Is selling/rehoming really so bad?

jeeve said:
It really is a matter of it depends. My OH who is not that fond of animals actually believes it is immoral to buy and sell animals like possessions, and in a way I think he is right.
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That's interesting. So he's obviously going to be opposed to the farming industry and any business in which animals are a commodity? Is he vegan?

Such philosophical points don't affect horse welfare though, do they? A horse's quality of life and contentment aren't affected by whether money changes hands. The charity was only talking about what being moved around does to horses, not about money.

I can see that if a horse has a good home, than it would be lovely for it to be in that home the whole of its life. But if it wasn't a good home, it would be better to be sold into a nicer one! :p
 
When i could no longer afford to have my two horses I found my mare a nice home where she competes dressage and hacks and pops small jumps with her new mum.

My gelding (22 this Jan) went on loan to a lady in the north of scotland to give me a break, he came home (was on permanent loan but loaner had to return him) and I he wont be going anywhere due to being kept at a friends and me securing affordable grazing for him.

I did the best I could for them and myself at the time and im afraid that yes i shed tears over it all and was distraught for a while and having to put up with people being @rsey about it behind my back as per the usual horsey world nonsense, but I did it for them and me. My old man wont be going anywhere as being honest the 8 months he was away I felt like a bit of me was missing, I see the other horse out and about and shes doing great and it makes me smile :)

I see no problem with finding them good homes, yes you cant guarantee the home but nobody should be made to feel like crap for doing the necessary.
 
In an ideal world a horse would be "for life not just for Christmas" but life isn't like that. Some people earn a living by breeding or buying youngsters and bringing them on to sell, some people have to sell due to financial difficulties, death or illness, or because they grow out of their animal either in size or ability. Very few people are lucky enough to have the money or the facilities to keep a "staircase" of ponies that their children have grown out of just to decorate a field. Sometimes an horse/pony is bought for a purpose that it's incapable of performing either because he has an accident or illness or because the buyer was unwise in his choice (pony not suitable for a beginner, or sold as a hunter but can't jump, etc)

In many cases it's in the horse's interest to be sold to the right buyer. However, it is our responsibility to choose our horse's new owner with the same care we would choose someone to look after our children if the worst happened. Sadly though, however careful we are in choosing our horse's new owner, we have no control over what happens to him when he's sold on at a later date.

My current horse is 20 and I've owned him for more than half his life. When I bought him I was asked to promise not to sell him and fortunately I can afford to keep him for life but if I had to sell him there wouldn't be much hope for him. He's "old" although he doesn't act or look like it, he doesn't show (hates it), can't hunt any more due to a leg injury and, whilst he'd be ideal for a nervous rider who wants a family hack, he's too big at 16.2hh for a lot of potential buyers of that type. It looks as though we're stuck with each other.
 
On the fence with this one:

One side I have two gorgeous horses, one from being bought as a 3 year old and a recent ex racer (4 years)... both came from womnderful homes/yards before and now they're with me they couldnt wish for anything more and are both happy horses. Neither of them will be sold on.

On the other side, my old ex racer (RIP big man) unfortunately got passed pillar to post - from one bad home to another ... he had no chance so when we finally got him he had severe issues that didnt come from racing and that even with love and devotion couldnt be corrected. Again he wouldnt have been sold on/PTS but fate took him away from us just as we were beginning to get somewhere with him ... the issues did come from being sold on ... and on ... and on ... (every single one a novice home that couldnt ride let alone reschool a chunky 16.2 ex racer who'd raced for over 5 years) so this is the side I dont agree with. Inexperienced people buying completely unsuitable horses.
 
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Victoria25 said:
On the fence with this one:

One side I have two gorgeous horses, one from being bought as a 3 year old and a recent ex racer (4 years)... both came from womnderful homes/yards before and now they're with me they couldnt wish for anything more and are both happy horses. Neither of them will be sold on.

On the other side, my old ex racer (RIP big man) unfortunately got passed pillar to post - from one bad home to another ... he had no chance so when we finally got him he had severe issues that didnt come from racing and that even with love and devotion couldnt be corrected. Again he wouldnt have been sold on/PTS but fate took him away from us just as we were beginning to get somewhere with him ... the issues did come from being sold on ... and on ... and on ... (every single one a novice home that couldnt ride let alone reschool a chunky 16.2 ex racer who'd raced for over 5 years) so this is the side I dont agree with. Inexperienced people buying completely unsuitable horses.
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But in fairness your poor lad was damaged not by having several homes, but by having bad homes. Had he had several good, experienced owners or at least novice owners who had good advice at hand, he'd presumably not have been damaged?

Few of us have the luxury of being able to say we'll never sell our horses, unless we're committed to the idea of pts if circumstances change. That would seen a harsh decision if the horse is young and healthy.

Unless an owner's very wealthy indeed, and/or has their own land, a financial or major health crisis can mean selling is the only option.
 
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