GRR why dont people take responsibility for there oldies?!?!

I know Everyone has their own reasons for their actions, even if we dont agree with them. It must be awful to be in that position
I know im going to struggle with getting my old mare pts, she's 26 and i do see her ageing more.
She had a stroke in Feb and Her arthritis bothers her some days, but as long as she responds well to her danilon and is maintained on her asprin she can still kick her heels up and buck going up the field i feel she's got a good quality of life. Ive already spoke to my vet about timing and we are going to keep a close eye on her, at the moment she's good but i know that can change quickly, i trust my vet to help me with this decision, but id rather be a week early than a minute to late. Personally the thought of her going away with strangers to an uncertain fate would destroy me, she deserves better that that, i can honestly say that if I couldnt afford to keep her i would spend the day with her then have her pts
 
Just to clarify, i do understand that people have changes in circumstances, but there is always fields you can keep ponies in, always people looking for a small companion ponies ect.

Just think looking for a nice for place a pony that age to live out her days with the people she has known for 11 years is better than moving her to somewhere completely new and strange and then getting passed around because the people who take her dont want her anymore either.

Obviously if this is the last option then it has to be done, especially if she is fit happy and healthy.

Mostly i just hate seeing adverts like that (can see her going to a dealer or something and getting sold on as a much younger pony)
 
darkhorse123 said:
"willing or wanting to provide" is so so different from being able to unfortunately, dont be so harsh
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Sorry, I don't think that was harsh - just realistic and expecting people to do the best by their oldies.

Susie T

Yes, a guess but a fairly educated one!:o
Lets be fair here, if the pony was much sought after by friends and family locally or they had the wherewithal to keep her there would be no need to publicly advertise it...I don't see anybody here saying they would have her and there have been many more than 100 views of this thread!

For whoever said about the "90 year old granny" ;) not being PTS, well there are a lot of elderly people looking at huge upheaval due to the care homes companies being at the brink of financial collapse and in the media, there is outrage at the damage that having to move may cause. But it's ok to move on an aged light hack/companion to A.N.Other who answers an ad?

BTW, I have 2 retired horses that I will keep as long as I can afford the livery - as long as I have a job and my health but I will have them PTS if I can't keep them because I'm not prepared to take the risk that much loved by me but realistically useless horses would get passed on to an uncertain future.As a result I can't afford a riding horse but hey ho that's the way things go with horses and I accepted the responsibility for their long term welfare when I took them on...lifes a bitch and all that :rolleyes:

All those who are saying that it's a good idea to rehome an aged mare, do you answer these ads and offer a home? Remembering that you can get much younger horses with some potential for very little or no money these days?
 
I'm afraid BobbyMondeo lives in a fantassy world if they really think there is always a field to keep a pony in or a home willing to take in an aged pony. Far better to pts at home if the pony is aged. The chances are that a pony that age has some level of cushings even if it's not obvious - the stress of moving could, by itself, make the pony very ill.
Earlier this year I faced the horrible combination of the possibility that the yard regime may change to one that didn't suit my horses plus OH's 3rd redundancy in just over a year. If I had to move my oldie would have pts to save him the stress.
 
BobbyMondeo said:
Just to clarify, i do understand that people have changes in circumstances, but there is always fields you can keep ponies in, always people looking for a small companion ponies ect.

Just think looking for a nice for place a pony that age to live out her days with the people she has known for 11 years is better than moving her to somewhere completely new and strange and then getting passed around because the people who take her dont want her anymore either.

Obviously if this is the last option then it has to be done, especially if she is fit happy and healthy.

Mostly i just hate seeing adverts like that (can see her going to a dealer or something and getting sold on as a much younger pony)
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Completely agree with this, if everyone chucked out their dogs and other pets(they do) when they got old etc people should just think when it has no more use what are they going to do in the long term. I enjoy looking after my old boy he gave me good service and deserves to spend his retirement being looked after. My responsibility. But I know plenty of owners that do the same too.
 
Enfys said:
If someone had posted on here (and it has been done) saying that due to circumstances they could no longer care for their horse and were having it pts (myself included) there would also be those crying "Oh no, poor horse, heartless owners, why don't they try to loan/rehome/give to a charity" I got those comments too.

Perhaps they have tried the rehoming route already, perhaps they are considering the pts option but are trying one last effort to find her a new home. Do we always know? No.

I hate this advert bashing with a vengeance. If people are so concerned, then how difficult is it to contact the advertisers and find out the real facts rather than just slagging some unknown person off on a public forum and condemning them out of hand. Often these bitchy threads come back and bite you on the backside because the forum pond is a big one and ripples spread.

Hopefully they will find a home, heck, I'd take her, I have a couple of ancients here now anyway that came via this route, I've also taken others and had them pts straight away rather than see them go through auctions, and I am not the only one, by far, on the forum that has done this. If no solution is forthcoming, then, as many have said, a well placed bullet is not the worst thing that could happen to her.
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Echo this, you dont know this persons circumstances as to why the pony is being given away, dont be so judgemental unless you know the real facts.
 
I don't think it's judgemental to say that it's extremely unrealistic to think you can find a *good* new home via an advert for a 31 year old horse, even if you offer it for free. There are plenty of young, healthy horses going for free these days. The kindest thing for the horse would be to have it put down if you can no longer afford it, rather than putting it through the upheaval of a move, assuming you could even find someone willing to take it.

