rescue horses

[ALEXCOSSIE]

hi guys, I was looking to buy a horse but hearing how people have worked with rescue horses really makes me think its something I want to do! I have quite a bit of knowledge have 2 loan ponies at the moment, one who is a green 11 year old cob who I have recently backed and another 18 year old all rounder who excelled in xcountry but has recent come down with laminitis (any advice on the laminitis is also welcome!). But now that I have to time to fully commit ang the fact im away to do equine studies at college I am looking at getting my own horse to work with and would love to be able to offer a rescue horse a home but what I am wondering is if anyone has experience in rescuing a horse and can offer advice and the pros/cons of doing so. Any advice, comments or questions are more than appreciated!! TIA

 

[ester]

have you had the 18yo cushings tested?

re. rescues RSPCA will sign over, others generally don't and you have them on long term loan usually with some checks along the way so it really can depend who is local to you and what you want out of one. Even I was surprised at quite how many coloured cobs bransby had in residence.

 

[ALEXCOSSIE]

have you had the 18yo cushings tested?

re. rescues RSPCA will sign over, others generally don't and you have them on long term loan usually with some checks along the way so it really can depend who is local to you and what you want out of one. Even I was surprised at quite how many coloured cobs bransby had in residence.

Not at the moment vet is due to come back out this Friday to do more tests as this is the first case that was only diagnosed 10 days ago.

RSPCA is the closes to me seen a couple of lovely ponies. Im really just looking for an all rounder I could take to college with me to do different disciplines and some local competitions

 

[Leo Walker]

Chances of getting a young small coloured cob with some issues is pretty much 100%, the chances of finding a nice all rounder to compete is pretty much 0% but theres nothing stopping you looking

 

[ester]

Definitely mention it as if he is you have a relatively easy way to sort the lami .

And I agree with LW, you might end up with an all rounder with time and work but unlikely initially.

 

[ALEXCOSSIE]

Definitely mention it as if he is you have a relatively easy way to sort the lami .

And I agree with LW, you might end up with an all rounder with time and work but unlikely initially.

I will definitely mention it thank you !

And I'm willing to work with any horse to make it an all rounder that's be the outcome of my college course, I'm happy with anything as long as it has potential to be backed or is already backed

 

[paddy555]

we have taken on several rescues over the years. All had behavioural issues and two had starvation issues as well. I think you would have to define your rescue very clearly. Starvation is fine. Behaviour not so easy. The pro is that you may get a nice riding horse at the end of the day and enjoy working with the horse. The con is that you may not. Some horses have issues and don't get over those. For horses with behavioural issues you don't know what has happened and if you trigger that behaviour you cannot always change it.
If you go into it on the basis that you accept you may well not be able to ride the rescue then fine. We have had some that have simply been unrideable. That has not been a problem to us. We knew it could happen and we are able to just let them live their lives as our horses but not ridden. Bear in mind in those circumstances we have had some of those rescues for over 20 years. That is a long time to support a horse. If your rescue doesn't work out what would you do with the horse. None of ours came from charities.

definitely agree about the cushings testing.

 

[oldie48]

I have had a couple of ponies as companions that were originally rescued! They were both "rescued" by experienced people and were eventually fine to handle but neither were reliable to ride. On the other hand I know of ponies andhorses that have been rescued and have become super allrounders. its just you really don't know which way it will go until you try.

 

[milliepops]

I would say, get on the waiting list for any local charities because the demand is high for a nice rideable horse. Some will want to assess you as a rider.
I found what I would have called my horse of a lifetime (until the next one who turned out to be equally fabulous!) from a charity and had a great deal of fun with her, but I did all the training myself. I just got lucky with the timing of when she was ready for a home. Some charities give more support than others, some retain more control than others. the more controlling may not be that enthusiastic about you keeping the horse at a college as they may want to do home checks and prefer a more settled long term environment. But you won't know until you apply.

 

[SamanthaToby]

I have taken a cob from world horse welfare and he is better than what i asked for. I also can not fault there support. Have you got a centre near you. It’s worth calling in and having a look. They also put a lot for loan/ re home on there website.

 

[spacefaer]

The local RSPCA centre has fields of tiny coloured cob youngsters. Most of the bigger charities end up with them.

There's a rehoming charity that sometimes has rideable horses of a decent size - they're snapped up pretty quickly but they are out there

 

[SamanthaToby]

I can vouch for that mine is 15hh ridden re home

 

[HazuraJane]

Horses are in a rescue situation for a reason. Your job as a rescuer is to un-do whatever traumatic event(s) led the horse to be in a rescue position. You may not be able to do more than offer a predictable, kind living situation for a horse that may be a pasture pet. There is a lot of satisfaction in knowing you changed everything for one of God's creatures!