Retired Ex-Racer - What to do with him?

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Kraft

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Hi All,

If anyone has any experience with this, i would really like to know:-

My friend has a 10 year old ex-racer who has just been diagnosed with kissing spine, spondosis (not sure that is spelt right) and a enlarge joint at the base of neck after having a full body bone scan at Newmarket last week.

The outcome is they are not going to operate on the kissing sping as it effects 5 vertebrae (again sorry about the spelling) and with the other issues the vet and owner feel that the operation is not an option and he will be retired. He is only in pain when being ridden.

The question we need help on is, where do we go from here? My friend does not have her own land, and cannot afford to keep him in livery as she will be looking to get another and we all know how expensive it would be.

Is there anywhere she could send him that isnt go to cost an arm or a leg?

Do people take on T.B as companion horses?

The blacksmith is happy that he will cope fine without shoes. We also do not want him to go anywhere where someone may try and ride him/move him on and he get passed from pillar to post etc.

Thanks all.
 
I'm sorry to be depressing, but now is not a good time to be looking for cheap ways of keeping a horse as a companion. The 'market' for want of a better word, is flooded with people looking to re-home old, injured or unsuitable horses.

I think your freidn needs to think long and hard. She really has tree options:

1. Keep the horse herself, on the best value livery she can find, and not get another horse. (I did that when my old TB became unrideable - just rode other peoples' horses until her death as, even though we have our own land, there was no way I could afford 2 horses)

2. Sadly, have the horse put to sleep

3.Keep trying, among your friend's own friends, to see if someone DOES want a companion horse. But., whatever she does, she MUST retain ownership. Otherwise heaven knows where the poor chap will end up.

It's a pretty bleak world for horses these days.
 
I completely empathise with your friend. My beautiful mare was diagnosed with spondylosis of the spine and couldn't be ridden. We tried everything and retired her in the field with plenty of attention but it just didn't work out. She wasn't happy and sadly she was pts. In hindsight I should have had her pts straight away but you hold onto hope and you don't want to let them go especially as she was only young. I have now said that if I was ever in that position again I would let them go straight away. Obviously if you have your own land and you can still look after them yourself then that's different.
It is a very hard decision to make but with todays economic climate we owe it to our horses to ensure their future is guaranteed. I wish your friend all the very best and that she finds the best option for her and her horse x
 
Couple of thoughts;

1. Blood bank,
2. Retirement livery such as Happy Horse Retirement (?) no idea how much they are but worth looking into.


Good luck for your friend. That is a very difficult position to be in, it is a struggle to consider PTS just because funds do not stretch...
 
If he was mine I would keep as a pet or pts. They are the safest options. He could end up anywhere being sold as a riding horse.
By all means try to find a perm loan home as a companion, it's a long shot but worth a try surely?
 
Probably the best option for your friend is to put him down. Personally, I have a similar situation but cannot bring myself to do it, but that's just me. My horse would not make a good companion as he is too high maintenance as many TBs are. However, if your friend's horse is easy to do in every way, and good to handle, then there may be an option for him to become a companion. Often small ponies are not the ideal companions that people think they are because they turn out not to be able to tolerate the rich grazing that TBs and WB athletes in full work can. So sometimes people looking for companions will go for a larger animal that can share the same turnout arrangements and be the right size for mutual grooming etc, but yet do not require time spending on exercise. It would probably take quite some time to place him though and so your friend may have to sacrifice some months or even years of riding her own horse before she finds a suitable home for him.
 
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Keep or pts. Would only consider loaning as a companion to a much trusted, long standing friend. The chances of a bad home vs a good one are too high to risk.
 
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