Making the decision to retire

asommerville

asommerville

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If you have a horse who you have decided to retire from work - why did you make that decision? I have a 19 year old mare who I adore who has pedal osteitis & advanced arthritis in her hocks. She just seems to be getting slower and slower and really not enjoying her work. I've taken her back shoes off so ATM she's worked in te school but she's just seems to hate it!! Tbh it's no odds to me if she's retired I adore her and will look after her for as long as she's fit to go out in the field - I don't know why I'm struggling to make a decision!!
 
One of mine was fully retired at the age of 14. It was a catch 22 situation, he was sound enough to be a light hack but his brain needed to do more if he was to be ridden. I had no desire to go to the effort of hacking him and he was just proving to bored & sharp for the sharers ;)

He is now a full time weaning/youngstock nanny and very good at his job!
 
I think part of my worry is that the vet said 'don't retire her a lot of horses are retired and then go down hill rapidly'. But she's out in the field with her pals, moving about more and dead happy when she's out!
 
One of ours with severe arthritis in the hocks was retired and 2 years later after spending that time mooching round the field his hocks must have settled down because he's looking sound again and we are considering trying him on a few short hacks.
 
My 20YO tbx has DSLD in his hinds and is retired. I was worried he wouldnt take well to it but hes happier than ive seen him in a long time. He gets to spend the whole day chilling with his mates without the stress of work. Still gets all his needs catered for but no longer has to be spotless and trimmed within an inch of his life. Yes he has lost muscle condition but is still healthy. I thought to myself that i spend more time worrying about him out riding that its not enjoyable. If he caused himself serious injury out riding id never forgive myself but out in the field hes being a horse and if an accident happens then well thats life!
If you feel its the right decision and she appears to no longer enjoy working then 19 is a respectable age for her to enjoy a nice chilled out life :)
 
If she isn't enjoying being ridden I would say it is time to retire her. I have one who is only hacking sound but loves being ridden so will carry on as long as he is happy. I keep thinking about retiring him as I am short on time with another to ride and one to break but he loves going out in the lorry for a hack so I can't bring myself to do it.
 
I think it very much depends on the individual. My first thought would be keep her going as long as possible. My old horses loaner retired him and yes he went down hill so i had him back and worked him lightly again and he thrived. BUT he enjoyed a bit of a hack, if your horse isnt enjoying it then it seems pointless too make her carry on. I don't think horses who are not enjoying what they do will go down hill from stopping.
Could you take her out inhand now and again if you feel she would benefit from a little change of scenery?
Slightly different but my daughters pony wasnt enjoying work and was retired, It was for him the best move. He's enjoyed time chilling and he gets led out for a munch or even led round over poles and stuff to occupy his brain but he's been happy like that.
Listen to your horse x
 
If your horse isn't enjoying life as a ridden horse I think that would make up my mind. Can you not carry on hacking her out? Maybe she hates the school as it's hard on her joints?
 
Cant the level of work just be droped but continue to keep her lightly ticking over with no guilt if you dont ride her for oneday. I cant see how a horse isnt enjoying work unless in pain or bored of being ridden in a school, most horses get bored ridden in a school. I agree with arthritis unless a horse can live out they do need to be made to move for their own health
 
Can you not just give her a sachet of bute a day.

Its fine to feed long term in small doses, the damage it does is accumulative and I believe can take many years to have any effect and sometimes does not affect the organs at all.
 
asommerville said:
I think part of my worry is that the vet said 'don't retire her a lot of horses are retired and then go down hill rapidly'. But she's out in the field with her pals, moving about more and dead happy when she's out!
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I had this with my mare. She badly injured a tendon at 12, rehabbed back to light ridden work for year or so but last year she was having more downs than up and getting slower. I dithered a long time about retiring her completely for exactly your reasons. Vet and other professionals kept saying better to keep in light work but it made us both miserable. I also struggled for time as had just backedy youngster. Therefore I retired her and although I do think she gets a bit stiffer on occasion, she is souch happier. She has deteriorated a bit over the last few years but at 19 I'd rather she had some happy mooching retired years than battling on keeping her in light work making her miserable.
 
I think a lot of people find it hard to take that step, especially when the horse isn't necessarily that old. I know I did! Mine has been retired for the best part of two years now. She managed to get to 19 without too many health problems and then suddenly we had one thing after another in quite a short period of time - we found out she had arthritis in the coffin joint in her right fore, then she kept getting abscesses and turned out she had cushings, then there were niggling SI problems... . I held onto the hope of riding her again for quite a while but then she was out of action for so long with all the abscesses that I kind of got used to not riding so when the SI issue came to light I finally just gave up and tbh I'm so glad that I did. It's really not that much fun trying to keep a horse in any kind of work when they have niggling soundness problems - I'm a lot happier now and so is she! I also don't think that there are many horses who wouldn't happily retire to the field. I'm sure there are some who don't suit retirement, but really I think most horses are quite happy so long as they've got grass to eat and friends to keep them company! I would just go for it, once I'd finally decided that was it, no more riding, it really wasn't as bad as I'd thought it would be!
 
Mines 23 and retired this year. She used to be forward going but in the end was having to give little kicks to get her to move. She has arthritis and I was advised to keep riding her, but just couldn't do it in the end. She has been my perfect horse and in the end we were both miserable so took the decision to retire her.
 
