Free to good home or put to sleep?

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rrua

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Posting on behalf of a local yard.

A local family run competition yard (mother and daughter) are looking to rehome ten of their home bred horses due to not being able to afford to keep the horses, as they are not earning their keep unfortunately.

Ten of the horses unfortunately suffer from a number of vitamin imbalances which at present is keeping them out of work and when in work they become poor and need a break. All horses are well fed, supplements etc, vets check regularly but at the moment nothing more can be done than to keep them as companions, not to say in a couple of years they may be fantastic quality horses/ ponies again.

However to keep them as companions at present is not a financial option. My question is where should the family look to advertise to rehome the horses? Is it worth it..... Will there be any interest? Rescue centres won't take them unless they are being starved (not going to happen!) would it be kinder to pts? They have a wide range of 2yo sport horses- older brood mares. The stallions can be seen and look fantastic (1.20+ jumpers and eventers) but also have the imbalance and are out of work...... What to do with these?

Any constructive thoughts appreciated. Many thanks. (North west)
 
thatsmygirl said:
Can't they send them to the sales?
I know horses and have brought horses from the local sales who all have really good homes.
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Very irresponsible attitude IMHO and if I had bred them with these problems (which are always likely to flare up again as they sound inherently weak) I would be doing the decent thing; putting them down so they can't be passed from pillar to post in a never ending circle as their weakness flares up again.
 
I don't know the specifics and just want to try and help their situation now- they are good people who have been unlucky. They had a yard that was next to a landfill site which was releasing unknown poisonous toxins which made the horses and daughter ill 2 years ago. They have subsequently moved but are not sure what is best to do with the effected horses. Thanks
 
Nobody knows the nature of their imbalances so in my mind nobody can state they are inherently weak. We had copper imbalances on our yard ( yes every horse) proved via blood tests but was soon sorted once the ground was tested/treated, feeds etc sorted so nobody can comment on that side of it unless they know the full story and are in talks with the vets.
Any horse if sold stands a chance of a bad home but if they are useful types which some sound they might be there's no harm trying to rehome. Old broodmare types I would prob pts but that's it
 
rrua said:
I don't know the specifics and just want to try and help their situation now- they are good people who have been unlucky. They had a yard that was next to a landfill site which was releasing unknown poisonous toxins which made the horses and daughter ill 2 years ago. They have subsequently moved but are not sure what is best to do with the effected horses. Thanks
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Ah okay now I understand. A lady moved her 6 horses onto my farm under similar circumstances. She was sick, her horses were sick. She had youngsters and mature horses and all had been affected. One summer was all it took for her horses to fully recover. She's sold 3 of them now and they're doing grand in their new homes and the 3 who have remained with me are just tickety-boo. They've been here in total about 5 years and the change in all of them was like night and day.
 
rrua said:
I don't know the specifics and just want to try and help their situation now- they are good people who have been unlucky. They had a yard that was next to a landfill site which was releasing unknown poisonous toxins which made the horses and daughter ill 2 years ago. They have subsequently moved but are not sure what is best to do with the effected horses. Thanks
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They need to talk with a decent vet who will be up front with them and go from there
 
Maesfen said:
Very irresponsible attitude IMHO and if I had bred them with these problems (which are always likely to flare up again as they sound inherently weak) I would be doing the decent thing; putting them down so they can't be passed from pillar to post in a never ending circle as their weakness flares up again.
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Completely agree pts is much kinder
 
Whilst heartbreaking for all the people concerned, in the situation you describe, I think a discussion with a sensible equine vet, and go with what s/he advises. I think pts, at least they will be safe.
 
I wouldn't be looking to put to sleep such young, otherwise healthy animals. However, if it was me I would be looking at trying to rent some land away from where there are now and putting them out on decent grass to see if that does help.
I find it hard to believe they all have mineral issues and it's not linked to the grazing / current yard. Or if thet have recently moved maybe they need to give them more time to come right.
Obviously without knowing the exact diagnosis though it's difficult to judge. I wouldn't be giving them away though. If they do have potential to do a job then selling thrm even if for a low amount is surely preferable?
I think they need to stop breeding though as clearly this is something they don't seem to put thought in to. Why so many if this health issue was apparent??!
 
On a second note- has this always been the case? If not something must have changed? Maybe in the local area rather than just their field?
If it's more long term why on earth keep breeding?
 
