Giving horses away :(

Better the chance of a loving new home then dead.

I really dont understand why some people have such an issue with people giving horses away :confused:
 
I understand what you mean, there is always a risk with that the animal could run the risk of going to a place where it will be abused for multiple years in which case it would be much nicer to be PTS.

However nowdays there are more nice loving homes than those taking on an animal to abuse it. It would be down to the owner to ensure they are going to good homes.
 
all about Romeo said:
Better the chance of a loving new home then dead.

I really dont understand why some people have such an issue with people giving horses away :confused:
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Because if you don't pay for it, you are less likely to care for it properly. And if you cannot AFFORD to buy something, the chances are you cannot keep it adequately.
Whilst occasionally the whole thing works, more often than not it doesn't and the horse suffers for it.
As has been said many a time, better a dead horse than a suffering one.
 
I have received a horse for a nominal sum and know several others who have too - there are very good homes out there honestly - just because they are 'free' doesn't necessarily mean the horses won't get a good owner. It probably happens more than you would expect.
 
all about Romeo said:
Better the chance of a loving new home then dead.

I really dont understand why some people have such an issue with people giving horses away :confused:
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Because it devalues horses which are for sale, I would imagine? Also a free horse by definition has no value in some peoples' minds. I'd always put a nominal price on a horse just so it's not "worthless"; I feel people would tend not to look after one without a value.
 
BlairandAzria said:
I have received a horse for a nominal sum and know several others who have too - there are very good homes out there honestly - just because they are 'free' doesn't necessarily mean the horses won't get a good owner. It probably happens more than you would expect.
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Oh yes, I do agree! I have two "free to good home" horses here, but I insisted on paying a small amount for them on principle.
 
BlairandAzria said:
I have received a horse for a nominal sum and know several others who have too - there are very good homes out there honestly - just because they are 'free' doesn't necessarily mean the horses won't get a good owner. It probably happens more than you would expect.
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Agreed I have had some VERY cheap horses over the years and they havent been mistreated!! Spend less on the horse and more on their care IMO. Just because I padi nothng for it doesnt mean i wont pay for its care :mad: That sort of thinking annoys me.

My oldie was £1500 11 years ago hes still happy healthy and has had the best I could afford and never suffered.

Hope they find homes :(
 
So I was irresponsible giving my cracking TB mare away as a broodie (to a stud) then was I?

She was not an easy ride and would have been difficult to rehome as she wasn't a happy hacker although I coped with her funny moments I wouldn't have been happy for anyone else to (had her from 6 months til she was 15). She had superb confo and a lovely temperament and I was offered a home for her. It broke my heart to let her go but financially it was a no brainer.

She now has a good life in a herd of other broodies in the New Forest.

I would think before you post next time...

ETS my first pony was freebie. The poor mare had been left in a field getting lami every year (elderly owners who just said it was her yearly foot problem...) and she turned out to be a cracking jumping pony and taught me so much about horse owning.
 
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joeanne said:
Because if you don't pay for it, you are less likely to care for it properly. And if you cannot AFFORD to buy something, the chances are you cannot keep it adequately.
Whilst occasionally the whole thing works, more often than not it doesn't and the horse suffers for it.
As has been said many a time, better a dead horse than a suffering one.
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If someone is going to neglect or abuse a horse they will whether they paid for it or not
 
It's a tricky one, I was given a free pony with a contract that if I ever can't look after her anymore I give them first refusal. It was that or PTS for them really. I've given her the best home I can even though she's not an easy pony in the slightest. But would I pass her on free to good home if the first owners wouldn't take her back? Not a chance! I've had her 3 years now and her reactions to some things are still unexpected and shocks me. Other times she will let my little cousins cuddle and groom her .. She's got a screw loose somewhere which can make her dangerous at times if you don't see it coming. 99% of the time she's perfect but there's still that 1% chance.

So yes unless I could guarentee a home with her old owners or her old loaner or someone that has seen her strange ways I would rather PTS.
 
Cortez said:
Because it devalues horses which are for sale, I would imagine? Also a free horse by definition has no value in some peoples' minds. I'd always put a nominal price on a horse just so it's not "worthless"; I feel people would tend not to look after one without a value.
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One of our horses was given to me , he was extremely sick and his owner was unable to keep him it took me two years lots of money ( paid mainly to the vet) an enormous amount of my grooms and my own time to nurse him back to health including an epic diet which left him 200 kilos lighter.
I can assure you he is respected no less for the work he does for us and is cared for with the same diligent care as the ones that I picked up after handing over a cheque.
And he is a much loved friend.
 
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I'm trying to rehome something. Why an earth am I doing a wrong thing? The owners Are keen for him to have a life outside racing which as he's a lovely boy is completely feasible!
 
Ditto joeanne. Unless its free to somebody you already know & trust. I've also noticed those in favour of taking the chance of the horse getting a good home have rarely been regular visitors to low end sales. Whereas those that have, or have had other similar experience of what happens to a lot of worthless horses would never take that gamble. If a horse is worth selling, then the buyers have a purpose for it, & however heartless they are they have good reason not to reduce it too much in value, or treat it in a way that prevents it fufilling that purpose. Whereas if its worthless, its value can soon be freed up by sending it to an abbatoir, either here or abroad via the stress of an auction. Plus if its free then nothing to lose by just leaving it to rot.
I also suspect that anyone without the experience to realise there's a large chance of the horse having a miserable future, also doesn't have even the beginnings of spotting a good home from a con artist. And let's face it, even if you have vast experience of cruelty, how do you spot a genuine person from a good actor?
If I had a worthless horse I couldn't keep myself or rehome with a longstanding trustworthy friend, I'd shoot it myself before I gave it away free. And those who do either lack real life experience of how miserable life can be for worthless horses, or are too weak minded, & essentially selfish, to put the horses interests before their own feelings. They'd rather tell themselves bull about a happy home than go through the upsetting process of pts.
 
