Has this happened to you? Forever home & re-sold?

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oldnlame

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After reading lots of posts on this forum it has come to my attention that more and more people seem to be posting threads regarding looking for horses that were supposedly sold/given to 'forever homes' and then have been quickly sold on for more money. This has sparked a lot of debate about whether old and lame horses should be pts rather than sold on, for 'fear' of where they might end up...

So I wondered how prolific this type of scam is? Have you ever given an old/injured horse to a supposedly private hacking/companion 'forever' home only to find out later that the horse has been sold on? Or have you been on the receiving end of a 'scam' like this and been sold a horse that turned out to actually older than the passport said, or have behavioural problems or old injuries that had not been disclosed in the sale?

I am undertaking an equine degree at a college in the southeast and am currently writing an assignment regarding what to do with previously injured and older horses once they can no longer compete....so any local information would be very handy. I already know a few people this has happened to but was curious to know on a larger scale how big this problem is.....

I can offer coffee and chocolate croissants for those that have read this far! :D
 
Not quite the same but about 8 years ago I bought for a pound a pony that my daughter had been riding, the owner was moving abroad and needed to sell him however he was lame with suspected spavins, being a typical welsh pony he's quite naughty ridden so old owner was concerned not just about trying to sell a lame pony but what would happen with him ( and how naughty he'd be) the agreement was if he needed to be put down she'd pay.

My daughter did ride him, even though she was really to tall for him, I have also ridden him and had sharers and a loaner for him. I have now retired him as I'm really to heavy for him and being as he is quite naughty I don't want to put any children on him.

Needless to say he's still here and is going nowhere I did have someone ask to buy him and she backed out as I would only loan him! As I worried about what would happen if she decided to have children.
 
I resuced my shetland from been shot. His owners neglected him he was in a bad way. His feet were deformed from not having the farrier out to him for years and he was very very nervous. I took him on got him back to good health and managed to get his feet in a reasonable condition but unfortunately it got 2 expensive to keep 2 ponies so I had to get rid. I ended up giving him to a riding school and he is still there now. I think there is genuine people out there that do mean 'forever homes'
 
I brought a little coloured cob 2 years ago with the view of giving him a forever home, but sadly due to on going injury (not from this horse) I had to sell him April this year, how ever I didn't sell for a profile I made a loss on him, and it was heart braking for me as this was never planned and was no easy to say good bye :( but he has a loving home now with a lady who hacks him out with her sister and her pony
It was not a choice I toke light hearted it toke me along time to make the choice but in the long run I made it for him, as with my injury we would have been stood in a field for next 2 year which although he might like the idea was just not fair
 
It isn't necessarily always a scam, there are plenty of reasons why people can no longer keep a horse.

I think it is very rare that people can guarantee hand on heart that they will never sell or have to part with a horse, life changes and you never know what is around the corner whether it is loss of finance, illness, family circumstances, loss of grazing etc.

Once a horse is sold you have no control over it and that forever home may have been genuine in intent, but life happens!
 
I promised the owners of my girl a "forever home" and 7 years later still got her at age 22. We as a family could never part with her since she's done so much for me. We've also got a 26 year old who has been in our circle of friends all her life. So shes a permanent pony also. But it must be hard for some people, especially with the current climate.
 
Yes sadly, my mother sold one of my ponies to a friend, on the basis it was a forever home, and we would have first refusal if their circumstances changed and they needed to sell. A close friend of my mums had bred said pony and we had had him since a yearling and he meant a lot.

Mum received a call from someone saying they had seen the pony listed in the catalogue for Beaulieu road sales...mum sent someone down there to bid and buy pony back but bidding went crazy, pony was sold to a dealer who had a client in spain...so somewhere in spain is my little chipster. This was about 18 years ago now but it still makes me sad!

But moral of the story is, no home can be guaranteed, and as such if they mean that much to me, they stay or get loaned.
 
Assuming the horse was not elderly or unsound I think a "forever" home is generally a good intention but can never be guaranteed.

