Need to reduce my little herd!

cblover

cblover

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Happy New Year everyone. Hope everyone is safe in this dreadful weather. I need your help and opinions please.

I have a lovely little group of 3 horses but they are very hard work and I’d like to find a way to reduce it to 2. None of them will ever leave my ownership but something needs to give. Not only is the land suffering with 3 horses but my health will never be right now as I have liver failure through an auto immune condition and several other immune related conditions to add to the list.

It was never plan A to have 3 but when my youngster (clyde x cob) was a baby he needed the support of a third horse to stay with him and make him feel secure when I rode my cob. So we ended up with a lovely shettie gelding, who has been amazing. The two boys are best friends, they are like little and large when you see them together. My riding cob is now 14 and starting to slow down, partly due to my lack of time and her telling me she wants to slow things down a bit. She’s my one in a million and we’ve had an amazing time together but I feel now she needs a lighter rider and a low key life style. I know her very well and it’s right for her.

So, my problem is which do I try to loan out…riding cob or shettie? Clyde x has to stop because he’s 4 this year and will be backed and start his ridden education.

My cob has been there and done just about everything there is to do, is rock solid on the roads and travels like a dream and the shettie is a fab companion, not at all like a typical shettie. Is there something I’m missing here? If anyone has a suggestion I’ve not considered, please feel free to tell me. It's a very difficult decision for me to even consider but I'm trying to do the right things by everyone. Cheers.
 
I think you have answered your own question and if it were me with a youngster waiting in the wings I would loan the cob out but it would be close by with weekly/ bi weekly visits and a damn good clad iron written contract. Good luck and hope you achieve the best result.
 
I'm assuming if you keep your mare you will still be taking her out for the odd hack and things? If so would your clyde cope with being left alone while you and your mare go out? If yes then I'd keep your mare as there is always the risk someone would try and do too much with her. People are quite often looking for companions so I don't see too much trouble in loaning out your shettie. If you feel your boy will continue to be upset by the mare being taken away and needs constant company then you could loan out your mare, but as you say she is now looking for a quieter life I'd have a very strict contract in place describing the ins and outs of what can and can't be done with her. I'd also ask for references and make regular checks in both cases :) Good luck with whatever decision you make
 
Thanks folks, appreciate it. If my mare stayed then yes I would still ride her and I'm not sure if my youngster would cope with her gone for a while. He's fine when you're working him and he'll leave the others but not when they leave him. I suppose my thoughts for keeping the shettie and him together is that I'd be able to concentrate on him and the shettie is fine to be left alone. It would be less work having only one to educate but my cob would be the best horse to hack with. Oh decisions, decisions! Plus having one big horse and a shettie is better for the land with the winters getting so wet lately.
 
Have you thought about a sharer for the mare ?
Will not solve the land issue but would get you some help.
If it where me I would rehome the companion I would not loan out a older horse who has seved me well.
 
dogatemysalad said:
Its a difficult time of year to find loans, so I'd advertise both and choose the one that has the best offer of a new home.
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Good horses, which the cob sounds as if she is, will loan any time of the year. We had our mare back off loan at the end of November. We were lucky that the previous loaner allowed us to take people to try her, before handing her back. We were totally inundated with replies. We had weeks ahead booked for viewings, but were lucky that we only needed to have 5 lots of people out,as we have found her the most perfect home.
No matter how careful you are, things can go wrong, but if you visit the loan home, and go with your gut feeling, hopefully things will work out well.
You did say your field is suffering with three horses,but the other option is to get a sharer for the mare, or loan from your own place, as you would also have help when your own health is having an off day.
 
Thanks goldenstar, I totally know what you mean and its a concern for me. Her welfare is of paramount importance to me and I love her dearly. I would consider a sharer for her and have advertise for this before but I wasn't specific enough on the advert. I may try that again. I do have a friend who can help at weekends but she is a total novice when it comes to riding.
 
Your reasons for wanting to loan one out is to save the land and for health reasons. For me it's a no brainer, I would loan out the mare as realistically she must make more of a mess of the field and also take up more of your time?
 
A safe 14 year old should be the easiest to place and with health issues your self keeping two to ride is going to be much more exhausting.

A good loan contract, good references, a home within easy travelling distance so you can do unannounced checks and your own gut feeling, not all loans are bad and your cob could give hours of pleasure to someone and be special to them as well.
 
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