Local horsey FB group - finding it hard to sit on my hands!!

marmalade76

marmalade76

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This little gem has just popped up:-

"Free to a good home
16.2hh bay TB gelding 19yrs old. retired now due to tendon injury. Sound now living out.
He is looking for a ,loving home to spend the rest of his years as a companion. He's a lovely chap good in all ways, happy to live out. Good to box, handle on ground.
Please contact me if your interested in giving him a home."

Grrr....
 
Thats so sad...that poor horse has probably spent his whole life doing everything that's asked of him only to be dumped when his owners have decided he's too old/injured to be of any more use... :mad::mad::mad:
 
marmalade76 said:
This little gem has just popped up:-

"Free to a good home
16.2hh bay TB gelding 19yrs old. retired now due to tendon injury. Sound now living out.
He is looking for a ,loving home to spend the rest of his years as a companion. He's a lovely chap good in all ways, happy to live out. Good to box, handle on ground.
Please contact me if your interested in giving him a home."

Grrr....
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I hate seeing these adverts as well :(
 
It is sad, and it strikes a chord with me, as I got my old racehorse, Bob, in similar circumstances. I'm not complaining though, as I had the company ,for ten wonderful years ,of such a lovely gentleman of a horse, whom I adored, and still miss terribly. He will have been gone a year at the end of next month, and a day doesn't pass that I miss him. So I'm glad he spent the twilight of his years with me, and left me, aged 29. I always said that I would never part with him or my other horse, Murphy, and I kept that promise to him, and I shall keep it to Murphy. A horse should never be palmed off because it is old, and of no further use.
 
The worst one I saw was a girl whose horse colapsed at a show who then wouldnt get the vet out to it but decided it had 'snaped' a tendon. Then a few weeks later was advertising for some one to have it as a companion over winter to recover from an injury must be fed, rugged and stabled and she wants it back once it is sound :(:mad: so your not allowed to ride it but you must pay all costs while you have it :rolleyes:. Suprisingly she wasnt taken up on the offer.

Hate seeing people try get rid of their old faithful horses :(
 
marmalade76 said:
This little gem has just popped up:-

"Free to a good home
16.2hh bay TB gelding 19yrs old. retired now due to tendon injury. Sound now living out.
He is looking for a ,loving home to spend the rest of his years as a companion. He's a lovely chap good in all ways, happy to live out. Good to box, handle on ground.
Please contact me if your interested in giving him a home."

Grrr....
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To be honest if I were them I and I couldn't secure his future I would be considering PTS, sorry if that sounds harsh.
 
I'd be saying something too.
I took on an aged TB mare, she was 28 when I got her, and we had 4 years together, she was a lovely old girl and a fab companion for my cob mare. But I know it isn't easy looking after an old horse (the endless adjustment of feed, changing of rugs, to stable/turnout etc etc), so would be urging the owners to think about where they could potentially be sending their boy - to a new home where he'll be pampered and allowed to live out his days in peace and comfort, or to a place where they bute him up, ride him regardless and knacker him further, decide they can't afford to keep feeding an old TB, then send him through the sales?
 
I don't think it is the worst ad I've seen. If her options are rehome as a companion or PTS it's worth trying an advert. If something happened to my boy my parents have space for him to live out his retirement (we have 3 doing this at the moment) but I couldn't keep the horse in livery down here as a lawn ornament. I need full livery due to work commitments and I couldn't justify £500 a month. I know you can get retirement livery in some places but it is still £50 a week plus vets, wormers, farriery etc which is a lot if the horse lives to 30+ like many do these days.

dafthoss' example is pretty bad though.

I know in an ideal world we all like to think of them living out our days with us but for some it just isn't practical!
 
dafthoss said:
The worst one I saw was a girl whose horse colapsed at a show who then wouldnt get the vet out to it but decided it had 'snaped' a tendon. Then a few weeks later was advertising for some one to have it as a companion over winter to recover from an injury must be fed, rugged and stabled and she wants it back once it is sound :(:mad: so your not allowed to ride it but you must pay all costs while you have it :rolleyes:. Suprisingly she wasnt taken up on the offer.

