Please help me decide what to do with my horse

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3BayGeldings

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Apologies in advance, I'm writing this on my phone so there may be umpteen mistakes!

I have two horses, my retired boy who lives out happily in a huge field in a herd of 12. Then I have my 13 year old TB who I keep at a DIY yard.

I've posted this exact same post before pretty much, but I still cant decide what to do. The issue is that I dont enjoy riding anymore. I've mislaid my bravery knickers somewhere along the line in the last couple of years, and It is a chore to do anything. But, I love looking after my horse and I'm enjoying being back in a yard after renting my own fields for a year.

But, it is a lot of money to keep a horse on livery that isn't ridden and not money I can really justify spending if I'm not riding - that is the main reason we keep them at livery yards after all!

So do I full loan him out, so he will be in work and not wasted.

Do I move him onto grass livery with my retired boy and just live him out for as long as it takes for me to want to ride again/forever - I'd be happy to do this but it would feel like a massive waste of a sound riding horse?

Or do I keep him at the yard but try and find a part loaner so he is ridden a few times a week and get a contribution towards bills. But then obviously still paying a fair chunk of money to have a horse I don't want to ride...

I'd never sell him.

Any advice welcome :( x
 
Sharer / part loan, if you can find the right person. Yes, you'll still be paying out but you said yourself you enjoy looking after him, and you'll be paying out slightly less. Plus you'll have someone ticking him over, so seeing someone else on him and him not forgetting his job in the meantime will be great for if/when you want to go back to riding. If you can find the right person, everyone's a winner.
 
Nothing hugely useful to add except I don't ride my horse nearly as often as I should (once a week perhaps) but he is happy, healthy and we spend a lot of quality time together grooming etc. I can see the argument of a sound riding horse being 'wasted' if not ridden, but I don't think my horse particularly misses it much. A sharer might be a good idea to help you make a decision - seeing someone else riding him might make you feel like you are missing out and give you the confidence to get back in the saddle.

Don't feel bad for not riding though - there are many reasons people keep horses, riding doesn't always have to be a part of it :).
 
I would put him on grass livery with your old boy. Think of him as a pet for now, he has no expectations about being ridden. He is always there then if you decide to ride again, even if you send him somewhere to get him going again. (My bravery knickers went missing on my 40th birthday so I always set myself up to succeed nowadays).
 
Thanks everyone for your thoughts :D I am swaying towards living him out with the old boy, and perhaps keeping my eye out for a full loaner in the mean time so if the perfect person came along then he could go to them.

I dread having to tell people though as you know how judgemental folks can be :( x
 
Does he enjoy work? I know horses who are indifferent, some who would rather not and some who seem to relish it.

If indifferent or not then I'd pop out with your old boy. Leave him to just be a horse, and if people want to judge sod them :)
 
Another vote for putting him out with your old guy. Horses couldn't give a hoot about being ridden and they certainly don't think "oh no, I'm being wasted".
 
PandorasJar he's a sweetheart and just does what he's told - he is no different if I ride him every day or once a month, just pootles about like a good boy. He has had a hard life as a busy flat racer and then a rescue case and now he seems to enjoy the quiet life. He's certainly not a horse who gets bored or naughty.
 
3BayGeldings said:
PandorasJar he's a sweetheart and just does what he's told - he is no different if I ride him every day or once a month, just pootles about like a good boy. He has had a hard life as a busy flat racer and then a rescue case and now he seems to enjoy the quiet life. He's certainly not a horse who gets bored or naughty.
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Then let him be a horse. He'll enjoy that and you'll still enjoy him :)
 
Hi, have you thought of your local equine college. I had a simlar dilemma with too many horses and one needed to 'grow up' so off he went. There are downsides, but the upsides are that the horses are looked after beautifully and this horses is adoring the attention.

I can (and do) visit anytime, and if they have competitions at weekend, often one of the pupils competes and I can watch and I love to see him out and 'doing.

One of the upsides for you might be that, in my case, I can ride the horse at weekends if I want to. This might be a way for you to start enjoying riding again. As the horse is in work and used to having inexperienced people on his back, then you are in a pretty good situation. For example, yesterday I just rode for 10 mins as the horse is coming back for the holidays and although it wont matter if I don't ride him, I just wanted to remind myself what he was like.

I have also had lots of offers from the pupils who want to ride/compete him during the Easter/Summer breaks. I take these all with a pinch of salt as obviously their parents have to be on side, but I am pretty sure that if I wanted one of them would love to have him on loan for the hols.

To me, it is a good compromise between selling him (no), just leaving him in a field (not really) and losing control by loaning him out. He gets to be a pampered horse in the hols, but I don't have the full time pressure of having another horse to look after.

Just a thought (PS there are downsides as well, but to me this considered compromise works!).
 
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