Horse written off - what do you do?

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JACQSZOO

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OK I have a dfficult scenario for you. I hasten to add thanfully it is not me in this position but a friend.
You keep your horse at livery - this is the only option available to you as you do not have the luxury of your own land. You only have the one horse as finances will not allow you to have two. Your horse is 8 years old. You are the wrong side of 40. The horse has recently been lame and the prognosis for returning to work is not good but horse will become paddock sound. Due tp previous experiences the owner will not, under any circumstance consider loaning.

What would you do?
 
If it were me and my horse I would keep because he has become a 'pet' (albeit an expensive one).

However if I wasn't as attached as I am I would sell as a companion.
 
Going to sit on the fence and ask a few questions 1st..... IS the horse happy living in a field and doing no exercise or is he the sort to thrive on exercise? How important to your friend is the riding side of keeping a horse??
I have to say i would'nt want to sell as a companion as no doubt it would be sold and before long be being ridden and i feel it is just passing the buck, however i would consider loaning as a companion ( as ultimately you still have the say of what goes) although this depends on the sort of horse ( most companions are kept out 24/7 is the horse happy doing this??)
 
I'm a complete softy and view my horses very much as pets and companions rather than working animals, so if the horse would come 'paddock sound' and could live a happy pain free life in the field, I would find a retirement home for him. Finances wouldn't come in to it for me - if I couldn't afford another one as well I would try and share or just have lessons when I could.

BUT, if the horse's quality of life would be diminished or he couldn't be a field ornament for whatever reason (I know of some horses who cannot cope with the herd environment), then I guess the only option is PTS.

Poor thing though, how awful at only 8 years old!
 
Depends on what is wrong with the horse - if it was just an injury then I would find a retirement livery yard and place them there, even if it meant not being able to have another horse. When you buy a horse, you should committ to it - would you have a dog or cat put to sleep just because they couldn't chase a ball or catch a mouse? It is your duty of care to look after that animal.

If the horse had a degenerative disease, such as wobblers or arthritis, then I would have to think harder about what was right for the animal. I am not a great fan of euthenasia to be honest, but having said that I would not want an animal to be in pain and suffering.

I think the best thing your friend could do would be to find a specialised retirement yard for her horse.
 
I've been here with my old mare, she was able to become a expensive lawn mower, she as quite happy to do this and in time I was able to hack her out again.

HOWEVER I was able to buy another horse a year later. It was a struggle but I manged by moving livery until I lost the first mare due to colic.

My horse I have now will not retire, she passionatly hates not working, she's having a week off at the mo and isn't too far of becoming phsycotic with boredom!
 
The horse is happy out - but does drop weight in winter and has always been stabled at night during the winter. He does get bored and into mishchief.
Yes riding is very important to the owner - they see no point in having a horse if it cant be ridden. If the horse was older I dont think it would be a problem but the prospect of keeping said horse for the next 15 plus years as a field ornament has thrown up some serious questions.
 
Why is loaning as a companion not an option? Even if owner has had bad experiences before, surely it would be better to try than have horse PTS.

That is what I would try to do, or failing that would try and find some grazing somewhere for a nominal amount of money and either buy another, or part loan if I couldn't afford it even with the cheap care of the other.

If the horse was a very high maintenance one, or would not be happy as a companion, I may consider PTS eventually [depending how attached to the horse I was] - but it would be a last resort if I could find no alternative.
 
Also the owners age is also a huge factor in this. They are the wrong side of 40 and being realistic they know that if they keep this horse, whether at current livery yard or at retirement livery then they will likely never be in the position to have their own riding horse again.
 
If the horse is going to become paddock sound, the chances are it will also be sound enough for light hacking. In which case, I would move horse on to inexpensive DIY livery (no need for horsewalkers/schools/xc etc) to keep costs down and wait and see and be patient. I have a 9 year old - a year ago I was told the best I could hope for was that she would be field sound, but we are now hacking out again.
 
I would give him as a companion to somebody I knew or who was well known so I knew he wouldn't get passed on. Ideally have it written that I had first refusal at his value should they not be able to keep him. Maybe a retirement home?

Would he become sound enough to compete inhand?

Otherwise I would start looking for a cheap, grassing livery to keep him at. Things can change and your friend could become in a better situation to afford anouther horse or keep him at home, friends for free etc...

I would normaly say PTs but eight is too young to PT just because he isn't ridden sound. In theory he could happily live 17 od year more... but thats a very long time to keep a pet.
 
They do not have loss of use. The issue of being paid out if the horse is PTS is neither here nor there in this case - the horse is worth very little in monetry terms.
 
Ok...... i am a softy and would definately have a bash at the loaning as a companion or as spiral says try and find a cheaper livery option for the horse where it can live out in a sheltered field. However if that option is not there i would get a 2nd opinion from a vet ( unless the problem is really that obvious that horse can never work at all again) and i would consider having it put down.
 
It depends on how much riding means to the owner.

If I was in that position I'd move horse to a cheaper yard with all year 24/7 turnout as a pet.
 
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I'd probably investigate giving the horse to a reputable blood bank if I were in that situation.

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Sorry to sound stupid, but I've never heard of that before? Could you explain?
 
Um, it sounds like the person at the centre of this story is simply looking to have their decision to have the horse PTS vindicated. If it can't be loaned out (why not?) and the owner is keen to ride and apparently old people can't have horses (eh??), then they should just pull their finger out, send the horse off to the hunt kennels and get a new one.

I can sort of see why someone would choose euthanasia over throwing it into a field and seeing if it will come sound. If you really, really want to compete, and hunt, and your life revolves around being out and about with your horse, then an unsound horse is nothing but heartache, and the owner might even end up resenting him, which would be a bit of a tragedy. Its easy to sit here and say, oh yes, i'd keep him as a pet forever because there's no difference between having a sound horse and an unsound one....but the reality is very different.
 
Would it not be worth contacting either the blood bank or the ILPH? I think your friend is being quite short sighted in not wanting to loan him out but still wanting to ride. Surely at the end of the day if she wants to continue riding that badly then finding a suitable retirement home for the horse would be a priority? I appreciate that emotions run high in these situations but ultimately her own happiness as well as the needs of the horse has to be taken into consideration.
 
I think when you are the wrong side of 40 and the prospect of not being able to ride again is an option you are facing then it actually becomes far more important than you ever realised.
There is no point getting second opinions from vets etc etc - its all been done. The horse will never be sound enough to be ridden .
 
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I'd probably investigate giving the horse to a reputable blood bank if I were in that situation.

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Sorry to sound stupid, but I've never heard of that before? Could you explain?

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Ditto
 
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