Those who retired young horses

[! Hackinghappy!]

My vets description of my girl is similar. He described it as like a repetitive strain injury!

 

[ShadowHunter]

I bought mine to retire him, he was 7 and struggling with physical and mental issues which his previous owner turned a blind eye too. He's 11 next year and now an expensive lawnmower and dedicated 'boyfriend' to my little cob. He's treated the same as my ridden horses, just without the riding, I don't tend to do much in-hand work with him as it seems to send his mind into overdrive! Most importantly, he's a very happy horse now which is all I wanted.

 

[mariew]

I always said I would pts if I had to retire a horse early due to the cost and not being able to afford to ride for what might be a lot of years. However when mine ended up retired at 11 I really didn't know what to do, it wasn't that easy a choice faced with it happening to me. She took the decision away from me and has to be pts a few months later due to grass sickness so I never had to make that call.

However I would never judge anyone who chose to pts a retired youngster due to money constraints, they are very expensive to keep just as a pet.

 

[maya2008]

Mine was retired at 15…not so young but not old either. She is still here, 6 and a half years later, completely sound so long as she isn’t worked. She is the ‘big boss’ in the field and keeps the others in order, teaches the young ones the way of the world and generally makes herself useful. We have 7 though, so not paying livery yard costs and having a reliable ‘boss’ is actually extremely useful. On one memorable occasion a few years ago, one of the (then) young ones ditched its rider and galloped home. My old mare was extremely disapproving of such rude behaviour and made that pony’s next 24 hours hell. The next time the kid came off, pony started for home, paused, trotted back and literally grovelled to me and child (head low, licking and chewing and apologising with every fibre of her being!). Never even thought to run off after that, no matter the situation!

 

[HollyWoozle]

I stopped riding my mare approx 10 years ago when she was 9 ish (can’t remember exactly!) as she was dangerous to ride and we didn’t have the expertise/cash/facilities to figure out why. She trots up sound or at least she did but is a little stiff now at 19. She lives in family field with company and shelter 24/7/365 and is far happier and easier to handle than she ever was when ridden. I don’t do anything with her except the odd groom now and then, get her out for the farrier, and give her scratches and treats. However she does get checked over regularly and I see her several times through the day from the window, since I work in an office at the family home and the field joins the garden.

For whatever reason (whether it be pain or other) she found being ridden very stressful but seems very relaxed and happy in the field. She is the boss of the boys of course and she enjoys a bit of fuss when it suits her. She is a mix of KWPN, TB and a little ID (passported as ISH and bred in Ireland) and she could be a little highly strung, but she lives without rugs, hard feed (she has a balancer), supplements etc and is essentially very cheap to keep.

She’s completely filthy at the moment but in great shape and as long as she seems settled that is fine for me. Her dam lived into her 30s and I don’t think she’ll do the same as she has melanomas, but you never know!

 

[fidleyspromise]

Fidkey has never really been in consistent work and was bought primarily as a companion. She is retired due to a sore hip that would be £xxx's to investigate plus a long journey to hospital so not worth it in my mind when she is field sound and gallops around.
She comes on hacks ride and lead or I take her in hand along with my dog. She's pampered and groomed.

 

[Lammy]

Mine was turned away a few months ago, suspensory issues also but he’s probably a bit worse off than yours by the sound of it. He has a 10% chance of coming sound enough to hack but tbh he’s a bit sharp for any hack to be considered relaxing, so as much as I would like to ride him again I’m swaying towards the “what’s the point” train of thought. But he’s turned away up the road in a big group of geldings for 9 months and I will monitor how he looks and how he feels. He can stay out there for as long as he’s happy and pain free, I go and see him once a week for apple and carrot deliveries which he trots over for and then mooches back off with his new mates. I think this is the life he’s always wanted, fluffy, fat and filthy ?

 

[catembi]

I have a 6 yo PSSM Dartmoor who is retired & has gone back to being a companion. 4 yo PSSM ISH who doesn't do anything. 7 yo PSSM QHxTB who is on loan as a companion to a retired horse. Old ex-racer who is on loan as a light hack. I used to get on the ISH (PSSM) every now & then & we have a plod around the arena in walk for 20 minutes, but when I rode him this week, he nearly went down twice - his legs buckle & he is very trippy - so I might not do that any more. They are all just field ornaments/eating machines. I wonder if I should PTS the ISH, but he is such a sweet boy, he's only 4 & it is simply impossible to gauge whether he's uncomfortable even retired or not. Probably about to retire a 4 yo TB as well dep on the results of the PSSM test, due any day. I could financially really do with shedding a few, but the only option is PTS and I am not ready for that yet & I really don't know whether they are.