Ok ,how many of us actually keep our horses for life

carthorse

carthorse

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I worry about this.We say a dog is for life but we tend to buy and sell our horses and some make a living at this.
Nothing wrong with that ,or is there, what happens to our horses as they get older, become less salable, do they end up at sales ,do they end up at the meat end of the market.
I used to buy young horses and sell them after a few years ,to what I thought were good homes ,but did they then sell them on and on.
I still have my daughters 13.2 who is 27 and the horse [ coloured ]I bred ,who is 11 and Rafi who we bought as a foal and is rising 6.I am lucky to have a field and stables,what would I do if I had to pay for each,I don't know.
It is making me think that we have something wrong and don't always see to it that our horses have the correct end.

Am I worrying unnecessarily?
 
Boss will be owned by me for the rest of his life but he spends most of his time at college doing something useful. Also, he's not going to grow ancient in a field after his ridden career is finished, I'm afraid!!
 
Yes, I sell my horses when we no longer want the same things. Is it better to sell a horse that will enjoy itself more with someone else, or keep it and make us both miserable?
 
Jayjay got ill, had to be retired, and his old owner too him back..

Mr B, we'd love to keep, but he's only on loan to us and is up for sale. Solo... it's hard to say, i can see my sister outgrowing him ability wise... Ozzie we'll keep fo ever! no-one else would want him, anyway
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i have 2 horses, which i will keep for the rest of their lives. I suspect the one doesn't have much longer to live (39) but the other is 19, and these are the horses that i owe me nothing!! They only cost me £13 a week each as it stands, and we have about 20 acres of land and we're able to keep this arrangement with the owner indefinately.
I hav bought and sold horses in the past, but these two are really special!
 
But what happens to it ,do we care?Does it enjoy itself more?

Were these rescued horses someone lovely horse once.

Were they sold on because their owner wanted a new challenge or outgrew them?
 
If i can find my horses a really good loving home while they're still young enough to give someone a lot of years of pleasure (enough to guarantee a good retirement or a good end, hopefully) then i will sell, but always with the understanding that i will buy them back at any time in future if necessary.
i hate selling horses, i hate to think of them going down in the world.
i have had a horse put down rather than sell to an unknown fate - he was a very bad headshaker, and i couldn't bear the thought of him ending up with someone who didn't understand it etc.
i still feel guilty about the fact that mum made me sell my ponies, after i'd promised them that i'd keep them forever. that's how wet i am.
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I tend to agree with DieselDog. i did keep my horse from my teenage years until she died, however i did sell on my daughter's two ponies. I shall keep my present horse for as long as he's still a joy for me. However if i couldn't afford him either financailly or time wise i would sell him. If i had my own land, then perhaps i may have a different view.
 
Well a horse is very different to a dog, they dont love you like a dog does, so in all honesty if the horse is not of use to the purpose you bought it for then i have no probs with selling, but i am very particular who they go to! It is a nice thought to think you can keep them to the end, and i have done with one or two, but it isnt practical really.
 
We do, I have had all my pony club ponies through retirement (could not bare to part with any of them!)and still have the old PC horse who has just retied. My younger bunch will no doubt all stay to!
 
I am on my 3rd horse and kept my previous 2 until they died. I would not dream of selling my horse and took great care in selecting her as I knew that I would not sell her. She is not perfect and has plenty of faults, but I would no sooner sell her than my dog (or partner!). I know this is not how everyone looks at it: it depends on what you are looking for in a horse, I want my horse to be my friend as well as something to compete on, and the friendship is more important that winning. Nothing wrong with selling horses on, but I do think sometimes it would be better to have them put down than loan them out or pass them on without being sure they will not end up like the ones that were found in Amersham. As animal owners we all have a responsibility to do the best we can for them.
 
I had Trooper till the day he died. I will have Jack and Pepper until their final days too - unless ofcourse I go first and then either my OH or SiL will have them till their last days
 
I sold my 13.2 childhood pony when I outgrew her but she went to a lovely family who kept her till she passed away.
The same family had my second pony who was on loan to me.

The reason I knew that they were a great home was because they had found and rescued their own childhood pony who had ended up in a bad situation and they swore they would never sell another one on.

My 3rd horse was sadly PTS.

My mum's horse is retired and will be with us to end her days in luxury.

April is not mine, but I know she has a home for life with her owners. They have rescued lots of lucky old ponies too.
 
Jerry will be with me for life just like my previous horse Jake was. I mainly just hack so hopefully he will be able to hack out even if it is just a walk when he is an old man. If that was too much for him I would probably have him pts. I would rather that than he end up as a field companion in another home and they didn't treat him as well as I did!
 
