How do you know its time to say goodbye

No need to be rude you dont know what hes like to ride


It was the 'not too happy when he finds out we are going for a hack' bit. Ahhh you should probably just carry on jumping him then 'cause that video suggests he just lives for it! Wowsers, you're telepathic! Has he told you how sore he is?

*apologies to all, I just do not understand people who don't offer their beloved animal assistance in these circumstances and it's all a bit close to home atm*
 
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You had every say ,every county in this country has many livery yards you chose to leave him somewhere where he was getting a totally inadequate amount of movement.

You come back he's thin and has been stiff why did the vet not see him in Febuary ?

Because its been one of the hardest winters ever and he always winters badly. As I said hes out full time now and getting plenty of extra feed and he feel fines to ride. No difference between how he feels this year or last when ridden.
But as I said Il get someone out to give him a proper once over and see what they say
 
It was the 'not too happy when he finds out we are going for a hack bit'. Wowsers, you're telepathic! Has he told you how sore he is?

*apologies to all, I just do not understand people who don't offer their beloved animal assistance in these circumstances and it's all a bit close to home atm*

I know when my horse is enthusiastic about something as Im sure many people here have horses that get lazy when they realise they are being schooled in the arena but might perk up on a hack.
And iv obviously realised something was wrong or why would I have asked on here....
 
The video made me sad....how can anyone let a horse like him jump??? poor, poor horse.

Can you elaborate please or its just no help to me at all. Hes a long older horse so will never have a very bouncy canter and he lands in ground thats a bit deep hence the back legs but if you could tell me what else you dont like about it and be helpful
 
Im also going to say I posted a video of him jumping in competetion riders a couple fof weeks, same day as this one and it was over a tiny jump and he just kind of walked over it and I got loads of replies about what a nice horse he was and now as I mentioned he refused ONE jump and tripped on a hack Im suddenly an awful owner who doesnt have a clue :confused:
 
How much more advise do you want!!!! That poor horse looks in no fit state to be jumping, He is not enjoying it, it looks like a massive effort to jump, YOU NEED TO GET THE VET He looks in pain. ONCE MORE, GET THE VET
 
Im also going to say I posted a video of him jumping in competetion riders a couple fof weeks, same day as this one and it was over a tiny jump and he just kind of walked over it and I got loads of replies about what a nice horse he was and now as I mentioned he refused ONE jump and tripped on a hack Im suddenly an awful owner who doesnt have a clue :confused:

Linky please :)
 
How much more advise do you want!!!! That poor horse looks in no fit state to be jumping, He is not enjoying it, it looks like a massive effort to jump, YOU NEED TO GET THE VET He looks in pain. ONCE MORE, GET THE VET

IV SAID NUMEROUS TIMES I WILL!!! im just answering posts as they are being posted
 

Just caught up with the post where you say you give him one feed a day as no time for two :rolleyes:

And the one where you could qualify but he isn't fit or ready and the ground is hard, should you just go for it anyway despite it not being the best thing for him or should you go in all guns blazing on the day?

In the link above there is no context, that's the difference between that thread and this one.

URGH.
 
Well, he looks lame for a start, arthritis or not, yet you still jump him without knowing the cause. Are you Rileyboy????
 
hes out in a full field of grass and for the last while hes been upped to two feeds now anyway but that will go back to one soon as soon as weight is up and hes not working enough for so much hard food.

whats wrong with the question I asked, I didnt want to compete him on hard ground which is normal but i also didnt want to go to a qualifier with no pre-run.
 
Well, he looks lame for a start, arthritis or not, yet you still jump him without knowing the cause. Are you Rileyboy????

still jump without knowing th cause for what, hes never felt lame to ride and hes only had issues with one fence. he has jumped everything else no problems
 
hes out in a full field of grass and for the last while hes been upped to two feeds now anyway but that will go back to one soon as soon as weight is up and hes not working enough for so much hard food.

whats wrong with the question I asked, I didnt want to compete him on hard ground which is normal but i also didnt want to go to a qualifier with no pre-run.

By the looks of him you shouldn't be jumping him at all? How many times?

Seriously, how old are you because I need some context that may help me to restrain myself :)
 
to be fair you cant completely judge him on a 9 second video. he went out a jumped a double clear 5 days after that video
 
Look at this list of Phsios and Chiropractors in Ireland

http://www.allhorse.ie/equine-therapy.html

This may help.

Thanks for the help, will contact one of those tomorrow. He was the first horse I got when I moved from ponies when I was 13 so Iv literally grew up with him. I dont claim to be an expert which is why I ask on here for help, I just go on how he feels and he feels great. When im sitting on him and point him to a jump he lights up and hes so happy. Its not nice to come on here and have people tell me im stupid or I dont have a clue. So thanks for helping.
 
That was not very nice.

3000 odd posting since March 2012, well well well you have a lot to say for yourself.

No, it wasn't nice. It wasn't meant to be :rolleyes:

Yup, I'm bored in the evenings sometimes! Aye up everyone the 'honorary admin/post police' has arrived.

Not really interested in your thoughts about my post, it doesn't change the fact that jumping an arthritic, underweight, unfit horse that she considers so bad that it may need to be pts, is stupid. I take it you disagree?
 
This thread is making me want to hit my head against a wall - hard.

OP I don't want to seem like I'm jumping on the bandwagon but actually, you haven't said several times you'll get a vet, you've mentioned a physio which is a start.

