Horse becoming obsolete?!?!?!?!

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emmaln

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Ok i might be about to make myself very unpopular but...

I just wondered if i was the only one who had horses for life? I don't mean keeping them forever, I believe selling horses responsibly is sometimes the best option but when i buy a horse i feel i make a commitment to that horse not just to get rid of them (i mean PTS not sell!) when they don't do the job i want anymore.

If either of my horses couldn't be ridden anymore then I would either try to afford another one or just accept the fact that i couldn't ride or jump for a while and the horse would be kept as before even if that meant stabling in winter etc.

I have noticed a lot of posts on here about horses that have injuries meaning they can't compete anymore so the owner will have to PTS if noone wants to take the animal on!

Surely we should only PTS if the animal cannot live happily and pain free not if they are no good to us?

Sorry turned into a bit of a rant but just wondered if i am being totally naive or if others felt the same way?
 
I see where you're coming from - I was very shocked the first time I heard someone talking about putting a horse to sleep because it was no longer useful, and I don't know if I'd ever be able to do that to an animal. But at the same time, it can often be the kindest thing to do - if there is absolutely no way you can afford to keep it as a field ornament, some people don't want to sell because there's a chance that the horse might get sold on to someone who will ignore its problems and cause it suffering by trying to work it like a healthy horse when it's not. Also, some horses just absolutely hate being in the field all day not working, so their quality of life may be so badly affected by this that PTS is the kindest option.

It's a horrible decision for anyone to have to make, but I think sometimes there are definitely good reasons behind it.
 
I agree.

I do believe in when you buy a horse, if he/she then is unable to do the job you brought it for, unless you can sell it for another purpose - they are for life.

My current horse I brought as my dressage horse, he is not up to the job, but I have still have him three years on. I have contemplated putting him out on loan as a hack/companion but I am too soft and can't part with him, so I have resided myself to be a hacker/light schooler - even though dressage is my passion.

Once I have some more cash I will get another.

I do agree with horses being PTS though if they cannot have a happy, pain free/controlled field existence.
 
i would never dispose of any of mine, even when my little ones cant be used by the kids i would not sell them on, i have a responablity to them i would perfer to let some one use them and i would pay the costs for them. i could never put something to seep cause it was no use to me. i do understand why some people do and that is there choice, but if it only for money then i feel that is wrong.
these animal work hard for us, i feel we owe it to them to give them a standard of live even when they have reached there there sell by date on use.
 
I am fortunate in that I live on my own smallholding and can keep my horses forever, whether they can continue to work or not. However, I know people who work hard to keep their horses for whatever reason, competing or hacking, and if the horse could no longer do that then they either have to give up the sport they love or make a tough decision. I would never decry anyone for making that decision even though I don't think I could do it myself.
 
No you are not the only one who has horses for life. We do too and have never sold a horse. For the pleasure they give us it is the very least we feel we can do.
 
I think this is a bit too simplistic.

Some horses are not happy retired. I had to PTS a former competition horse that was out of work due to permanent injury (after 2 years of ops and rehab) as he just did not want to settle in the field.

Also, some people are really stretched to be able to afford one horse and if they can't ride it, it's not clear why they should be spending all that money. It's not ideal, but it is easier to keep a spare horse if you have a lot of your own land and it can just live out than if you have to work all hours to keep it on livery.
 
I agree OP, my mare will be with me for life, even though she has a dodgy tendon at 14 and will at best do light hacking, worst nothing for the rest of her life. I'll have to put everything into owning two, so I can buy a youngster to ride, but even if I couldn't do that, I wouldn't off load or PTS my mare for the world until she tells me its the right time to let her go if her quality of life suffers.
 
I agree, my horse looks like he can never be ridden again. He is starting to show signs of depression as he is uncomfortable in himself and is bored. Although I have my own land it is very small and I cannot feasibly keep 3 horses happy on it. I work to keep and enjoy and ride my horses and whilst I can see what people mean about writing horses off if they cant do a job , part of me also thinks that sometimes it is unfair on the horse to be even in mild pain (in the wild they wouldnt last long if ill) and I work long and hard sacrificing other things so that I can RIDE, Seems little point working otherwise. And yes I feel incredibly selfish about this but horses are an expensive hobby and are bred to ridden and used unless of course they are minis etc. OK now you can all shoot me down...... <<<takes cover>>>
 
