Horsey_Gal
Well-Known Member
Are their retirement centres for old or retired horses where you don't have to pay a 'livery' fee?
Retirement
- Thread starter Horsey_Gal
- Start date
carthorse
Well-Known Member
I have heard of people signing horses over to charities but have no idea who they take or why.In fact one I knew was a very rich lady who kept her old pony and sent her old horse to a rescue centre[ redwings], seemed wrong , to me ,that the charity took the horse as the owner has loads of land , money and time to care for her horse!
Have no idea what she told them
Have no idea what she told them
Horsey_Gal
Well-Known Member
I have heared of redwings, they don't sell/loan/rehome them though do they?
carthorse
Well-Known Member
They may well rehome them to checked and monitored homes .I am not sure.
redmerl
Well-Known Member
Im not aware of any where.
My old gelding is still capable of being lightly ridden so he has gone out on loan to a lady and her daughter, who hacks him out.
They have a fab farm and love him to bits, although I am aware that I have been very lucky to find the loaners.
I previously had a gelding that was no longer able to be ridden and eventually found him a home. I, personally, would not send my horse to a charity unless it was a last resort. Only because there are real cases that urgently need their help.
My old gelding is still capable of being lightly ridden so he has gone out on loan to a lady and her daughter, who hacks him out.
They have a fab farm and love him to bits, although I am aware that I have been very lucky to find the loaners.
I previously had a gelding that was no longer able to be ridden and eventually found him a home. I, personally, would not send my horse to a charity unless it was a last resort. Only because there are real cases that urgently need their help.
henryhorn
Well-Known Member
I think a couple do, Happa in the North, and The Mare Sanctuary in the South, but normally they have a really long waiting list.
We signed one over a few years back, he was dumped on us as a bad debt and being a former racehorse couldn't cope living out up here. He had been famous in his day and that persuaded the sanctuary to take him (you have to sign your ownership away to them) and I was pretty peeved to find she changed his name as soon as she got him..he lived happily there for a few years until he got cancer and was pts. I managed to say goodbye to him first, he was a King amongst horses, sort of noble and perfectly behaved most of the time..(there was however the time one of my sons was hacking across the local very posh Hotel golf course and the old lad thought it was the track, he took off, tore across the greens and my son had to turn him in ever decreasing circles to stop.. Son said he had no idea a horse could travel that fast!)
Your best bet is loan as a companion or hack, is the horse rideable?
We have to make a charge as we are a business not a charity, but there is minimal profit believe me..
We signed one over a few years back, he was dumped on us as a bad debt and being a former racehorse couldn't cope living out up here. He had been famous in his day and that persuaded the sanctuary to take him (you have to sign your ownership away to them) and I was pretty peeved to find she changed his name as soon as she got him..he lived happily there for a few years until he got cancer and was pts. I managed to say goodbye to him first, he was a King amongst horses, sort of noble and perfectly behaved most of the time..(there was however the time one of my sons was hacking across the local very posh Hotel golf course and the old lad thought it was the track, he took off, tore across the greens and my son had to turn him in ever decreasing circles to stop.. Son said he had no idea a horse could travel that fast!)
Your best bet is loan as a companion or hack, is the horse rideable?
We have to make a charge as we are a business not a charity, but there is minimal profit believe me..
merlinsquest
Well-Known Member
Personally I think the places at the rescue/retirement homes should be used for the needy, proper rescue horses...
Sadly not for the ones whom nobody wants to look after and pay for anymore.... these are the owners responsibility.
Not getting at OP as not sure if its her horse or not!
Sadly not for the ones whom nobody wants to look after and pay for anymore.... these are the owners responsibility.
Not getting at OP as not sure if its her horse or not!
Horsey_Gal
Well-Known Member
If I put them on loan i would be worried about them all the time and i couldn't bare to sell as have owned them for nearly 9 years now.
RachelB
Well-Known Member
I agree with merlinsQuest, sorry, but if you aren't prepared to pay the livery fees for a horse who is "past its best" and retired then why did you have the horse in the first place?
Sounds harsh but I have a semi-retired horse (through injury) and I am doing all in my power to ensure she has a good retired life with me because I didn't sign up to horse ownership only to give her away when the going got tough. It means I can't have a riding horse until I can afford a new one myself, but hey that's life. I owe it to my horse to ensure she has a good life, and if that's not going to happen then I wouldn't ask anyone else to foot the livery bill.
Sorry that does sound harsh.
Alternatively I was considering giving my horse a new job as an embryo transfer recipient mare, and the studs that take on loans/freebie horses pay the bills themselves - but because the horse is earning its living.
Sorry that does sound harsh.
Alternatively I was considering giving my horse a new job as an embryo transfer recipient mare, and the studs that take on loans/freebie horses pay the bills themselves - but because the horse is earning its living.
YorksG
Over the hill and far awa
Have to say that I agree with those who say should look after your retired horses yourself, we have one currently and in the past have had four (not all at the same time) who no longer worked, they all stayed with us until we decided that their quality of life was no longer good enough.
showqa
Well-Known Member
I would move heaven and earth to keep my old/retired horse with me. Of course, you never know what life has in store for you (redundancy for example), so a massive change in circumstance is one thing. But all things being equal, any horse I go out and purchase will be with me until the day they breathe their last. That's the least I can do for them, after all of the joy and trust they give me every day of their lives.
LCobby
Well-Known Member
Some may take them, if they have space, with a suitable e 'endowment' to fund thier retirement, which may be the case in the example mentioned above- possibly a legacy set up?