It must be hard realising they are getting older but everyone is only thinking of your horse - which is precisely the reason you posted the thread.

First of all, get the vet and physio to give him a good check over - it'll give you peace of mind if nothing else - you'd feel dreadful if something was hurting and you'd carried on - i know i would.

Personally i would take it a bit easier with him - march wasn't that long ago to take a horse from 2xride a week/full time stabling to competition fit/247 turnout.
Building him up with hacking with the odd short schooling.

To be honest I wouldn't stick at the same yard, get him closer to home, all year turnout and if you're unable to go twice a day find someone to help you out by giving him that second feed/once over.

I agree he doesn't look quite that comfortable at the moment so I think it would be wise to step back and assess the situation. Good luck.
 
Iv jumped him 4 times since feb all in the last 6 weeks.. He is underweight after winter but hes not unfit to jump around a course of showjumps. he doesnt even break a sweat after it.
I was only asking people what signs they usually look out for when they know its time to pts I never said I wanted to put him to sleep now. Iv also said numerous times Im more than happy to give him to a hacking home if i can find one.
I spend as much time as I can with him and do everything I can for him, if I didnt care would I be asking for advice
 
This thread is making me want to hit my head against a wall - hard.

OP I don't want to seem like I'm jumping on the bandwagon but actually, you haven't said several times you'll get a vet, you've mentioned a physio which is a start.

It must be hard realising they are getting older but everyone is only thinking of your horse - which is precisely the reason you posted the thread.

First of all, get the vet and physio to give him a good check over - it'll give you peace of mind if nothing else - you'd feel dreadful if something was hurting and you'd carried on - i know i would.

Personally i would take it a bit easier with him - march wasn't that long ago to take a horse from 2xride a week/full time stabling to competition fit/247 turnout.
Building him up with hacking with the odd short schooling.

To be honest I wouldn't stick at the same yard, get him closer to home, all year turnout and if you're unable to go twice a day find someone to help you out by giving him that second feed/once over.

I agree he doesn't look quite that comfortable at the moment so I think it would be wise to step back and assess the situation. Good luck.

Sorry If I didnt mention about the vet, iv kinda got mixed up with all the posts but i will get one.
Last year he was eventing, got placed in all his events but I felt this year eventing might be a bit much so thats why I decided to take the step down to showjumping only.
So I did take a step back, I took him to his first comp, got 3rd place the 2nd comp elim and now i relaise maybe the step from eventing to sj wasnt enough
 
OK agaisnt my better judgement .
HOW DO YOU KNOW IT'S TIME TO SAY GOODBYE ,
You say good bye when despite seeking advice from the vet and medicating / treating as advised .
When you have provided regular physio help.
When you have had professionals checkthe teeth and the saddle are comfortable
When despite changing the food , the management and everything esle you can think of when you have turned every stone and have found no way forward when his eyes are dull and he looses his sparkle when he looks tired and no longer wants to go out and play with his mates .
Then , then that's the moment you know it's time .
Old horses deserve that we treat them with dignity and care and that often costs a lot ,my oldies often much more to keep than my young in work young ones.
If he's unsuitable for you to hack he's unsuitable for a stranger to hack .
 
Hi OP, perhaps leave loose schooling over jumps as jumping a miss for now as if the vet diagnose arthritis he might find this uncomfortable with no pain relief.

My horse is 21 and has arthritis and the best thing for him is constant movement. So maybe start looking for a yard/field that you can have 24/7 turnout at for this winter? Cold weather and a stables arthritic are a bad combination :o

When the vet and physio have given their opinions you'll be in a better position to think about what work he can do going forward. Is it possible to hack out with friends so he has horsey friends to get excited with and make hacking more fun for him?

And about the tripping, is he due shoeing or trimming? Bailey is prone to tripping when his toes are long. I have got some knee boots for him just in case he ever trips over properly, maybe that would help? Although if he's not prone to tripping I would say maybe he did fall over something!!!

I hope you find out what's making him a bit sore, it's horrible when they start to show their age. All I would say on the topic of PTS is; if he's given you 10 years of his life and 10 years of brilliant fun, give him his retirement in return. If he doesn't cope well with his condition while he's on livery then look for grazing closer to home where there's ample grass and you can feed him as much as he needs. These places do exist you just need to search for them and flutter your eyelashes at farmers :-)
 
Op I'm sorry but he doesn't look happy :( I didn't enjoy watching him 'jump'. I never really comment and I don't want to be harsh to you but like others have said, I do think it's for the best to stop the jumping and have him as a nice steady plod
 
Im sorry and maybe im wrong here but i get from your posts banging on about showjumping you love SJ more than the actuall Horse. Face facts, watch that video he isnt happy/excited to be jumping that and looks terribly uncomfortable altogether tbh. A miracle isnt going to happen over night, what ever he did last week, last year or any other time is in the past now and you have to deal with the present and future. If you cant offer him a slower paced life, more turnout etc no-one will judge you but at least do the right thing by this horse and PTS, dont pass him on as a happy hacker theres too many of old/unsound horses being sold as this and non of them have a very certain future.
 
I cant quote as on phone, but I'm not saying he may never compete again - i just think he needs a bit more time to fitten up/be ready and a good all round health check (mine used to have one 6 monthly and anything in between)

Once you've seen your vet you'll have a better understanding of where to go from there. Keep us posted, the people replying don't want to sound harsh, they just want you to realise that he might not be quite up for the level you would like to be at.
 
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