For example my mare is not old or unsound but she can be a handful, if I gave my mare away or sold her for a cheap price I wouldn't be looking for a "forever" home so much as the "right" one for her, if they could turn her into something and make money from it and thus securing her a better home from there good luck to them.
 
What about the people who take them on loan to make money and send them to an abattoir (such as one recent case) and not the first nor will it be the last! Or the owners denied access to their horses and then money demanded when they want them back because they are worried for their welfare?
 
However much you may disagree, horses are commodities which may be legally bought and sold. If you sell or give away a horse you relinquish control over it's disposition (promising a "forever home" is not a contract), so if you want to retain control over that horse's future you have 3 choices: keep it, loan it (with a legal contract, and keep in touch) or have it put down.
 
Gifted a mare to the girl who had her on loan as she was desperate for me not to sell her and coud afford to keep but not buy upfront. Horse was fit and healthy, jumped, hacked etc. It was on condition it was forever. I also lent her the horse's saddle short term untill she could buy a new one.

The same year she bought a cute baby cob and sold the mare on I don't know where. Even more insulting, she used the saddle to back the cob and despite me asking for it a lot of times once I found out mare had been sold on, is still using it on him as far as I know.
 
Cortez said:
However much you may disagree, horses are commodities which may be legally bought and sold. If you sell or give away a horse you relinquish control over it's disposition (promising a "forever home" is not a contract), so if you want to retain control over that horse's future you have 3 choices: keep it, loan it (with a legal contract, and keep in touch) or have it put down.
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Totally agree. You sold the animal, whatever the buyer told you and a forever home at the time of sale is all well and good but people change their minds and their circumstances.
 
Spotsrock said:
The same year she bought a cute baby cob and sold the mare on I don't know where. Even more insulting, she used the saddle to back the cob and despite me asking for it a lot of times once I found out mare had been sold on, is still using it on him as far as I know.
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Sorry, more fool you for not going to get it back, can't understand that at all.:confused:

Some forever homes can be brilliant but some can be only forever until they actually have the horse and can then dispose of as they wish.

The worst cases are those that have horses with problems which they don't disclose (remember Patches and Bailey?) which can be downright dangerous to both horse and handler if the new people don't know anything about them let alone very upsetting to the person that sold/gave in good faith and gives further ammunition to the PTS brigade particularly if it's something with a problem anyway. Do the decent thing for them, don't let them have the chance of suffering because you're too soft or want to shift the responsibility to someone else. IMO, if that happens then you only have yourselves to blame for your horse's future and have no excuses for your behaviour.

ETA, I don't mean to imply Patches was dishonest at all, she disclosed all of Bailey's problems to his new owners, it was they that were dishonest, sorry if you read that differently.
 
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It happened to me in reverse with my old boy.

I'd bought him from my friend's OH who used to work at a riding school - he was the most fantastic horse and I loved him to bits. It was when passports were not obligatory, but he did have one which gave details of the previous owner, so I wrote to her just to let her know that her horse was in a good home and as she didn't live too far away I said that she was very welcome to come up anytime to see him etc.

Then I got this letter from her: she was basically a bit upset coz she said that when friend's OH bought the horse from her, he'd basically given an assurance that it was a "home for life" and he'd never been sold on!!!! So then within six months, I as the new owner had got in touch and completely blown the wind out of her sails; poor lass, she was very upset about it, but not at me obviously.

She never did come up to see him; which was a shame I think, but her decision.
 
10 years ago I promised the owner of my old racehorse, Bob, a "forever home", as she was no longer able to keep him, and that's exactly what he got, as I only lost him 5 months ago aged 29. (You are still very much missed , my beautiful boy) so there ARE "forever homes " out there, though I realise its not always possible, however good the intentions. Circumstances change. And I also realise there are some not so honest people about too. My cob , Murphy, will be going nowhere either.
 