I did this for my horse last week but I also did it for me. My boy has arthritus of the feet, he was doing so well and then this year started to get uneven when hacking. I upped the medication, did saddle checks but he still wasn't right. Then during a saddle fitting he slipped and was unable to right himself. We could have gone over backwards. I had the chiro vet to try and sort things out but he just was not enjoying being ridden, although he was trying his heart out for me. What did it for me is that I was not enjoying putting him through pain to "keep him going". I would rather he had a happy but shorter time in the field then I caused him pain. Being practical it costs me lots to keep him rideable, medication, special shoes, saddler(lots) a rider to keep him going over the winter when I am at work, chiro vet, would it be worth that for a horse in pain and a plod up the road. I thought no.
In the end it is a personal decision, it is hard and I have cried a lot, it is almost like loosing them. It is however also a time of new beginnings........ enter Moses my youngster, time to take over lad!

Oh by the way Ffin is only 16.
 
asommerville said:
I think part of my worry is that the vet said 'don't retire her a lot of horses are retired and then go down hill rapidly'. But she's out in the field with her pals, moving about more and dead happy when she's out!
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My mare had arthritis and suspensory ligament damage. The vet said retire her. A few weeks later my regular vet said not to. By then she had not been ridden for a few weeks. I discussed it with my farrier and that helped as he pointed out that I knew her best. That helped me go with my gut.

I knew my mare had changed and I have seen my mum suffer with arthritis. For my mum exercise helps but carrying weight is not great. I kind of just applied that to my mare and felt she would be better off retired and out all the time for movement. She is happy retired. It took me longer to adjust than her!
 
I had to retire my cob at the age of 18 due to arthritis in both hocks. I really struggled with the decision because like you I was told to keep her in light work but I promised myself that the minute she needed more than 1 bute a day to stay sound, I would retire her. She loved her work and she really is my horse of a lifetime but after maybe 3-5 months her hocks settled down enough for us to mooch around bareback 1-2 times a week.
Now after 2years I have just brought her back into light work because she has been sound enough to gallop around jumping my fencing so the vet said give it a go! As much as my girl loves to work, I wouldn't hesitate to retire her again because she also loved being the resident lawnmower!
 
I now have 2 retired. One is only 10, bob on sound now, but she goes unsound behind in work, any work. Spent 2 years of clean xrays and scans trying to get to the bottom of it, last time said enough, turn her away. Absolutely broke my heart, felt like I had let her down.
T'other is only 15, arthritis in his fetlock, kept him going as a happy hacker but he started to struggle with the road camber, and i also couldnt quite cope emotionally with the feeling that my lovely boy needed a Zimmer frame. He went to live at a retirement livery as i had nowhere to turn him out in winter.
BUT he comes home TOMORROW, for the rest of the summer, then in october they both go to the retirement livery for winter, then back in spring.

Sorry to go on, for me, neither could cope with work, and i was worrying about them every time i rode. now, i see them both sound enough and happy, their quality of life is so much better and they will live like this until they become in pain. And i have never seen a retired horse go downhill. in fact, the opposite!

good luck x
 
Retiring doesn't have to be forever. I certainly would not continue riding her in the school, my semi retired horse hates circles as his hocks hurt, he really enjoys the odd hack (when it isn't headshaking season!). I would either shoe her and take her for the odd hack or just stop riding her for a bit and see how she does. She probably won't appreciate being retired in the way some people seem to do it around here - shoes off and dump them in a field, never to be looked at again. Not saying you would! My old boy lives out but spends a lot of time in the field shelter in this weather, if I didn't have one he would have to come in during the day.
 
My old eventer was diagnosed with DJD of the fetlock 2 years ago. The vet said with medication we could probably get him sound to be a light hack. This didn't sit right with me. Although he actually loves hacking & would do it all day every day, he also loves the faster more fun stuff as well.
I decided to retire him. That wasn't without worry though. He's an intelligent sort who thrives on hard work & previously had never done well on rest periods.
He loved it. Was so happy.......but.....for the last 12 months he has been as sound as a pound & recently has started behaving in his bullish way which means he is totally bored.
I've spoken in great lengths to his vet who has checked him over thoroughly & has now suggested we should bring him back into proper work. Not eventing/hunting again but low level dressage & possibly jumping.
It seems the time off has let his joints settle down & he is totally fine :)
 
My last two when they retired continued to go for walks (long rein type or led out in hand), kept up together and tidy and did some in hand showing. Current older one (but only 18) is retired from competing due to wear and tear and I hack him out quietly. Been out for a hack with a friend today and he led the way most of the time. I am sure he would be just as happy being fully retired but advice was to keep him ticking over.
 
I have two retired- one is actively lame so is an obvious decision. One is just doing the odd walk when somebody wants to, but he just looked ready to be retired!
 
I never made the decision, one thing after the other just ended up becoming a retirement!

First was a lump that was removed from her face, and the stitches were where her bridle would rube, then it snowed for about 2 weeks solid, then she got a really horrible cough/chest infection that took a while to clear up but the time she'd got over everything I had put on about a stone! she was 27 nearly 28 and I felt too guilty to get back on her! she would be happy to be ridden still but I don't have a confident light enough rider for her! though I might have found someone, so I might bring her back into quiet hacking once a week! she is 29 now though and has now got arthritis in her front knees, shes not lame on it but you can feel the lumps!!
 
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