(
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That's awful :(

I am so tempted to ask if she seriously thinks someone else should provide a retirement for a hosre who's best years have been spent serving her/her friend (as she may be posting on someone else's behalf) but I suspect it will make me highly unpopular :(

IMO, if you cannot provide a retirement for your old and /or broken horses you should PTS. Why would anyone want an aging 16.2 TB as a companion when there are plenty of cheap to keep young ponies out there struggling to find homes??
 
It's not far from Jessicabeau/Teds Mum - maybe she will pop up and take him off their hands... :(

I couldn't imagine G going anywhere now, as lacking in knowledge as his actual owners are, they're at least honourable and have said he has a home for life there, and I don't know how anyone can do it to an oldie horse (ponies, different story IMO though).
 
I'm not a fine of the majority of 'retirement farms' either and don't get my vets started on about them - they'd rather PTS than send a client's horse near one as they don't believe oldies can possibly get the quality of care they need and deserve for the money.

I've heard a couple of distressing stories about them myself and would only personally retire as a companion a low maintenance type that was going to a friend I knew and trusted.
 
Seen it all now, a couple of weeks ago someone on this FB group was complaining that a £2500 14.2 safe allrounder was too expensive 'cause it didn't come with tack, now someone else wants to know if a £500 pony comes with tack, rugs, up to date teeth and jabs and a full set of shoes!! Don't want much, do they??
 
Oh these adverts make me mad too! Worse is you sometimes see them for SALE as companions! Do you want to pay £200 to look after my elderly injured horse and pay all of its bills? No? Oh...
 
Anyone deluded enough to think its kinder to rehome elderly retired horses than pts, should be forced to go to a sales & see what happens when you don't take responsibility yourself. It's the entire reason I avoid them if I can, & when I do go I have almost tunnel vision to avoid getting upset. Nothing more pitiful than an old horse stood in a pen at an auction.
 
Not as bad as a lady at my old yard, her 5 children learnt to ride (badly) on this adorable pony, when she was done with him, she sold him for meat because i quote " adverts are too expensive". So all this pony ever did was be nice and look after her children and she didn't give it a chance at a new life because an advert is expensive. The pony was 11yrs sound and a perfect gent. Needless to say nobody on the yard could believe she did it, didnt even give people a chance to buy the poor little chap.
 
I'd never dream of selling my boy who's now retired and a companion. He's not sound and cannot be ridden but I couldn't risk re-homing him to anyone... Even a friend just incase.

He's been nothing but loyal and faithful to me so I owe him the security of living out his days to enjoy himself now as he's earned them and know he's in a loving, settled home.

If I ever did end up in a dilemma... It'd have to be pretty damn bad, I would PTS as I couldn't bear the thought of someone else not caring for him properly.

Whether old or injured owners have a life long duty of care... If its broken you don't just toss it out and get a new one.

I always used to think PTS was harsh but now I'm in the situation I don't at all. It's hard to explain unless you've experienced it but I feel strongly towards it.

I adore my horse but he's here to live out his days with me as I bought him and committed to his care until his last day.

If a nice, reliable companion home can be found then good luck to the horse or a horse rescue/retirement home... But it's got to be in the horse's best interest.
 
Can I just add that 'teds mum' hasn't been teds mum for a long time now. Sum people I know gave him a home as he was intermitantly lame and been ridden. They have sorted his pelvis and feet and he is loads better and very very happy and spoilt!!! X
 
My horse is only 5 but I've bought him for LIFE! I will have him when he is old and grey because I have made the comittment to care for him and love him for his lifetime. It's heartbreaking that people can just dismiss horses in such a way, they are so much more than something to sit on and ride!!!
 
littlelegs said:
Anyone deluded enough to think its kinder to rehome elderly retired horses than pts, should be forced to go to a sales & see what happens when you don't take responsibility yourself. It's the entire reason I avoid them if I can, & when I do go I have almost tunnel vision to avoid getting upset. Nothing more pitiful than an old horse stood in a pen at an auction.
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Certainly greater eduction is needed and maybe some of the mags should do pieces on the sales and long distance travel of horses to slaughter in europe. People need to wake up and understand what can happen to their horses once they are past on. :(:(:(
 
Generally speaking I cringe seeing these kind of ads but, on the flip side, my friend, who is very well off and has her own farm, has rehomed four older retired horses as companions for her horse over the years, and they have all lived out their days relaxed and happy, so there may be some chance of finding the right home - so perhaps it is worth asking - it may be that they only send the horse to someone they know of...
 
