GAH

Which should read "have had this old lad for a while and can't be bothered to keep him in his old age as I have newer, younger models". Sickens me that people do this to the oldies. They just off load them to God knows who or where. Such a shame.
 
I personally cannot understand how anyone can 'sell' an old faithful friend as they are no longer able to keep them....but has 4 horses - well I would certainly suggest she sells some of the younger ones, perhaps keep one in ridden work, if there is any and keep the oldie that deserves so much more then being swept to oneside due to being old. :(

Saddens me this does :(
 
To be totally fair, if the horse is in good condition and healthy otherwise why should they be sold any less than a younger counterpart? In the USA I believe it is a far more common practise, I know we all like to think of faithful freinds in nice green fields but sometimes it just isn't possible.
(Not condoning this but I don't think it's a hanging offence, to a less sentimental person it makes sense to get ride of the least useful one and so often on here you get people saying that if their horse was no longer rideable they would shoot it which is imo a lot more callous minded than this)
 
SusieT said:
To be totally fair, if the horse is in good condition and healthy otherwise why should they be sold any less than a younger counterpart? In the USA I believe it is a far more common practise, I know we all like to think of faithful freinds in nice green fields but sometimes it just isn't possible.
(Not condoning this but I don't think it's a hanging offence, to a less sentimental person it makes sense to get ride of the least useful one and so often on here you get people saying that if their horse was no longer rideable they would shoot it which is imo a lot more callous minded than this)
Click to expand...

My problem is not with 'old horses being sold' my problem starts with the 3 other horses the seller has (I would be prepared to bet my life savings on all of them being younger or rideable...) and finishes with the "has been retired for 5 years... light hacking will be fine" comment.
 
Last edited:
What's the problem with him having three others? This one is of least use to him hence he is selling it, yes? If the horse is in good condition and he is prepared to find it an excellent home (which the advert reads as although obviously they can be misleading) why is it more of a problem him selling this one than potentially neglecting it? I am guessing that he may have to sell the others soon mind, if this one is only 300quid that won't go far..
All this is assuming horse is in good health.
Would you have a problem with a companion pony being sold before the owners thoroughbred?
 
Of course it's better sold than neglected...

But it must be a pretty glum way to look at the world, if the thoughts in your head end in 'better than neglected' :rolleyes:
 
i know this sounds a bit blunt but if she really can't keep him wouldn't it be more fair on him to be destroyed?? he is 30 and may not have that many years left and the stress of moving at that age suring can't be good for him :confused:
 
I'm gonna tell my 97 year old granpa to get off his arse and go and work the 'meet and greet' door at my local asda. :rolleyes:

Not fair for an old boy to go through the stress of moving home in my opinion.
 
If he' sin good health no more stressful than his owners moving house..
Fair few 25yr olds are knocking about doing veteran classes, should they be standing in a paddock instead?
Why would you destroy a healthy horse without giving it a chance of a new home?
Lady La La-mine dont..often those who refuse to sell horses and pts instead say it's because it is better than being neglected(which imo is not the 100% likely scenario it's painted as but that's just me)
So long as it's done sensitively to his age I really fail to see what the problem is? I retire mine but if I wasn't able to I would certainly look for a long term loan home for them. Would that also be wrong in this case?
 
SusieT, you don't seem to be being all that realistic, if I'm honest...

How likely is that that a) Someone is going to pay £300 for a lawn mower/oldie that brings with it potential vets bills/extra feeding as old age sets in...
(free companions are easy to come by.)

and b) the seller has the ponies absolute best interests at heart. 'He's been retired for 5 years due to working all his life, but I'll advertise him as suitable for light hacking as I think it'll probably help him sell.'
...If I was a horse, I'd kick her in the face.
 
Lady La La said:
SusieT, you don't seem to be being all that realistic, if I'm honest...

How likely is that that a) Someone is going to pay £300 for a lawn mower/oldie that brings with it potential vets bills/extra feeding as old age sets in...
(free companions are easy to come by.)

and b) the seller has the ponies absolute best interests at heart. 'He's been retired for 5 years due to working all his life, but I'll advertise him as suitable for light hacking as I think it'll probably help him sell.'
...If I was a horse, I'd kick her in the face.
Click to expand...

Ha! 100% agree with you.
 
Unlikely, I think its incredibly unlikely he will get that for it. He may be putting off the 'want a freee pony' brigade..
I think you're being unrealistic in saying you can tell from an advert if he has the pony's best interests at heart. He may have been retired purely because he has a younger model to ride. The fact he has kept a horse retired 4yrs suggests to me he is not selling as soon as it goes lame. He is possibly being truthful about what it can do for future owners, a pootle round the block might suit some people extremely well.
He may of course be a lying scroat and this horse should be pts due to health issues and is thin as a hatrack and lame to boot, but I don't know that and neither do you. I don't know if he's a kind truthful person either, neither do you.
Realistically there's probably equal risk in selling a 6month old unweaned foal to be moved straight to another premises, or a 15year old who has never been off the farm.
Maybe you should ring and offer your advice rather than unknowingly slating?
 
