Horse wasted with me? Should I sell?

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Horses24-7

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Ive got a 17h Han x that I bought as a 5 yr old to bring on to fulfil my dream of eventing. 6 months into owning him I became pregnant so the dream went on hold, then with having a baby etc I didn't have the time or money to be off competing, although I did work him and bring him on considerably but just couldn't afford my own transport to compete. 5 years on I have just had my second baby and he's now 10. I know he won't take much to get back to his brilliant self, but i can't help thinking he is wasted with me as if it follows the same trend as with my first baby he will be 15 before I get chance to compete him. I'm worried that if i keep him he will devalue and be wasted. I love caring for him etc and didn't know whether I would be best to sell him and buy a newly weaned foal that will be ready when my baby is at an age I will have more time and money?

What do you think?
 
I hate the horse is wasted expression. No horse that is well cared for and loved is wasted in my eyes.


If you love him and he loves you then why sell, if you feel that you are giving him the time he deserves then why sell?


My pony Toffee although she only did PC stuff could have gone so much further with her dressage but I dont think she was wasted I didnt have the knowledge (dont really now) but I love her sooooo much and we have such a good time together. And now I could do a bit more with her shes got arthritus so we are only hacking. But I dont feel she was wasted with me. And you never know at 15 the bond between you will be soooo good that maybe competing will bring a thrill to you both and something you can enjoy together.

Hope that helps x
 
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Definitely not wasted. I remember someone telling me a long time ago that horses are not ambitious in terms of competitions, and if they have ambitions at all, it is to be well cared for.

If he's happy, and you're happy, there is no problem. By all means sell and get a foal instead if this is what you would rather do, but don't feel you are letting your horse down by keeping him.
 
I agree with toffee, I think its silly when people say that a horse is ‘wasted’. Much to a lot of people’s dismay, horses do not have aspirations. Owners may have aspirations for them, but as long as they are well cared for, stimulated and loved, they couldn’t care less if they were winning at Burley, or jumping a log in there own field.
So I personally would keep hold of him, and then in the future when you have the time an means, you can reap the benefits of all your training and dedication. :D
 
No, don't worry. I'm sure alot of us on here have horses who could achieve more (mine could defo BE up to advanced I'm told) but he isn't wasted with me. We have loads of fun and tbh I think if you asked him he'd rather do 60/70cm anyway.
 
AND what about those who have youngsters as companions that never get backed etc but get groomed, cuddled and loved, they arent wasted.


I think some of us are feeling a bit like you at the moment, mine havent been ridden since Dec what with the weather, uni and the mud, and my hacking friends horse is off sick. But I know that in 3 weeks my bum will be back on board x
 
there are plenty of older horses competing in dressage and jumping, and if you don't do much with him he will be low millage so less pressure on his joints etc so even older may still have plenty of life left in him aged 15.

I guess if you do want to sell him later though it will devalue him but then that only matters if you are thinking of selling him on, could you loan him out or share him with someone who wants to bring him on and compete and keep him going until you are ready for him?

i could do more in my career but I don't think I am wasted just because I choose not to do all that I am capable of, as doing more might not make me happier, same goes for your horse.
 
A foal would probably take more work educating than you're spending with your boy now. Leading, feet picked up, manners etc, not to mention the fact that he's not spending endless nights dreaming about going to the Olympics. As long as you can give him the attention he needs to keep him healthy and happy thats what counts.
 
Horses aren't ambitious. He won't be losing sleep about the fact that he has never tackled the Hickstead Bank. The question is, do you like him and do you enjoy the time that you spend with him.
Don't feel guilty. I think that you should enjoy the time that you spend with him. You have obviously had him for some years and you have a bond and a relationship with him.
 
If you sell the horse there is no garruntee that the new owner will do anything different to what you have done/ are doing.
I also agree with the previous posts here, "wasted" is a silly term.
 
If you love him and love spending time with him then keep him! Horses dont care about their potential, they care about dinner and routine and having an owner that knows their qwirks - all of which you provide!

If you want him to do more in the next few years maybe look for a competative sharer? My teenage sharer took my girl to pc rallies and local comps and they both had a great time. Shes recently left me to go to equine college and work at an event yard and i would def consider another sharer that wanted to compete and do pc / rc. This does require a certain amount of standing aside and not being jealous but it worked for me plus he would be fit for when you did have more time in the future.
 
I totally agree with everyone. I bought my boy as a 3yr old. He was brought over from europe and has very good blood lines. The plan was to do BSJA but funnily enough, life got in the way and we didnt really get round to the competition part. He is now 11yrs old and in my opinion has the life of larry. My mum (who is not horsey) thinks he has been wasted and could have gone far but like what every1 else has said, he is happy, healthy and doesnt particuarly seem bothered if he is ridden or not. only thing he is bothered about is getting a cuddle and his dinner :D
 
my pony is very capable of doing so much more than I am capable of getting out of him especially as I have trained him myself and I am slightly embarrassed about my ability but he is probably delighted as he does not have to work as hard as he might have to if he was with a more competitive accomplished rider.
 
JosieB said:
and god forbid he ''devalues''
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Not everyone intends to have "forever horses" - and they are expensive animals. Its perfectly acceptable to consider its value and devaluation. The only time it would'nt matter is if you are rich enough not to care, or if you intend on having the horse until the end of its life.
 
My mare competed at a high level. She spent her life stressed and over worked. With most weekends away from home, she was never hacked or did anything just for fun and didn't get the one to one attention that she so loves. Overall she was treated like a machine really.

And then when she became sour, she was sent to a dealers yard.

How many horses do you think would choose that kind of lifestyle?

If you sell him, whose to say that this couldn't happen to your horse?