I've just come across this gem on Preloved...

Welsh cob free to good home.
Gelding.
Had him for many years but just can't afford to keep him anymore.
He is approx 24 years old.
Not been ridden in a while as tack was stolen.
Has jumped and driven in the past.
Would make a good companion and quiet hack.
Currently been kept with 10 other horses.
Any more info please send me a message.
Thanks.

Poor old chap :(
 
Most people looking for a companion will go for a small pony for obvious reasons. However, if I were in that position and needed a companion for my TB, then I would go for another TB because he needs lots of grass/haylage and keeping him with a small pony, with the risk of laminitis would be problematic. I already have that situation in that my Cushings mare has to be restricted during the day and can only go out with him at night. If, on the other hand I was looking for a companion for her, then I would go for a small pony and then they could both have company whilst they are being restricted. So there ARE companion homes available for larger horses, so long as they are easy and uncomplicated to manage.

Personally though, if I were ever in the situation where I could no longer keep my horses, and they could not be rehomed with people I knew well, then I would PTS as my mare is 18 and has Cushings and a shoulder injury, and my boy is recovering from KS. He is only ten and looks fab, but unless I can rehab him successfully, he has no ridden future.
 
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My local horsey FB group is just the same and I regularly roll my eyes at the stuff people put on there. Often I see things like "3yo gelding for full loan, ready to be broken, must go to experienced home so that he is going well when I get him back in a year". Who the hell would loan a 3yo, put all the hard work in at their own cost to give it back after a year?!
 
I always find it ironic how people criticise the racing industry for its wastage, yet I see so many adverts like this locally for ex-riding club standard horses, now unable to ridden due to injury or old age, yet for sale/free as companions. I don't even agree with pts healthy but unsound horses, I think if you buy an animal you should do so in the expectation that you may have to look after it in retirement. Its the attitude of throwing animals away like rubbish when they no longer do your job. One woman I was at a yard at got a new young horse one day and then had her old horse pts the next, although she was out competing on it 3 weeks previously.
 
Mithras said:
I always find it ironic how people criticise the racing industry for its wastage, yet I see so many adverts like this locally for ex-riding club standard horses, now unable to ridden due to injury or old age, yet for sale/free as companions. I don't even agree with pts healthy but unsound horses, I think if you buy an animal you should do so in the expectation that you may have to look after it in retirement. Its the attitude of throwing animals away like rubbish when they no longer do your job. One woman I was at a yard at got a new young horse one day and then had her old horse pts the next, although she was out competing on it 3 weeks previously.
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:eek: That disgusts me. I have always taken on horses with a view that they are with me for life. Unfortunately for me, this means I don't have a riding horse of my own right now, but I would never put one to sleep or give it away, just so I could afford a shiny new one.
 
chestnut cob said:
My local horsey FB group is just the same and I regularly roll my eyes at the stuff people put on there. Often I see things like "3yo gelding for full loan, ready to be broken, must go to experienced home so that he is going well when I get him back in a year". Who the hell would loan a 3yo, put all the hard work in at their own cost to give it back after a year?!
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Exactly, and I have seen such ads myself. There was a post on there from someone who's horse had been sold whilst on loan. The horse was loaned as a yearling, the loanee kept in touch with the owner via FB whilst the horse was broken, etc, then apparently contact stopped. Then the owner found out that the youngster had been sold. I'm sorry, but I'd be most suspicious of anyone who wanted to loan a yearling, keep it until it was ready to break and then do that for free!!
 
I do think it is bad in a way.. but.. it may be quite useful to someone else as a companion and it may be a good home.

For instance OH and I are looking for a place with stables and land and I only have my one TB. This horse would be exactly the sort of horse I would need as a companion. He's a TB so could go in the same field as mine and I have plenty of HW TO rugs it could wear ect. For me a horse like this would be better than a pony as with a pony that would need restricted grazing where my TB would need grass. My TB would need hay in winter, pony may not.

Also his age would be a bonus. No need to worry about keeping him exercised. He could literally be a useful companion and live out his days well rugged in the field with lots of grass and hay.

So before you tell people to PTS these horses or to not advertise them beware as the horse could be the perfect solution for somebody.
 
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