Just seen yet another ad☹️

[asmp]

Just seen another sad ad selling a 24 year old and ”loving forever home is essential”. ?

 

[MereChristmas]

Where in the country?

 

[asmp]

The south

 

[MereChristmas]

Too far

 

[Lipglosspukka]

The one with sweet itch? I saw it too.

It sounds like it would be okay for a nervous novice though so hopefully a nice person will come forward to offer a home.

 

[meleeka]

Just seen another sad ad selling a 24 year old and ”loving forever home is essential”. ?

Where was the ad?

 

[Lipglosspukka]

Nfed

 

[Errin Paddywack]

Just looked, ad is gone.

 

[millikins]

Pre (this) lockdown ad on NFED for a 4 year old "very lame" 15 hh horse looking for a companion home Fortunately that's been pulled now too.

 

[spotty_pony]

So sad ? I have a 17, 21 and 28 year old and they will stay with me until the end.

 

[ycbm]

I hate it but I don't want to be too quick to condemn. In spite of the furlough another 90,000 people have been made redundant and there are probably going to be quite a few people faced with selling or PTS a perfectly healthy older horse or a younger one they can't pay the vet bills for investigating.
.

 

[Gingerwitch]

There was one I saw for 500 pounds 17 and either could be brought back in to work or as a companion home. I still wish the poster who went to the sales and saw the well loved pony whickering at everyone had done a video. Just so owners know where they may end up. I still have nightmares about that scene which is probably far worse in my imagination than happened in reality. I have to tell myself if she went for meat it was over in a month or so after being touted round the bin end markets or she was picked up by a loving well informed home whonhave cherished the pony for ever.

 

[Miss_Millie]

Something I have noticed a lot recently is 'bought as a project a few weeks/months ago but don't have time/not suitable/changed my mind' blah blah blah.

Horses are creatures of habit that like a routine and stability. It breaks my heart to think of how many get passed around home after home and never get to settle.

I have always seen owning any animal as a huge commitment, of both time and money, so taking on any new animal is something that I always give a lot of thought to.

I agree that there must be a lot of people in financial difficulty right now though, and therefore selling in their position is completely understandable, but it also seems that some people enjoy passing around 'projects' and not thinking about how that feels for the poor horse.

 

[Scotsbadboy]

Im all for selling horses, it happens for various very valid reasons but i think when they get to a certain age they really have deserved their forever home and it breaks my heart seeing them for sale when they reach their twenties

 

[stormox]

Im all for selling horses, it happens for various very valid reasons but i think when they get to a certain age they really have deserved their forever home and it breaks my heart seeing them for sale when they reach their twenties

Sometimes a 'forever home' may be forced to get rid of a horse they are unable to keep - getting really ill, death, having to sell your land whatever. Not all eventualities are forseeable. But what do you do with a healthy 17-18 yr old ..... - PTS (killing!!) seems very mean but Hickstead Derby has been won by an 18 yr old...... its a difficult decision and if we havent been in that situation ourselves maybe we should'nt be too judgemental when we see adverts for oldies....

 

[Lipglosspukka]

What i find most upsetting is when people will flog them when they need help.

I once went to see an older pony who was described as being quiet enough for a beginner/riding school. When I got there I was presented with an elderly mare who was so stiff that it was obvious she was so quiet because she was hurting. It was sad to see a pony who obviously needed veterinary treatment being sold on to what would likely be an unsuspecting novice.

 

[deb_l222]

It's the hypocrisy of these sorts of adverts I truly despise. Yes, no-one know what circumstances have forced the owner to sell a 24 year old horse but they cannot demand a 'loving forever home' for it when they themselves aren't prepared to offer it one.

If I won the lottery, I would set myself up with a retirement livery just for these types of horses and they could all pootle around until the end of their days

 

[Errin Paddywack]

Back in the 60's I went with my boss to Leicester Horse sales. There was an elderly bay roan gelding there, plaited up rather badly and just left with no-one with him. He was a dear old thing and I felt so sad for him and angry with whoever had done that to him. All these years later that still haunts me. I have never and would never sell on an old horse for whatever reason, much rather pts.

 

[Kat]

There was one I saw for 500 pounds 17 and either could be brought back in to work or as a companion home.

I'm not sure I can get too worked up about that. My friend bought her old boy aged 18, he'd been doing nothing in a field having retired as a hunt horse he was sound but getting older. He has been the most incredible first horse for her, absolutely couldn't ask for better, reliable and safe, fun and up for anything but sound and tough. He could have stayed in that field fat and bored until something went wrong and he was PTS but instead he has had an amazing time doing pleasure rides, hacking, competing, and hunting with bloodhounds. He's still hacking out and loving life in his late 20s now and is incredibly well loved.

If people don't sell older sound horses then there are no nice schoolmaster types to buy. Obviously a bit of due diligence is required but there is no reason why people shouldn't sell sound older horses.

