Legitimate Companion home??

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kate121212

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Hello,
I am selling my horse on (for free) as a companion horse as he has arthritis of the thoracic spine and cannot be ridden. As I am going to university too, this is the ideal thing to do. He is 10 years old and a very handsome boy! How can I ensure that his potential new home is legitimate and they wont actually sell him as a ridden horse!? He is the perfect gentleman and you wouldn't know he had a problem just looking at him etc.
Thanks
 
The only thing you can do realistically is vet the home very well and ask them to return him to you if they can't keep him anymore. When I took on my mare free to a good home I signed a contract with them to say that I understood that she shouldn't be ridden or bred from and if I ever couldn't keep her anymore she would be returned to them. I was more than happy to agree/sign :)
 
You could ask for references. Ask who they use for vet & farrier. Call them and find out as much as possible.
 
The only way to guarantee he won't end up either being ridden or at an abbatoir is to either only loan to someone you know & trust, & be prepared to take him back if their circumstances change. Or keep him yourself, being unrideable & going to uni doesn't mean you can't. Or pts.
 
Sorry but I think it's kinder to put him to sleep.

I, personally, could not live with the fact that I wouldn't know who had him, where he was, whether they were riding him etc.
 
littlelegs said:
The only way to guarantee he won't end up either being ridden or at an abbatoir is to either only loan to someone you know & trust, & be prepared to take him back if their circumstances change. Or keep him yourself, being unrideable & going to uni doesn't mean you can't. Or pts.
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:eek: Once your horse leaves whether on loan,sold or for free, you really have no idea what the future holds for it, yes there are some good genuine people out there true, but there are far to may that are not, IMO and if you think anything of your horse you would either keep it or have it pts, that way you would not have the worry of wondering what the future holds for your horse, think about it, some people cannot afford to keep a sound rideable horse, so what chances is your horse with problems going to have, sorry but you have little choice :mad:
 
There are genuine homes out there for a companion only. Just vet carefully. I know when my current companion pony passes on I will look to offer a forever home to an unridden pony as companion to my 2 ridden ones.
 
Yes there are good homes out there, iv got my old free lad and love him to pieces even though he's a freak. Good luck just be careful
 
You would have to be incredibly careful about who you let him go to.

There are people out there masquerading as genuine buyers/loanees looking for a companion whose sole intention is to make money from the horse by selling it on for meat.

There are many documented instances of this happening - check out the Stolen Horses section of this forum, or go to Missing Horses on Loan (MHOL) to see how often this happens. There are even people whose main source of income seems to be getting horses for free (or very cheaply) and then selling them on for meat.

Think about it - if you are a nasty, unscrupulous individual and you can buy a horse for £1, £10 or £100, then what's to stop you making a quick £200 or £300 on top by selling it at market or directly to an abattoir?

People can appear to be all lovey dovey and genuine, but beware, everything is not always as it seems.
 
I would be looking to rehome through friends and contacts as a first go, that way there is more of a connection if something goes wrong. We hav a companion, who has been ridden on the odd occasion, but is now pretty much fully retired. (although just to add we never rehomed him as a non-ridden, he's just 28 now so ready for retirement!)
 
Rueysmum said:
You would have to be incredibly careful about who you let him go to.

There are people out there masquerading as genuine buyers/loanees looking for a companion whose sole intention is to make money from the horse by selling it on for meat.

There are many documented instances of this happening - check out the Stolen Horses section of this forum, or go to Missing Horses on Loan (MHOL) to see how often this happens. There are even people whose main source of income seems to be getting horses for free (or very cheaply) and then selling them on for meat.

Think about it - if you are a nasty, unscrupulous individual and you can buy a horse for £1, £10 or £100, then what's to stop you making a quick £200 or £300 on top by selling it at market or directly to an abattoir?

People can appear to be all lovey dovey and genuine, but beware, everything is not always as it seems.
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:( Yes unfortunatley this seems to happen more and more now, people seem to be out for just making money, they have no respect for the animals that are unfortunate enough to go through their hands, once they leave your yard there is just no telling where they will end up, no matter what agreement that has been agreed I'm afraid, in many cases straight to a market, off to Ireland then travelling for hours on end to destinations unknown to some slaughter plant abroad somewhere !
:eek:
 
Find someone who already has their riding horse. Like me (not that I'm in the market) but I already have a riding horse, I'm not interested in riding her companions.
 
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