We all have to think ahead and prepare for these situations, maybe have the funds set aside for euthanasia if it becomes a sad necessity. All horses age and we need to think ahead and be prepared to act responsibly when the time comes.
 
missponymad said:
a horse that age shouldnt have to move around a tall (changing homes i mean) un;ess it really needs to like going to the vets but at 31 i think thats a bit pointless...it would stress the horse out especially an old one. all of its legs all tensing up to keep it balanced. just cruel :( its a shame really an old horse should live at it ast home until it dies, final resting place it think :( xx
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Sorry but what a utterly ridiculous comment.. cruel for moving a horse around? do you know what kind of state this pony is in? no you dont, i know a few 30 year old horses that are still able bodied and out and about at shows etc.
 
Bensababy - I moved my horse 8 years ago (aged 20) to her present stable, having been on a previous yard with me for 8 years and she was totally devastated. I even went to the trouble of bagging up all her bedding and putting it in her new stable so that it smelled familiar but she spent the entire first night looking over the door, didn't eat or move at all. It took her more than a year to settle down even though her new home meant she had daily turnout all year round and she would spend ages in the corner of the field gazing down the road in the direction we had come from. I wouldn't mind moving her again now as I'm not very happy with the place any more, but she is now 28 and I think another move would literally finish her off. She is a horse which gets stressed quite easily and I just don't want to put her through it all again. I can't begin to imagine what an elderly animal would feel like to not only find itself in a strange environment but with strange humans as well who don't understand and do things differently.
 
fatpiggy said:
Bensababy - I moved my horse 8 years ago (aged 20) to her present stable, having been on a previous yard with me for 8 years and she was totally devastated. I even went to the trouble of bagging up all her bedding and putting it in her new stable so that it smelled familiar but she spent the entire first night looking over the door, didn't eat or move at all. It took her more than a year to settle down even though her new home meant she had daily turnout all year round and she would spend ages in the corner of the field gazing down the road in the direction we had come from. I wouldn't mind moving her again now as I'm not very happy with the place any more, but she is now 28 and I think another move would literally finish her off. She is a horse which gets stressed quite easily and I just don't want to put her through it all again. I can't begin to imagine what an elderly animal would feel like to not only find itself in a strange environment but with strange humans as well who don't understand and do things differently.
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As they say each horse is different though, who is to say that the pony advertised would react this way? would you take the chance of having PTS on the off chance she would? i wouldnt, i would rather try and give them a chance at life before i make that final choice.
 
I moved my 31 year old a couple months ago and yes she is a little stiffer than previous but has been getting gradually stiffer for a while. She loves her new yard though and is a very happy horse! Stood up all the way (has been collapsing in trailer/lorry for the past 16 years!) and came off the box happy as pie.
 
Yes, but we aren't talking about just moving to a new yard, this poor little pony is going to have to get used to strangers and their different ways of doing things, as well as a new environment. And what if it has a field buddy at the moment? That is why I orginally likened it to moving an elderly person into a new care home after they'd been in their old one for 10 years or whatever. Look how many posts there are here about someone's new horse going off the rails and becoming the complete opposite to what they they thought they were buying - the vast majority of replies say that's normal, its just the horse showing its distress at the move. What's the difference?
 
fatpiggy said:
Yes, but we aren't talking about just moving to a new yard, this poor little pony is going to have to get used to strangers and their different ways of doing things, as well as a new environment. And what if it has a field buddy at the moment? That is why I orginally likened it to moving an elderly person into a new care home after they'd been in their old one for 10 years or whatever. Look how many posts there are here about someone's new horse going off the rails and becoming the complete opposite to what they they thought they were buying - the vast majority of replies say that's normal, its just the horse showing its distress at the move. What's the difference?
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Yes and my point was is that who is anyone to say this pony is the same? no one knows the situation of this pony, its attitude, how it reacts to situations, just because it is old does not mean it wont be able to cope. Each horse reacts differently - to suggest (not you) that the pony should be PTS without knowing the full situation seems highly judgemental to me.
 
How can this advert sicken you? They clearly love the pony and want only the best for her. Of course, in an ideal world she'd stay at home but circumstances change - they could have been fired from their job and therefore may not be able to afford her anymore. I'd much rather a pony was sold on to someone who could keep her than for someone to struggle financially which would ultimately not end well for the pony.

From a personal point of view, I do still have my 2 very first ponies (now veterans) who I do intend to keep for the rest of their days. However, thats only because we're lucky enough that my mother has somewhere they can stay livery-free. I couldn't afford to keep them if I didnt have her!
 
Oh come on - not one person has said that the pony should be PTS just because of her age or possible failing health.

The point is that it is RISKY to pass on a pony, any horse tbh that hasn't got a real value or the ability to do a job to the next owners. Please remember Spindles Farm, Jamie Grey got all those horses from somewhere after all and I'm damn sure that there are many more like him out there who haven't been caught yet.

I do understand that the present owners are probably between a rock and a hard place at the moment and possibly think they are doing the kindest thing for this mare - but PTS guarantees this mares future, no chance of her ending up somewhere she is neglected, asked to do too much or where vet bills can't be afforded. Times are hard for many, many people and this is when we have to be adult, realistic and do the right (not the easiest!) things for our vunerable animals.

I have to admit that this is a bit of a sore subject for me as know of a case where a family are trying to rehome an aged, lame horse due to family illness and will not consider PTS. IMO the horse shouldn't go through next winter anyway and her original owner never intended her to be moved on at any point let alone this age...
 
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