 

[Scotsbadboy]

Sometimes a 'forever home' may be forced to get rid of a horse they are unable to keep - getting really ill, death, having to sell your land whatever. Not all eventualities are forseeable. But what do you do with a healthy 17-18 yr old ..... - PTS (killing!!) seems very mean but Hickstead Derby has been won by an 18 yr old...... its a difficult decision and if we havent been in that situation ourselves maybe we should'nt be too judgemental when we see adverts for oldies....

Totally understand and agree. For whatever reason they are looking for a new home, the oldies i see advertised always makes me sad.

 

[Gingerwitch]

Back in the 60's I went with my boss to Leicester Horse sales. There was an elderly bay roan gelding there, plaited up rather badly and just left with no-one with him. He was a dear old thing and I felt so sad for him and angry with whoever had done that to him. All these years later that still haunts me. I have never and would never sell on an old horse for whatever reason, much rather pts.

See that image will haunt me now too. Its awful to say but if i saw that I would end up buying. Reason I am banned from looking on at horses ie going to sales. But I am getting a few pop up on a feed which us really not helping arghhhhhhh

 

[Gingerwitch]

I'm not sure I can get too worked up about that. My friend bought her old boy aged 18, he'd been doing nothing in a field having retired as a hunt horse he was sound but getting older. He has been the most incredible first horse for her, absolutely couldn't ask for better, reliable and safe, fun and up for anything but sound and tough. He could have stayed in that field fat and bored until something went wrong and he was PTS but instead he has had an amazing time doing pleasure rides, hacking, competing, and hunting with bloodhounds. He's still hacking out and loving life in his late 20s now and is incredibly well loved.

If people don't sell older sound horses then there are no nice schoolmaster types to buy. Obviously a bit of due diligence is required but there is no reason why people shouldn't sell sound older horses.

Kate it was the price 500 quid said such a lot to ke, especially as the market is mental

 

[ponynutz]

Honestly, it might be OK. As someone else said, looks good for a novice. I have a success story in my Dad, albeit we already knew the horse as she came from a yard we used to stable at. We took her on at 18, as a happy hacker, knowing due to a past injury she couldn't do anything more taxing than a small cross pole and we love her to bits. She's almost completely retired now, ridden and lunged occasionally by my Dad, but we bought her as a veteran. It's perfectly possible this horse might be lucky enough to be given a similarily happy rest of her life

 

[suestowford]

I bought my first horse for £400, he was 20-ish.
He was everything I wanted for my first horse, as the lady in the saddlery who sold me a bit for him said, he will teach you a thing or two and he did! If I'd bought a youngster I might have been put off for life but instead I had this lovely old chap who gave me 6 years of absolute joy, before old age caught up with him. He is buried in our field and I often stop by & have a think about him.

Sadly there are more old horses looking for a good home than there are good homes for old horses. My old chap was lucky but most are not.

 

[Sprig]

I bought my son's second pony for £500 (including tack and everything else) off NFED when he was 20yo. He was brilliant. Now retired and has a home for life here. It's not always bad if the owners are careful about where the horse goes.

 

[conniegirl]

There was one I saw for 500 pounds 17 and either could be brought back in to work or as a companion home

Sorry but I can't get worked up about this.
I bought my lad when he was 17, he had been out of work for 3 years due to his previous owners lack of time, youngsters to bring on etc. He has been amazing.
I've also seen a lot of older but still healthy small ponies sell for around the £500. if they are out of work and you can't try them (due to being out of work or covid etc) then I wouldnt pay much more than £500 for it.

 

[shortstuff99]

I think it is okay to sell an older horse if they are still ridden or rideable etc. It is the adverts where they state can't be ridden, has complex needs etc, then I wonder in what sort of home they will end up in.....

 

[Sail_away]

I really don’t like it. I get that they may end up in a nice home but it’s by no means a guarantee, and let’s face it, it’s significantly less likely that a 20 yr old with a limited CV ends up in a nice home than an 8 yr old well schooled RC/PC type.
I say this as the owner of a nice well schooled 11 yr old who -may- next autumn be brought back into work as low-level schooling/hacking. He will never be sold, even if he comes completely sound. I’m sure he could make someone very happy if we did sell, he’d be a great riding club sort, but he could also end up being sold on as a hunt/event type with no mention of his previous issues, only to break down and be shot or sold on again. You can’t guarantee any horse’s future once you sell, but the odds are against them when you sell an older, questionably sound one.

 

[welshpony216]

it breaks my heart seeing them for sale when they reach their twenties

me too, I haven't scene the ad, but sometimes its for the welfare and wellbeing of the animal, for example if someone cant afford the horse or something like that, selling it to a nice place to live its last few years is better than the horse starving or something, because their owner cant feed it.

 

[Annagain]

It's a very tricky one. My old man (25 on his passport but we think older) has been pretty much crocked for the last 10 years. He is with me for life but if I was in a position where I really couldn't, it's only in the last year (when he has been completely retired - field sound especially in summer but a bit stiff coming out of the stable in the morning in winter) that I feel PTS would be an option. Before, I'd have felt like I was killing him for my convenience when he still had something to give. Having said that, if I did have to rehome him, I wouldn't sell him or advertise him widely, it would all be word of mouth and only to people I know or thoroughly vetted friends of friends.