept the same as when they where working horses.

I always put the horses before my own riding needs & have had to take long breaks at points due to illnesses that have forced retirement. Now we have are own place im able to have more youngsters so i can keep riding however my luck still hasnt changed much & i now have a 3rd horse possibly facing retirement.

On a livery i would be restricted & would not be able to have the 2 youngsters ive got. I personally would not pts my old boy's to carry on riding, but i dont judge others.
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Another lovely and kind owner. Out of the seven horses at my yard, only four are currently ridable. But there is no way any of them will be PTS.
 
I do have a field ornament, my 32yo Arab. I am lucky enough to be able to afford him and he'll always be with me until the day comes. If I couldnt afford him he would be PTS, not fair to pass him around after all the years of pleasure he's given me, and most people dont want to take on a horse if they cant be ridden - too expensive.
 
I have 4 horses, am on a livery yard, but am lucky enought to be able to keep them all no matter what, I already have 1 field ornament, retired at 8, 23 this year and wouldn't dream of moving him on or having him PTS just for the sake of it, he is happy and enjoying life, I also have 2 that at the moment are on box rest and 1 that I can ride, I'm happy, they are happy....... They all get what they need and more, are loved and well looked after, their needs come before mine....
 
it wasnt that easy to answer TBH. I am old enough to have had horses for most of their lives, some I have kept in retirement and others I have sold or PTS,it depends on how much I liked the horse,some definately would only ever end their days with me,others I prefered to PTS as they had had a good life but I didnt have a bond with them and didnt want to keep them going as ornaments, but neither did I want to send them off to an uncertain future.Those I have sold were under 10 years old.
 
Horsesforever1 said:
it wasnt that easy to answer TBH. I am old enough to have had horses for most of their lives, some I have kept in retirement and others I have sold or PTS,it depends on how much I liked the horse,some definately would only ever end their days with me,others I prefered to PTS as they had had a good life but I didnt have a bond with them and didnt want to keep them going as ornaments, but neither did I want to send them off to an uncertain future.Those I have sold were under 10 years old.
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I guess it often does depend on how strong a bond we have had with a horse. I don't allow any nasty horses on the yard. I turned down a full livery recently as she told me her 17.2 hh warmblood was a bit unfriendly and had to be tied up if you needed to go in her stable. I mean, why would anyone want a horse like that, even if she was worth £20k? But that is just me. All my horses are for life, but all of them have the kindest softest natures you could wish for. Other people who see horses more as commodities, and don't choose them for their nature, probably don't have such a close bond with the horse and so are more likely to PTS. Just a theory.
 
It's not an easy thing to give a straight answer to....

When the time comes that Bruce is too old or god forbid gets injured and cannot be ridden - as long as I could afford to give him the best retirement I could, I would keep him and let him live out his days as long as there are no adverse affects of doing so.

I think there are situations where PTS/selling/loaning is a valid option... I try not to judge anyone else for their views or actions, because each situation is guaranteed to have a number of factors involved that we don't know about.
 
I think there are situations where PTS/selling/loaning is a valid option... I try not to judge anyone else for their views or actions, because each situation is guaranteed to have a number of factors involved that we don't know about.
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Precisely.
 
amymay said:
Precisely.
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Baa

For me there are so many factors involved, especially as I don’t own my own land.
So for me there are a number of factors to consider
1.Field soundness of horse and how much it costs financially to keep horse field sound
2.Happiness of retired horse to field
3.Financial and time situation of owner
4.How much owner likes/is attached to horse

In general I personally wouldn’t be keen to sell a horse as a companion, and if I didn’t have time to supervise one on loan then I wouldn’t be keen on that option either and would consider PTS.
I have a field ornament out on part-loan, I don’t really have sufficient time to do him myself twice a day so a friend has him as a companion to her young stallion. She has her own land but I pay a small contribution to cover his basic keep. In return he gets plenty of attention, a useful job and gets to go to stallion show parties every now and again!
 
not easy to answer...

for age no way id pts....id find grass livery and let them have a happy retirement - as i lan to with mine (shes only 4)...

for general field ornaments through injury i cannot justify an expensive lawnmower.... so poss pts....

for age and they have given me years of fun - always keep until they pass away - its a totally different feeling to me...
 