Sometimes, when a 'forever' home goes wrong, it can be better!
I was gifted Ted by my old vet. His previous owner had had a bad few years, Ted had been allowed to get obese, had chronic laminitis and had had very little 'care' for a few years. The old owner was moving abroad, tried to sell him (at a stupid price imho) but left everything to the last minute. The vet's daughter was at the yard when she heard that he was to be shot the following day, the day before the old owners moved abroad. She arranged to take him home to save him from the bullet.
The vet's wife was expecting something small, not a sec D! They knew I was looking and offered him to me on loan, once they'd got the lami under control and made sure he was healthy, they knew I wasn't bothered about having a riding horse. In the end, they decided to gift him to me as they weren't really in a position to have him back.
I got in touch with his original owners, took a while as nobody knew their foriegn address! Turns out, I used to work with her many years ago! She had been devasted when she left as she thought she'd found Ted a home for life, then discovered he'd been moved on almost straight away. He was stunning to look at, and had had a successful stud and showing career in his youth, she imagined him buted up and sold on!
Ted really was my horse of a lifetime, he did come back into light work for a few years then enjoyed retirement as a pampered pet, I miss him everyday
 
I have in my field, a 10 yr old very nicely bred hanovarian. His original owner had him diagnosed by her vets with an injury that meant he would only be suitable for light hacking. The owner, i believe, was very upset and thinking she was doing her best, sold him for £50 to a 'forever' home for light hacking. This home promptly passed him to some dealers, who buted him and jumped him over 1.40m and sold him unseen to a lady i bought him off. she got him home realised he was lame - traced old owner through the passport - dealer did a disappearing act. New lady should have had him PTS, but instead she advertised him in the local paper. Me being a complete sucker felt sorry for the horse and got him for next to nothing.
He is fine for very light hacking, but he is high maintainence and at 17.1hh isnt everyones cup of tea. If ever i cant keep him i will PTS without a second thought - it could so easily have ended badly for the poor boy.
 
if you sell your horse thats it sold all you can do is hope, even If the buyer believes they will give the horse a forever home many things happen in life that may lead to a horse being sold.
Loans seem to be fraught with danger and I would never risk it unless I personally knew the person well and could see the horse often.
You read so many sad story's on here and many really happy ones ,once a horse passes from your care you can only hope all goes well for it.
 
My friend's horse has been re-sold 5 times since going to a "forever" home :( vet said she should never be ridden again, so of course the person who has her now is riding her ... friend now wishes she'd just had her PTS.

Very, very sad.
 
Maesfen said:
Sorry, more fool you for not going to get it back, can't understand that at all.:confused:

Some forever homes can be brilliant but some can be only forever until they actually have the horse and can then dispose of as they wish.

The worst cases are those that have horses with problems which they don't disclose (remember Patches and Bailey?) which can be downright dangerous to both horse and handler if the new people don't know anything about them let alone very upsetting to the person that sold/gave in good faith and gives further ammunition to the PTS brigade particularly if it's something with a problem anyway. Do the decent thing for them, don't let them have the chance of suffering because you're too soft or want to shift the responsibility to someone else. IMO, if that happens then you only have yourselves to blame for your horse's future and have no excuses for your behaviour.

ETA, I don't mean to imply Patches was dishonest at all, she disclosed all of Bailey's problems to his new owners, it was they that were dishonest, sorry if you read that differently.
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I only found out she was selling after she had done and she won;t tell me where it went so I couldn;t go and get the mare. I have turned up and requested my saddle to be told it wasn;t at the yard, it's a livery so breaking down doors is not an option as the livery would then incurr the costs not the person I lent it to, even if I were that sort of individual. Not sure which you mean I should have gone to get.
 
I find it slightly puzzling that a lot of people seem to assume that every sale is to a worse owner. You are not the only person who will look after your horse! If you have a decent, well trained, sound horse there is no reason that it won't get an even chance. If it is unsound, badly trained or crazy then perhaps you should consider not passing on the problem if you are worried about outcomes?
 
Yes sadly this has happened to me , I sold a mare to a local woman from me who gave me her word , my mare would be in a permanent home for life , I went and did all the vetting of home etc and was happy with the situation I sold her for just under 2000 because she needed rebreaking etc
6 months on mare was stuck infoal and had a price tag of nearing 4000
Pissed off was an understatement !!
 