The only time I would have a horse pts would, obv if they were uncomfortable, unhappy etc, but also, if the horse wasnt insured, and a huge vets bill came along, I wouldnt want my parents/family to find it hard to pay or day to day items, just for the sake of keeping a horse alive...
However, i also dont agree with people keeping the horse alive for their own benifit,and to keep them happy(they still have their horse alive) if the horse is in uneccisary pain
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I was devastated a few years ago at the prospect of my perfect horse having to be retired at 8 yrs old.. I can only afford to keep one horse realistically and although I loved her was so depressed at the thought of a field ornament for possibly 20 yrs. It was strange as when she finally became unrideable (she had advanced Ringbone) I was suprisingly calm and had accepted that this was it now. I couldnt have had her PTS and we decided to see how she coped and would pts if and when we felt she was that uncomfortable. As it went, I found her one morning with colic. I was given the choice of surgery although the vet wasnt optimistic or PTS. It was a very hard decision but we had her PTS. She didnt travel well, she had Ringbone, was lame and the Vet didnt think she would walk out of the stable after so much box rest with her condition.
Its difficult but if you arent prepared to keep them, rather than pass the problem on I think its often kinder to PTS.
 
Louby you did the right thing for your mare. Just as any responsible owner would. Agree with other posters too about not keeping a horse in unnecesary pain or discomfort either.
 
I used to work for a low end horse dealer. The horses who arrived at the yard, were all for one reason or another, unwanted. The ones who had ended up at auction, gone unsold and probably narrowly avoided the meat man.

Some were unrideable, some were aggressive, some had old injuries and were write-offs, some didn't appear to have anything wrong with them at all and turned out to be really nice, sound, safe horses. The one thing they all had in common was they staggered off the lorry with wormy bellies, ribs jutting out and neglected feet. Often we'd put them in a stable and it would take a day or two before we could catch them again, they were so nervous.

I bought one mare and traced her history. She'd been a competition horse until an injury ended her career and she'd been sold as a broodmare. Her owner checked the new home out carefully and kept in touch with the man who bought her. She was shocked when she got my letter asking for history on the mare I'd bought - the man had told her she was out in his field and in foal!! There were four months between the lady selling her and her turning up at my yard. I don't know what happened for those four months but she turned up in a state.

As I said above, some of these horses didn't have anything wrong with them. Generally, these ones sold on fairly quickly once they'd gained a bit of condition and had minor issues worked on. As for the others, if they had obvious problems they eventually were sent back to auction, or wherever else they came from. Poor things are probably still out there somewhere being passed around between dealers.

Anyway, the point of my whole ramble is that no matter how careful you are, once you sell a horse you can't control what happens to them and the truth is that anything could happen. There are thousands of unwanted horses, some that don't have any problems, and there aren't enough companion homes for the ones with issues.

Being a responsible owner isn't about keeping your horse alive at all costs or passing them on to another owner where anything could happen. Being a responsible owner is guaranteeing your horses' future, whether thats a happy retirement in your own field at home or a swift exit at the hands of the vet.
 
You are being naive!
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In an ideal world we would all keep collecting horses but life and finances just don't allow it. My pony broke down about sixteen years ago, my sister's not long after. They were retired and had I had to give up having a riding horse to do it, I would still be without one now as they are very much still alive.

I didn't have to give up riding, the family rearranged livery situations to afford a replacement riding horse. Despite passing a vetting she had severe health problems that the vets at the time couldn't get to the bottom of, which meant she could have been a field ornament but couldn't take work. She was pts age 7, she would have been about sixteen now.
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Her replacement was bought as a six year old and had ongoing soundness problems. He coped as a low level riding horse for six years with hock medication and virtually constant remedial shoeing, however his problems stopped him working age twelve with no chance of improving. He was pts, and he would be about fifteen now.
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His replacement has an extreme behavioral problem and also severe soft tissue injuries inside her front feet. My own back injury and self preservation have rendered her unsuitable for me and although she is sound at the moment, she is unsellable because the foot injuries are likely to reoccur when she is put back in hard work, if this is disclosed - which it would have to be, conscience wise - her feet would be uninsurable, plus she has the history of dangerous behavior. Should I keep her forever too? She is eight.
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By your logic, I'd have five pet horses now and still wouldn't be able to ride. I also wouldn't be able to eat for paying for them. I know I've been fairly unlucky, but I'm sure I'm not the only person in this sort of position. Anyone else who as been knows you have to be realistic.
 
I think we have very different ideas in the UK to the rest of Europe. I have a friend who comes from Germany and she is always gobsmacked by people (like me) who keep horses that are 'no use' any more. I think it is a bit naive to think that all of us should keep horses that are unrideable forever.

I'm lucky enough to have a riding horse and a pet horse, but if anything happened to my riding horse, I'm not sure what I'd do. He wouldn't be happy as a field ornament, and I wouldn't be able to afford another (I would want a riding horse). I don't think that would leave me many options, tbh.
 
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