For me it very much depends on the horse.
My current older horse means so much to me that I would do anything within reason to keep hold of him until he goes to horsey heaven.
However I have sold horses in the past and although I try to match them to a suitable home, beyond that tbh I don't really care that much.
The ones I do care about are the ones that give you everything and owe you nothing.
That probably sounds harsher than I mean it to!
 
My pony has a home for life. He is rising 20 and having learnt to ride on him at the old riding school when I was very young, then bought him when it closed and he taught be how to jump and gave me so much confidence, I feel I owe it to him to give him a good semi-retirement, hes still being riding my friends occansionly and driven by me ever so often. And even if I didnt owe it to him I dont think I could sell, he went out on loan for 8weeks once and I cried my eyes out the day he left:( Not that there havnt been offers, theres been a few comment that suggest they would buy, Oh we are looking for a nice pony for our daughter, oh hes a lovly pony isn't he! and so on
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Were these rescued horses someone lovely horse once.

Were they sold on because their owner wanted a new challenge or outgrew them?

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The mainly look like Pikey meat ponies who were always going to end up somewhere like that. So no I don't think their owners wanted a new challenge etc.

To me a horse isn't a pet. I have to pay livery and I can only afford 1 horse in both time and money so I'm not going to keep one that doesn't do what I what. Doesn't mean I don't love my horse and don't make sacrificies to keep it.
 
i said i will have all my horses for life. i have my 1st pony, he is 12hh i had him since he was five and i was 8! he is now 14 and teaching many little people to ride. i said i would keep my 14.2 4 life, i had him for 4.5 years and then sold him to his loan home, whom we are now very good friends with, after they had had him for nearly a year! i have a first refusal on him and WILL but him back if they sell him, but i doubt hey will!
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as for buster he is only 7 atm, he will be my only shot at the 'big time' (or how ever far we can go!) unless i win the lottery and can afford another!
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buster will most definatly stay with me for life!
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I dont think i will ever sell Hattie tbh she does everything i want to do so there is no reason for me to sell her. But i did sell my pony but was very particular. She isnt far away so we still go and visit and if she was ever to be sold we would have her back
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My horse went on livery for 3 weeks whilst I was in South Africa. When I went to pick her up we walked out to the field and she didn't even look at me. She ran up to the lady who had been looking after and feeding her. That's how much horses care about us - they care more about food.

That is why I don't feel guilty about selling horses.
 
I can 110% say that Ellie will be with me until the day one of us dies (if that happens to be me, she will stay with my mum forever.) She saved me, perhaps not in the physical sense, but certainly emotionally, at a time when I thought the whole world was against me, and when I thought I'd never love anything again. We've grown together, and she's wont be going anywhere!
The only pony we have ever sold was Raffles, a youngster mum bought when he was six months old. As a seven year old, it became clear that we didnt have a future together; he was too sharp, and I was too incompetent! So he was sold on to a lovely home, with people who appreciated him fully. All our other ponies have stayed with us.
And any horse I may get in the future will undoubtably be for life! I'm a for-keeps person, and I treat a horse the same I would treat a dog.
 
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i agree with DD on that... as long as they're fed, they don't really care much who brings it.
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No loyalty at all
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The amount that I have spent on that horse with vet bills and does she appreciate me - No!
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If she doesn't work out - I'll probably end up giving her away to someone
 
Those at us with horses at livery will always answer q's like this differently to those with acres outside their front doors.

For me I keep a horse as long as it is useful to me - then it may go on loan, be sold, or be PTS.
 
You are stars, I know that horses don't love us like dogs ,or at least show it like a dog but a dog soon loves someone else ,I think, if it is fed and looked after .
If you love something surely you can't just pass it on.I have bought , schooled and sold horses but I worry about when they get older.

I think it is because I am getting old and past my prime .I would be the one sold on to my fate.It is really playing on my mind.
 
Iv had Charlie since he was 4 and he has a home with me for life. I dont do as much with him as I would like as im away in university, but I do try and go back at least one weekend a month to see him.
Even if I did want to sell him, I dont think my dad would let me as he lives in the field next to his garage and they keep each other company. Aww bless!!
 
I will sell a horse if it isnt talented enough for me but I know it will go to a good home where it will be happy. I have horses that I will never sell, but I dont ride as they are injured. I would never send an old or retired horse to the sales.
 
I'll probably own my three til they pop their clogs (or I die of an avalanche of poo on my field's muddy slopes
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And I pay livery...but am intending to relocate and will look at renting or buying a field so they can continue their feral existence
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I would not keep them going indefinitely though...they need to be at least paddock sound and have a happy enjoyment of life...and I've sorted out their futures if I die.
See, Satanists can be sentimental too.
S
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