We bought Miro for my OH to get back into riding after a few years break ad had every intention of being his forever home. The lady we bought him off had him from a 2 year old, we bought him aged 9. However, after 2 years OH wanted to get back into jumping (Miro was a dressage horse and didn't much care for anything else) and we only have really have the time and grazing for 2. We made the upsetting decision to sell as OH wanted to do more and Miro had essentially become my 2nd horse rather than OH's. We toyed with the idea of keeping Miro and just having to manage the land really carefully but as Fabio is my priority we didn't think it was fair on Miro to always be sidelined in favour of 2 other horses as he really enjoys his work!
So, we advertised and had a lot of interest. A lady came to try him who wanted to build her dressage skills and loved him. Brought her instructor back the next day and bought him! She's kept in contact with us and Miro is really enjoying inparting his wisdom on her, so i think we made the right choice. She said he'll never leave her and if thats true then brilliant, but i know all to well that sometimes thats not possible. OH now has a horse he can do everything on too.
The only time i felt really awful was when Miro's old owner contacted me asking if i'd sold him. She completely understood though and was just happy we'd made sure he went to a good home. The new owner has agreed to update the old owner as well as us too which means everyones happy! There doesn't always have to be a bad ending! :)
 
Our horses have 'forever' homes with us, simply because the plight of many horses these days makes my stomach turn and I feel responsible for those I have. I might sell them to a great home but I'd have no control over who they might be sold to after that. I just can't think of a horse or pony in the same way as I'd think about a car. Luckily we have enough land and when the time comes they will leave livery and come home to retire. First to retire will be our characteful Gypsy Cob, bought as bombproof (from dealers of the same name, need I say more...) but who spooks at her own shadow, bucks and naps for England. Beneath those quirks she has a heart of gold and I love her to bits. She is 20-plus now and the thought of her being sold on is unacceptable.
 
MHOL said:
What about the people who take them on loan to make money and send them to an abattoir (such as one recent case) and not the first nor will it be the last! Or the owners denied access to their horses and then money demanded when they want them back because they are worried for their welfare?
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That is different and totally illegal - well I would like to say illegal but sadly having read a lot of your posts seems that this is an area frequently ignored by the police. Everyone sells hoping for a good home but once sold you have no say over what happens. Sadly we can't all keep our horses forever either.
 
Iv been given a warmblood and a tb i told the owners id never sell. And there still with me my warmblood was only four at the time and my tb was five Iv never sold any of my horses but do give to friends and always have them back if they have problems. Iv been lucky because they keep for life as well.
 
Anyone looking to pass a horse on to a forever home is basically demanding what they have failed or been unable to provide themselves.

It may (of course) not be their fault that they cannot deliver on a forever home themselves, but it is still failing the horse especially if it is old / sick / has behavioural issues. There should not be an expectation on others to do what they have not done themselves.

Childrens ponies who are outgrown is one exception but other than that I believe that horses are taken on as members of your family and like your family, for good or ill they should be with you until the end of their days. Even if that means (as it does for me) bread and jam for tea and no holidays and a very different lifestyle than our income on paper should allow.

So although it it wrong for the buyer of these horses to not give them a forever home, they wouldnt have needed one if their original owner had given them it.
 
Laura1812, your horse isn't called Razor by any chance?

There was a long thread on here a couple of years ago about a horse that sounds very similar to your circumstances. Thread was pulled eventually.

I have just sold on a healthy mare that I had promised a forever home to only six months ago. I have completely lost my confidence after a spate of falls and despite them not really being her fault, I decided that she would be better off with a more confident rider, rather than sitting in a field all day. As somebody else has said, circumstances can and do change.
 
Do you think that us as people make more of a big deal over selling horses than necessary? And i do mean a genuine sale, not one where problem horses are passed on. Me and OH were genuinely devastated to sell Miro and a lot of tears were shed. Yet he settled in just fine at his new home, as he did with us! Our new horse Freddy was settled in a day like he'd been here for years. Whilst we like to think that our horses couldn't possibly be as happy with anyone else, its not really the case.
 
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