Selling an 'aged' horse.

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WoopsiiD

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Just nosey really....
Would you sell an aged horse? i.e 20+ that took you everywhere?
At what age do you think that its inapropriate to sell on?
Does the horse deserve a retirement?
Should it be pts?
Do we have a moral obligation to take care of the animal in later life???
As I have said, this is just me being nosey. There is no right or wrong.
 
Just depends ,I might sell to a friend who had the facilities to keep for life but you never know if they will sell on, would rather loan if they are old and keep the right to decide when enough is enough.
We have my daughter's 27 year old pony and she deserved a good retirement, think it is a very difficult subject but I am not very good at selling on.
Hate to see old horses on horsemart etc. but I understand how expensive they are to keep.
 
Personally no I wouldn't sell on one of this age, maybe put on loan if it was still capable of work. Mind you I'm no good at selling on anyway, which is why I have a 30 year old donkey, a 16 year old with Cushings and a 20 year old who is, to put it nicely "quirky"
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I have a 23 year old who is with us for life, fit and well and thinks he is 5. I would put him on loan but only to stay at our yard so i could keep an eye on him.
Obviously older horses don't fetch as much money and it worries me to see them advertised for sale as you just don't know where they could end up.
 
I would have to say no- and actually you may find you enjoy having an oldie!! My relationship with my old horse became so much better he no longer thought the only reason i was around was to ride him and became so much easier ( he was a miserable grumpy old sh** most of his life!!)
Keeping him through retirement and being there at the end was the most rewarding thing i ever did and my mind is at rest knowing exactally where he ended up.
Of course everyone is different and its expensive to keep a horse especially one you maybe cant do what you want with.
I do think we owe them something though!! Good luck x
 
I used to share an older horse..his owner decided she wanted to sell him (becuase he was old...therefore not fun...apparently) so she sold him at 23...I have no clue where he is and its very worrying
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if i find the right horse for me (which im currently looking for) it will be with me for life it will become part of my family, i couldnt get rid of my kids (although sometimes very tempting lol ) as i couldnt get rid of my aged horse thats taken me through my riding life. but i do understand that they are expensive to keep.
 
Over here, horses +20 yrs are often seen for sale. Surprisingly, a fit 20-odd year old will command a very high price in my area, particularly if they are still competing or are seasoned schoolmasters. I looked at one a couple of years ago; 28 year old, very well bred QH, winnings that year of 7.5K and up for sale for a figure of 3.5K.

I have an old horse that I was given a couple of years ago. Up till he came here, he was still competing and winning 100 mile LDRs. He is in semi-retirement here; I take him out occasionally and he is fully loaned out to one of my liveries. If she were ever to move from here then I would allow her to take him with her, however I would still hold onto his papers, and would have the majority decision as to when he is put to sleep.

To be honest, the way I see it, if the horse is good and still has a number of ridden years left in it, then I don't see a problem with anyone selling to a good home, so that the horse can remain in work. I actually think it is far worse to see a, once useful, old horse pottering around a field for the rest of it's life; this has been the demise of many an old horse, I'd say.
 
Never never never!! My old horse is 29 and I have had him since he was 3. He is my best friend and I would never let him down as he has never let me down. I quite simply love him too much to ever part with him. He has earned his home for life. However, in saying that I am fortunate to have my own land and can afford to keep him and a working horse but if not I would keep him and not compete.
 
I think it would depend whether the horse was sound and healthy, and whether I could find a good home for it. There are so many people these days prepared to bute up an old throughly worn horse and sell it on as a "safe 10yo".
Mine is only 12 and is semi-retired through injury. I have been advised by various people to sell her to a hacking home or to PTS but I refuse, on the grounds that I didn't agree to own her and care for her just to back out when it got tough. Yes she is preventing me from getting another horse, but I owe it to her to keep her in retirement as long as she is happy and healthy. The minute she decides that is enough then fine, but she's young yet and could be with me for 15/20/25 years yet. She will always be cared for by me as that was part of what I signed up for when I bought her. It would be the same if she had stayed sound and been with me until she was 20+, selling would only be an option if she was sound and I could find a good home.
 