They could try advertising them on Project Horses, with a full account of their problems, for a realistic price. NOT free, there are some people who will have a freebie regardless, and don't know what they are doing.
 
Thanks for the replies. I don't want to go into their situation, they had a successful business before they got ill, have moved away to rectify the problem, have used numerous vets etc. all Iam asking is what you would do with the current horses which need time (they have spent 2 years getting the horses back on track with constant ups and downs) will pass on your suggestions. They are not over breeding. Thanks
 
If the horses haven't recovered in two years I would not pass them on I would either keep them myself or have them PTS. Has the daughter made a full recovery?
 
If the horses have been away from the toxicity for 2 years and still not recovered then I think PTS should be considered
 
I have several ponies myself that were given away - free to good home can often be just that, a home for life, and a bargain pony for someone who is prepared to spend time and enjoy the process of rehabilitation.

However, if they've bee under veterinary supervision for 2 years without improvement and environmental factors ruled out, PTS seems inevitable.
 
I don't think they should rule out giving them away for a token, to a good home.

I've had one horse who was free to a good home (I loaned her first and the owner then gifted her to me after a few years), and I've also sold a horse for peanuts. I still speak with her new owner who absolutely loves her to bits and sends me photos all the time.

Just because there are some bad homes out there, it doesn't mean they all are.

I do find it odd that all the horses have the same issue, though. And also, why they didn't stop breeding sooner. Ending up with ten horses isn't something that happens overnight.

In the current situation, I would try to find good homes for the horses in the best condition and the ones with the best prognosis, and put to sleep the rest.

I really don't think I'd be able to live with myself having ten horses shot, but that's just me.
 
I don't agree all people who take " free" horses will provide bad homes. I lost my forever horse suddenly and discovered her insurance had changed to " veteran" 2 weeks prior, therefor the policy did not pay out for replacement only vet cover. My fault for not reading the renewal but had been with the same company on the same policy for years. I could not afford at that time to buy another horse. I was " gifted" for £1.00 a horse who although had problems initially is still with me and always will be. I understand there are horror stories and people who don't know how/ can't / won't care for " free" horses, but there are also people who may not have thousands to buy a horse but have all the knowledge, love and finances to home a horse. I hope the horses above who can be re homed find someone, however I agree if some cannot go to a suitable home should be PTS rather than do the rounds and have an unhappy life.
 
The unknown poisons consumed combined with repeateded vet treatment over a 24 month period away from the toxic area with little/no improvement in all horses would have me concerned they will have a healthy future.

It would be unclear if future problems will manifest and how severe they will be. Any of the horses given to a good home are not guaranteed that home for life and may be passed on and end up with a complete Novice with no idea of previous health issues and that they may be ongoing.

If the horses were healthy I feel other options may be available but sadly in this case I believe having the horses put down is the humane and moral thing to do.
 
I think it is a bit harsh to say they shouldn't have carried on breeding. If problems are only showing up once they have started in work, say at 4 yrs old, even with 3 brood mares it would be easy to have 10 foals/youngsters plus new pregnancy's over that time. What a rubbish situation to be, for the horses and the owners.
 
If they have been moved away for two years - surely the 2 year olds would show some signs of improvement (unless they were exposed during pregnancy) - I'm not trying to stir about the dates to gossip, just seems a shame that at so young they have such a poor future.

I would be in the PTS camp = 2 years of vet supervision and goodness knows how many expensive supplements wont be easy to keep going for an unknown outcome...
 
Is it a case that their conditions mean they can't cope with the workload but might be ok in a lower key home where they're just doing a bit of hacking, or can they not cope with being ridden at all? A friend has just taken on a horse like this. He was an endurance horse but permanent (albeit slight) kidney damage after a nasty infection meant he can't cope with that any more (dehydration is too much of a risk for him). He's fine to pootle around the block with his new 70+ year old owner, do the odd fun ride and genrally chill in the field and they're really enjoying each other. Could there be a future like this for them? If not, I'd be considering PTS, there are so many looking for companion homes that ones with health problems (as opposed to ones which can't be ridden but are otherwise healthy) and which aren't that easy to keep will struggle to find homes. The other thing to consider is that rehoming and vetting homes to ensure they're a suitable is hard work and emotionally draining. (I've done it myself recently thanks to the lovely _GG_) If the owner's not well, this may be too much for her.
 
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