Some retirement livery is lower cost as its in more rural areas where there is not such a high demand or pressure on grazing as in more crowded pats of the country.
Why are they being retired- unsound or very old?
Some retirement livery is lower cost as its in more rural areas where there is not such a high demand or pressure on grazing as in more crowded pats of the country.
Why are they being retired- unsound or very old?
Bedlam
Well-Known Member
It's all very well to want to keep your horses & ponies forever into retirement - and quite possible if you have your own land. But what if you are on a livery yard and don't have the facilities for 24 hour turnout? What if the horse will never settle as a 'happy hack' because he's too highly strung, or difficult to handle? Do you keep all your children's ponies into retirement and build up a small herd of OAPs?
I'd love to think I could keep every pony and horse that has passed through our hands, as I'm sure no-one loves them quite like we did - but it's just not always feasible. And sometimes it really is the most responsible thing to do to have them pts if you don't have the facilities or money to pay for expensive retirement homes (the cheapest I have found near me, for example, is £200 a month for grass livery).
I'd love to think I could keep every pony and horse that has passed through our hands, as I'm sure no-one loves them quite like we did - but it's just not always feasible. And sometimes it really is the most responsible thing to do to have them pts if you don't have the facilities or money to pay for expensive retirement homes (the cheapest I have found near me, for example, is £200 a month for grass livery).
DuckToller
Well-Known Member
Do you keep all your children's ponies into retirement and build up a small herd of OAPs? Answer - yes!
Still got daughter's 11.2, 12,2, 13,2, 14.1. Now looking for her first horse but got no stables left. Just off to compose a few adverts...
MagicMelon
Well-Known Member
Im lucky in that 2 of my old retired ponies are still with me, living their days out in our field. I think there are places you can put horses into retirement but TBH I think they are for horses / ponies who are too old etc. to be rehomed and their owners cannot financial look after them. So I wouldnt even consider it unless you really really need this because there's always going to be worse off cases who need thos spaces.
If I were you, Id probably try and find a field to rent.
If I were you, Id probably try and find a field to rent.
PeterNatt
Well-Known Member
One issue is that today horses are not taught or trained to hack quietly so when their competitive days have ended they can not be used as quiet hacks. There are many of us that just want quiet hacks.
This problem of retired/disgarded horses is starting to become a massive problem these days as more and more owners wish to disgard their horses once they are no longer of any use to them. The charities can not cope with them. This is why so many end up at auctions and sales. You would be supprised to find how many
owners are out their that just wish to offload their horses once they are no longer of any use to them.
The I.L.P.H. www.ilph.org have a scheme where if you become a life member you can provide them with a legal document so that if anything happens to you they will take over the horse (they may loan it out if it is up to it).
I am beginning to think that the breeders of every horse (or importer) should have to pay a sum of money to an equine charity so that the charities have enough money to look after aged/disgarded horses.
At the end of the day the horse has provided enjoyment to their owner(s) and at the end of their days they should be treated humanely.
This problem of retired/disgarded horses is starting to become a massive problem these days as more and more owners wish to disgard their horses once they are no longer of any use to them. The charities can not cope with them. This is why so many end up at auctions and sales. You would be supprised to find how many
owners are out their that just wish to offload their horses once they are no longer of any use to them.
The I.L.P.H. www.ilph.org have a scheme where if you become a life member you can provide them with a legal document so that if anything happens to you they will take over the horse (they may loan it out if it is up to it).
I am beginning to think that the breeders of every horse (or importer) should have to pay a sum of money to an equine charity so that the charities have enough money to look after aged/disgarded horses.
At the end of the day the horse has provided enjoyment to their owner(s) and at the end of their days they should be treated humanely.
EMWSanctuaries
Well-Known Member
WE, EQUINE MARKET WATCH Sanctuaries UK, take a few. Usually where owners are older people, or terminally ill. We ask that the final day fund is covered for the horse(s) and if a small contribution cna be made towards basic keep needs. Out of all our intakes this would be no more than 2% but that 2% is very worthwhile, especially where there is a dying owner who needs peace of mind regarding the fate of their much loved animal.
We (EMW Herefordshire) have just, sadly, lost one of our owner maintained ponies which has left one space open. At our sanctuaries these spaces are rare. We dont keep a waiting list as places don't come up often enough for those waiting.
Caring for older horses is expensive. Our 43 year old resident, Tanna, costs us over £50 a week alone in special feed needs, when you multiply that on an average costing of £35 a week each x 12 it adds up. 12 is our maximum number at the Herefordshire sanctuary, our aim is to give excellent quality of life and spotless clean grazing.
We do try to rehome some of our horses and ponies that come from private intake but only if the owner is happy with that arrangement and with the proviso that they can keep as much contact as they would like or can manage and of course, the horse or pony never leaves our ownership so always has a home to return to.
We (EMW Herefordshire) have just, sadly, lost one of our owner maintained ponies which has left one space open. At our sanctuaries these spaces are rare. We dont keep a waiting list as places don't come up often enough for those waiting.
Caring for older horses is expensive. Our 43 year old resident, Tanna, costs us over £50 a week alone in special feed needs, when you multiply that on an average costing of £35 a week each x 12 it adds up. 12 is our maximum number at the Herefordshire sanctuary, our aim is to give excellent quality of life and spotless clean grazing.
We do try to rehome some of our horses and ponies that come from private intake but only if the owner is happy with that arrangement and with the proviso that they can keep as much contact as they would like or can manage and of course, the horse or pony never leaves our ownership so always has a home to return to.