I have actually only ever loaned or owned old horses. My first being a Qh we had to sell him on in the end as he was far to naughty for us as a family to ride like he was susposed to be he was probably about 25-26 then but was capable of working still and we only let him go to a good home and he was there until he passed away.

I then got another old pony he was 21 his now around 27ish we think i only got to ride him for a year before his arthritis was to bad to continue but he now has lived happily retired with us on danilon and charges around like a 3yo and is extremely happy so i could never give him up not even when he was rideable. My second pony i only got last year i wanted something i could ride again but could only loan and only got offered older horses so i settled for a lovely old mare with quirks and she only likes me i could never give her up or back to her owners as i didn't particually like were she came from she is also happy with me so she will not go anywhere either.

So all in all i dont really agree with selling older horses as i think they deserve a good retirement and people should be less selfish just because it doesn't do the job they expect it to but on the other hand there is lots of people like me who will take older horses and have them for life useless or not to us.
 
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Never never never!! My old horse is 29 and I have had him since he was 3. He is my best friend and I would never let him down as he has never let me down. I quite simply love him too much to ever part with him. He has earned his home for life. However, in saying that I am fortunate to have my own land and can afford to keep him and a working horse but if not I would keep him and not compete.



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I am with mattilda on this subject, however I do not own my own land, but rent stables and grazing. I would go without everything to keep my old boy who is nearly 27 and a Cushings sufferer, but I am so fortunate that he is still beng ridden at least 2 times a week, and with the help of another forum member, we can now take my two out 3 times a week
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I do know that each person has their own circumstances to consider, however I feel that 'selling' an old timer is not really something that I can accept
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I think there's no rule about this - every case will have a different set of details but we should probably all be prepared to make difficult decisions. The problem with selling on is that once the horse is sold you have absolutely no say in its future - even loaning can be very dodgy unless you can keep a very close eye on the horse.

I used to go a riding school where they would make arrangements for their liveries to be passed on to a suitable owner at the school when a horse needed a step down in its work load. The horse would go to someone who didn't want to compete as at high a level but it would still have a great productive life and give the new owner (usually a novice) the benefit of all its experience. This arrangement was ideal but worked as eveyone operated out of the same yard.
 
I think it is irresponsible to sell an older horse to an unknown fate. That said, if you loan it or sell it at minimal cost to a good home, I have no issues.
Part of the problem is that everyone is encouraged to buy youngsters....even very novice riders who have been safely pottering around their local riding school on established, kind, older horses go out and buy a huge 4yo imported warmblood...then trouble ensues.
I do wish more novice/new horse owners would start off with something 12yrs plus....but that is just my take on things.
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This is difficult as we took on a 20 year old, so were the sort of people probably that are the thin on the ground good homes.

Eight years later, with many, many happy memories and still having lots of fun, we have had to nurse this pony through her hard times - so far we are all doing OK and her quality of life is good.
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It's finding folks who are prepared to stand by these wonderful horses and ponies. We will not, however be on the lookout ourselves. I have so far found riders to come here and keep her busy. I will exercise her on foot myself if I have to since her age and health issues dictate her level of activity. She wiil be pts here when she is ready and not a minute sooner.

Was that a yes or a no?
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Personally, I think it is wrong to sell on an aged horse. Even if they are fit and well, they could then be sold on again with a few less years on the clock. But I am absolutely hopeless at selling anything, which is why I have so many equine pets.
 
no i would not sell on maybe loan out to a good home. i had my old boy for 10 years in retirement i feel if they treated you will in there working life you should treat them well in retirement.
 
I have a 27 year old mare I have had for 19 years, she retired last summer, but we have had a fab time over the last 19 years and I might not be able to ride her, but I still love having her about and I feel that the least I can do for her, is to give her a safe and happy retirement.
 
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