It's only irresponsible if the 'owner' doesn't check out the new home and doesnt make sure they find out if the 'new owner' can afford the up keep of the animal.
 
I can quite understand your concern when you see some of the poor old crocks on some cheaper sites but this case is rather different. They are registered Exmoors, and there is 3 months to rehome them, probably for rough grazing or companions. What is irresponsible about that?
 
The_angel_littlelegs said:
Ditto joeanne. Unless its free to somebody you already know & trust. I've also noticed those in favour of taking the chance of the horse getting a good home have rarely been regular visitors to low end sales. Whereas those that have, or have had other similar experience of what happens to a lot of worthless horses would never take that gamble. If a horse is worth selling, then the buyers have a purpose for it, & however heartless they are they have good reason not to reduce it too much in value, or treat it in a way that prevents it fufilling that purpose. Whereas if its worthless, its value can soon be freed up by sending it to an abbatoir, either here or abroad via the stress of an auction. Plus if its free then nothing to lose by just leaving it to rot.
I also suspect that anyone without the experience to realise there's a large chance of the horse having a miserable future, also doesn't have even the beginnings of spotting a good home from a con artist. And let's face it, even if you have vast experience of cruelty, how do you spot a genuine person from a good actor?
If I had a worthless horse I couldn't keep myself or rehome with a longstanding trustworthy friend, I'd shoot it myself before I gave it away free. And those who do either lack real life experience of how miserable life can be for worthless horses, or are too weak minded, & essentially selfish, to put the horses interests before their own feelings. They'd rather tell themselves bull about a happy home than go through the upsetting process of pts.
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If someone is going to neglect or abuse a horse they will do regardless of whether they paid for it or not.
 
Plus while I don't doubt for a minute lots of worthless horses do get good homes, my personal experience is that more end up suffering than with happy futures, so I'd say the odds are more likely to be a bad home. Especially as really thinking about it, at least half the freebies I have known end up in good homes have been given to people already well known, rather than complete strangers.
 
Of course there will be people who take on and look after free horses. However, there have been so many awful reports on here when people have honestly thought that they had found a lovely home for life, only to find out that the horse had been sold on, wrongly described or as in a lot of cases, sent off for meat. Most of the homes had been vetted as well!. I would certainly try to find homes if I was that owner, but would rather PTS than have my horses go onto an unknown life where they could be abused.
 
Shoot the lot of them, Iv sold a horse who is now in a rescue center plus gave one away free who I keep in contact with and she's in a fab home. Nobody can ever say if a horse will/won't get a good home reguardless of it's price.
 
I sold a well bred 2 year old for £1. It was the perfect home and I'd already sold a pony to them.

I think matching a good pony to a perfect home is highly responsible.

It is passing an animal to a bad or ill researched home that is irresponsible, not the sum of money charged.
 
Not really all about Romeo. Let's say I'm a **** who has no morals about animal welfare. If I buy a horse for meat value plus 10%, let alone 10x meat value, while I might be cruel, its not in my financial interest to do anything that reduces the horse to meat value alone, & if I starve it too much its meat value drops. If I've got it free though, there's no financial incentive to do anything at all for the animals welfare. Infact, just the financial incentive to profit from its meat value. A small minority may well pay a decent sum & still be extremely cruel, but ime the odds are the opposite to when the horse is free. And I think if the horse is worth more than meat money, selling for that, unless you are giving away because you know & like the potential new owner, prevents people taking them for the wrong reasons.
 
These are a conservation herd that could be moved to another location to continue that work. I'm surprised the National Trust or English Heritage haven't somewhere for them.

Giving teen-aged, unhandled Exmoors to many people who would have them as they are free could lead to disaster.

Yes better that they be humanely slaughtered than dragged around the markets first or adopted by people who's only plan is to get meat money.
 
inthemud that's a good way of putting it, of course some horses get bad homes weather sold or free and some horses get fab homes. Nobody can say they will get bad homes.
I was given a old retired pony ( paper ad) that I responded to, he's blind in 1 eye and has 2 old tendon injuries and won't stay in a stable but he will live his life out with me. If that ad had been posted on here all hell would of let loose and he would of had goodness knows how many bullets put through his head via this forum BUT he has a lovely home and we think the world of him plus I keep in touch with his old owners.

And it was only a couple of weeks ago I posted about a ad where somebody wanted a unsound horse for riding but that was ok.
This forum at times is unreal
 
A friend of mine had to give up her three horses and she gave two to one home where they still are and are looked after well and are happy, the third she gave to another friend of mine who also still has her and has worked very hard as she has been a very difficult horse but she is well looked after. I do feel if my friend hadn't had the third and she had gone to somebody else she may have been passed from home to home as she has plenty of issues but a happy ending for all three in this case. Not sure if I would give a horse away but it really depends on the animal and how well you know the person taking the animal on.
 
I have a freebie and a not freebie. However I know seller (OH) and the freebie would have probably been pts otherwise.
He wouldn't have given her free to anyone else as has SI so don't want breeding and is not a nice horse when changing herds gets nasty if unsettled.

I would happily do a freebie horse but only to a good vetted home. I probably wouldn't advertise it as that.
 
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