I have a field ornament and have been lucky enough to now be able to afford a second horse. It also helps that the yard I'm on is lovely and the YO is very supportive.

My horse is retired through injury and is fairly high maintenance in that he does need to come in at night in the winter (due to the ground being hard on his injury) and when he's out, he's in a paddock on his own which needs poo-picking and maintaining. I really do miss riding him but have found that I still get so much from just looking after him and grooming him instead of riding him.

If my new horse needed to be retired then he'd become a field ornament too. I've actually been quite lucky because since my old boy injured himself in late 2009, I've not been short of horses to ride for other people.

But I can understand why people would pts rather than retire a horse who had an injury like mine. He's only just field sound and has bad days and good days although he never seems unhappy or miserable even when he's having a "bad" day (i.e. when the lameness is very noticeable).

If I couldn't afford to keep him he would be pts (I'd consider selling my other horse to afford to keep my old boy if I had to but given his injury, and if I couldn't find the right home for the younger horse, I'd let him go).

I think the owners circumstances are an important cosideration too. I work a 45 hour week with a 45 minute commute either end of each day but luckily the yard is only a 10 minute drive from home and the YO helps with my old boy and my new horse will live out as much as possible. If I had children to think about too then I don't think I would be able to do this.
 
My lad is stuck with me for the rest of his days, whether he likes it or not! I bought him as a three year old (him, not me!) knowing it could be a 40 year commitment. I love riding, but I love him more.
 
I have 3 horses one of which is a true field ornament (no 1) (My 24 yo dressage horse) who has given me so much that I wouldn't get rid of him/ pts until it's medically appropriate (I feel that day is fast approaching but I'm going to try and give him the summer on his back if we can keep him comfy on Danilon). No. 2 is a sec A bought unbroken to keep No 1 company when he was on a yard alone -- not a lot of use for anything but is broken now and I'm planning on breaking him to harness if I get round to it...
And my working horse who 's a Trad cob... who would love to be a field ornament but isn't:)
 
I have my retired, due to injury, ISH in the field babysitting the yearling, a 20+ year old retired pony keeping my riding mare company. Can't call the pony a field ornament as she comes in every night with the mare :rolleyes: My other riding horse has just been x-rayed today, he is out with broodmare. Pony and retired horse will be going nowhere but if my circs changed and I no longer had my own yard and land I would PTS rather than send them to anyone else as they have been good to me so deserve the best. The other riding horses future is uncertain at the moment, will depend on X-ray results.
 
nikkimariet said:
It's not an easy thing to give a straight answer to....

I think there are situations where PTS/selling/loaning is a valid option... I try not to judge anyone else for their views or actions, because each situation is guaranteed to have a number of factors involved that we don't know about.
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This.

I had a very healthy, and sound, 14 year old PTS.
 
I have 2 field ornaments and they mean I can't afford a riding horse.

One I've had since a weanling and while he is regularly threatened with being turned into dog food - he was retired at 10 yo due to his unpredictability and tbh I would have him shot rather than pass him on. He's 15 now and will probably live until he's 40 just to spite me :D

The other is in his early twentys and is retired due to a combination of a tendon injury, navicular and arthritis. I've only had him 4 years and he's been unrideable for 2 of those. Luck of the draw really. He could be rehomed as a companion quite happily as he is so easy to handle and do but I have chosen not to do that as I feel he is my responsibility.

I try not to judge what others do with their retirees but personally, my animals are with me for life.

In saying that, if my job/health was to go belly up I would be left with little option but to have both pts for purely financial reasons as I wouldn't want to take the risk of passing on either - one because of health and the other because of his temperment as once they have left me I have no control over their futures. JMHO.
 
Enfys said:
This.

I had a very healthy, and sound, 14 year old PTS.
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Why was that?