SusieT said:
Unlikely, I think its incredibly unlikely he will get that for it. He may be putting off the 'want a freee pony' brigade..
I think you're being unrealistic in saying you can tell from an advert if he has the pony's best interests at heart. He may have been retired purely because he has a younger model to ride. The fact he has kept a horse retired 4yrs suggests to me he is not selling as soon as it goes lame. He is possibly being truthful about what it can do for future owners, a pootle round the block might suit some people extremely well.
He may of course be a lying scroat and this horse should be pts due to health issues and is thin as a hatrack and lame to boot, but I don't know that and neither do you. I don't know if he's a kind truthful person either, neither do you.
Realistically there's probably equal risk in selling a 6month old unweaned foal to be moved straight to another premises, or a 15year old who has never been off the farm.
Maybe you should ring and offer your advice rather than unknowingly slating?
Click to expand...

The only person who has questioned the ponies health is yourself... Similarly you were the first to mention shooting it. :rolleyes:

My point, which you appear to have agreed with up there ^^ is that the pony is most likely being sold as the seller has newer/better/younger models to play with and is getting rid of a dear old friend.
If money really were the issue I'm fairly sure a younger/ridden model would make him/her a bit more money...

Also, I haven't slated the advert at all, just questioned someones morals...
 
What I don't understand is why not just offer him as a companion on loan?

If the owner cannot afford to keep him then fair enough to try and find him a home rather than pts however, I would be concerned as to how my old horse would end his days and ultimately want control of this hence loan not sale.

I also think trying to bring a 30year old back into work after such a long retirement is not fair. Like Lady La La said it is almost added to boost the chance of sale.

SusieT you are entitled to you opnion as is everyone else. I do really feel for older horses being passed over due to owner getting a newer model. It's just something which upsets me.
 
Yes-because I fail to see what other reason would preclude it from being sold like any other horse other than its health? And why that makes anyones morals bad in selling a healthy horse because its less useful than horse B?
The reduction of this horses livery, say 25 a week for averageness? =100 a month=1200 a year. Might be enough to let the other horses stay. Probably not as I said in my last post.
 
Put it this way, I would never sell my welsh section a at the age of 30.
(not planning on ever selling him anyway)
Why?
Because I feel if I had had him that long, and he was that old, that he deserves to live his last few years in comfort.
And in selling him, I couldnt guarentee that he would get that.
I would feel I owe him more than that.
 
People on here over-reacting possibly....

Yes, it's sad, and upsetting.... But let me tell you this, if it came to it, and finances became tight....we would be selling our shetland. He is lovely, and does his job as a companion wonderfully. But other than that, he is a lawnmower, that requires feed, rugs, water, feet trimming, worming, vaccinations.... He is an expensive lawnmower.

I think the seller is trying for every alternative other than PTS and abattoir. Which, when you have no/little money, and can't sell something, are two very real options for people.

I repeat, it's upsetting. But I think (and I'm clearly not the only one) that what you're doing is extremely judgmental in light of the seller.
 
nikkimariet said:
People on here over-reacting possibly....

Yes, it's sad, and upsetting.... But let me tell you this, if it came to it, and finances became tight....we would be selling our shetland. He is lovely, and does his job as a companion wonderfully. But other than that, he is a lawnmower, that requires feed, rugs, water, feet trimming, worming, vaccinations.... He is an expensive lawnmower.

I think the seller is trying for every alternative other than PTS and abattoir. Which, when you have no/little money, and can't sell something, are two very real options for people.

I repeat, it's upsetting. But I think (and I'm clearly not the only one) that what you're doing is extremely judgmental in light of the seller.
Click to expand...

I understand where you are coming from with the no money side however the owner has four other horses they could sell rather than this old boy. As I said before I would rather loan and keep ultimate control of how my horses sees out his final days.
 
Muchadoaboutnothing said:
I understand where you are coming from with the no money side however the owner has four other horses they could sell rather than this old boy. As I said before I would rather loan and keep ultimate control of how my horses sees out his final days.
Click to expand...

Yeah fair enough, I agree. Horses do deserve dignity and respect, especially if they have been loyal to us for a long time, I *totally agree*. But there is no way I'd be keeping a golden oldie and selling a competition horse in its' place *for example*. Life is about moving forward, not hanging on to things from the past.

Also, what's to say that the sellers other 3 horses are not older or they have been owned for a longer period of time etc etc? *Really* no one on here knows the condition on which this horse is being sold for...so who are we to sit here judging them for it?
 
cloudandmatrix said:
Is your shetland 30 though?
And I would hope you wouldnt advertise him as a light hack, if he was retired...
Click to expand...

Seller says horse has no health problems, therefore, light work is okay! No my Shetland is not 30, but is technically same thing - sits in a field/stable and eats money with a side of grass and hay, does not get ridden.
 
I dont think it is the same thing. I think its fine to sell a younger healthy pony as a companion, if needs must then I would. But the fact this horse is now 30, been retired for 5 years, and is now being sold as a ridden animal, makes me really sad.
 
cloudandmatrix said:
I dont think it is the same thing. I think its fine to sell a younger healthy pony as a companion, if needs must then I would. But the fact this horse is now 30, been retired for 5 years, and is now being sold as a ridden animal, makes me really sad.
Click to expand...

Erm. I learnt to ride on a pony that was 33 years old. No health problems = riding pony??

And I've already agreed that it IS sad. But needs must, clearly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top