Don't be daft:rolleyes:;):D
 
My boys are completely "wasted" at the moment. They get hacked 2/3 times a week and that's it. One is/was a decent dressage horse, the other a nice allrounder. I do feel guilty occasionally but they are both happy boys and that's what really counts.
 
sprite1978 said:
Not everyone intends to have "forever horses" - and they are expensive animals. Its perfectly acceptable to consider its value and devaluation. The only time it would'nt matter is if you are rich enough not to care, or if you intend on having the horse until the end of its life.
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Thank you sprite, I would love to think I will keep him into retirement etc, but the only way I could do this would be to give up riding when he does as I can only afford to keep 1 horse at livery.
 
nosenseofdirection said:
Definitely not wasted. I remember someone telling me a long time ago that horses are not ambitious in terms of competitions, and if they have ambitions at all, it is to be well cared for.

If he's happy, and you're happy, there is no problem. By all means sell and get a foal instead if this is what you would rather do, but don't feel you are letting your horse down by keeping him.
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Good saying, and unless you are really worried about the money then keep him in his happy home :)
 
elsbells said:
My mare competed at a high level. She spent her life stressed and over worked. With most weekends away from home, she was never hacked or did anything just for fun and didn't get the one to one attention that she so loves. Overall she was treated like a machine really.

And then when she became sour, she was sent to a dealers yard.

How many horses do you think would choose that kind of lifestyle?

If you sell him, whose to say that this couldn't happen to your horse?

Don't be daft:rolleyes:;):D
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I had forgotten that one of my horses had been bought through a deal as a failed Grade A as a seven year old. He never settled to a less stressful life and was sold on. He was soured by life and people, but loved cuddles. I don't think he had had many.

Unless you really think he is bored, keep him and love him
 
Not all horses want to compete. My little horse couldn't give a monkeys whether we compete or not! He is also very well bred, but has been passed around a bit because he doesn't see the point in competition and can be quite difficult. He is certainly much happier messing around, hacking, jumping a bit, doing a bit of dressage and generally being rubbish at my riding club, than being made to intensively work as a competition horse does. His brother does BE90, and I am sure mine is perfectly capable.
 
And when his next person thinks he is too old/past it and can't afford to retire him, where do you think he'll end up? I think everyone who is thinking of selling for reasons which really DON'T stack up, should go and visit a few low-end sales. Then visualise their horse in one of the pens...

On the other hand, he may end up with a home like ours where we stand by them to the very end.

We buy ours and write the purchase price off. We don't see them as assets, more like the sentient creatures with pretty high needs - and a fairly precarious lifepath if things don't go too swimmingly and they become unsound or ill. Yes, it's emotionally quite draining and a real pain in the rear when they are sick and can't be ridden/cost money, but still need the same level of care as when they are well. If you can't handle that, you shouldn't take them on!

I'm grey with worry about the loan mare we have out coming back - but there's a place here for her and it's MY problem as to how I'm going to keep her exercised and well with no rider. I have a semi-retired lad, another pony and our son's little horse, all of which I face making one decision only on - and that's when it's their time to go to the forever field. Another really poo side to owning horses but I have 'kept my word' to two already - I'll manage again.

Could you have a rethink? He sounds like a really nice horse who deserves someone to look out for him.
 
There are two ways of looking at this:
A horse is never wasted if it's well looked after and loved. If you enjoy him then keep him and do whatever you want with him. Forget about the purchase price though, that has been and gone.
If, however, you are concerned about his value (which is a legitimate concern, none of us are millionaires!), then you need to make some tough decisions. As a 10 year old who has never competed his value is already dropping. If you want to salvage the money you paid for him you need to get him out and about to gain a record (or pay a professional to do it for you) and then sell him asap. You can then buy a cheaper horse that suits your current needs.
 
Well I'd look at this way, you have put the work in to him in the past and by the sounds of your post you have a good horse at a good age that come back into work nicely (when you have the time) he's there and ready to compete again when you have the time but buying a foal or another youngster, you are just starting the whole process all over again, if anything you are going to have to put more time into a youngster than what you are already doing now if you thing about the time it takes up, handling and training etc before the horse is even broken in and then you'll have to start putting all that work into a young horse again while you still have your two children, yes they will be older but they will stay take as much time up then surely as they do now?

So personally I think the better option is to stick with the horse you have now, don't feel guilty about not being able to compete him, all good things come to those who wait and besides, he'll have less mileage on his clock, if he's a good horse you were not going to sell him anyway, then I can't see why his value should come into it.

:)
 
Horses24-7 said:
Thank you sprite, I would love to think I will keep him into retirement etc, but the only way I could do this would be to give up riding when he does as I can only afford to keep 1 horse at livery.
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Ah - well this is a rather different slant - I read this as

"I want to carry on riding well into the future, but by the time I can concentrate on it horse will be getting on and I may not have many years left with him before having to retire and stop riding".

So the emphasis there is really "devalue" rather than "wasted".

Nothing wrong with that sort of sentiment at all - most of us can only afford one horse at a time. Looks as if you have two choices.

1 - sell now at 10 when he should (at least when the market picks up again) achieve a reasonable price, and buy a younger horse that is likely to give you more riding years.

You may even wait for a couple of years whilst latest baby grows up an bit and, if you save the money you would have spent on livery, you'll be able to afford something reasonable when ready to start again.

2 - keep him and manage him so that he is fit enough to carry on being ridden very actively well into his 20s.

It rather depends on what level of competition you are looking at - but remember, horses have been round Badminton in their high teens and early 20s.


Nothing wrong with either option, but if you're going to sell, far better to so that now, when he has a chance to move to an owner who will have a fair few "active years" and will be likely to look after him into retirement, than try and do that with a horse in late teens when homes are far more limited.
 
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