A friend of mine did the same and I never really understood why, other than she was going through a difficult emotional patch (husband left her). She had three horses, kept two but had the healthy and sound thoroughbred PTS. She offered me him free first, but I was keeping my horse on full livery at the time and couldn't afford a second, but that made me feel partly responsible for his death. :(
 
We keep ours at home, cut own hay etc so costs are minimal. When any of ours need to retire they will be here until the end of their days. If I were paying livey for them I would not be able to afford another horse if mine were unable to be ridden. However, I bought him intending to keep him 'til the end and would do that - even if it meant no more riding. I'm just thankful I can do this and still have the space and money for another when the time comes! :)
 
I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised that the majority of people here would keep their horses rather than PTS if they possibly can. I think that views are changing and more horses have lifetime homes.
 
blitznbobs said:
WHy?
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See, said baldly like that it does make people wonder, when in fact there were extremely good reasons for making the decision I made for a horse I was hugely attached to.

He was perfectly sound, but having found him an excellent Endurance home, on vetting it was discovered that he was actually 95% blind.
Extremely quirky and quite highly strung arab gelding.
Wouldn't settle into retirement and was quite high maintenance.
Hard to integrate into a herd.
I didn't want to move him from the environment he knew every inch of.
I couldn't be around to check on him.
Charities said he would not be suitable for them.

It was best for him, I knew that he wasn't going to be thrown out into a field, maybe going hungry,or cold (and he hated the wet) bullied, maybe sold on, I could be sitting here now, 3500 miles away wondering how he was, or worried sick because I'd lost touch with him or hearing bad reports and not able to do a thing about it.

It wasn't that there weren't people I wouldn't have trusted to care for him, but he would have been a huge responsibility and I don't dump my responsibilities on anyone.

He happily bounced onto the lorry he had gone hunting in for 4 years, boinged out at the kennels, all ears pricked and raring to go out for the day, his last thought would have been "Whehey...here we gooooooo, and oh, OATS too!" He knew nothing. Not a bad way to go all things considered.
 
Keep them as I can afford to. I think that all owners who can afford to should keep their horses when they are retired as it is a way of repaying them for all of the fun they have given us by looking after them in their final years. We kept our old boy until the end, and we currently have two 'field ornaments' - a rescue pony who is in her 30s and another little pony to keep her company. All of my horses have 'forever' homes and I will keep them until the end.
 
Wagtail said:
I guess it often does depend on how strong a bond we have had with a horse. I don't allow any nasty horses on the yard. I turned down a full livery recently as she told me her 17.2 hh warmblood was a bit unfriendly and had to be tied up if you needed to go in her stable. I mean, why would anyone want a horse like that, even if she was worth £20k? But that is just me. All my horses are for life, but all of them have the kindest softest natures you could wish for. Other people who see horses more as commodities, and don't choose them for their nature, probably don't have such a close bond with the horse and so are more likely to PTS. Just a theory.
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Totally agree with this. My old mare was a lovely person to be around and when she couldn't really work anymore (half an hour at walk on a flat surface was the limit) it didn't matter because she was still good to be around and after 10 years, an old friend. When we bought our youngster I stressed to the breeder that we wanted another nice little person because life is too short to put up with an ignorant animal especially if you can't ride it. Having said that, we currently have a very elderly and bad tempered pony on permanent loan. She's wicked some times but the kids love her and she makes us laugh. I can see her doddering around at my expense in the field in 10 years! I don't think its a light decision to take an animal's life. Mine have homes for the rest of their days.

ETS Enfy's post however, proves there ae some cases where even a healthy horse, if it can't be ridden, will have a miserable life. I don't agree with keeping an animal alive no matter what and some horsey people refuse to believe that a horse with no work can be unhappy. If the animal has a grim future ahead, for whatever reason, then PTS ensures its happiness. That, in the end, is what every responsible owner should be striving for.
 
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interesting poll, as long as any of mine have good quality of life i would never dream of pts, but i am also lucky enough to be able to keep them have the facilities and funds. seems like most of us are soppy really, and once you have a bond with a horse whether its rideable or not as long as its happy they are here to stay lol
 
This is a question I have often wondered.
The circumstances I have mean I would keep my mare. I am getting on a bit though. I love all the horseyness messing about, poo picking, grooming etc just as much as riding. So for me it wouldn't bother me if I never rode again although I would miss it.

However if I were a younger person who could only afford one horse.......well things might be very different. I feel so sorry for anyone who found themselves in that situation.
 
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