To sell or not

ponies4ever

ponies4ever

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Hi sorry to be doing one of these but I really can’t decide between head or heart. This is the horse:

Positives - 7yr old 16.2hh ISH mare. Nice paces works in soft outline, great in traffic hacks alone or in company, very bold jumper never stops, not spooky, loads well, good with dentist,good to clip, can be left of for a week and be unchanged.

Negatives - needs to be sedated for farrier, will only travel in trailer without partitions, very much a one person horse on the ground (easy if she likes you but will bite and has kicked out at others takes time to trust), can only be ridden by soft riders on flat as otherwise becomes very backwards and argumentative, can be strong and careless into a fence although in her defence she is still fairly green to jump.

Medical negatives - had ovaries removed so cannot be bred from (all healed fine no further issues), also has arthritis discovered in her back although currently she is unmediated, is fairly fit and has regular Physio and you wouldn’t know there’s anything wrong with her (she really complains when something hurts). She has been declared sound by multiple vets.

My issue is that I’m (hopefully) going to uni in September to do full on course and although if I need to I will put in the hours to do her and have means to have on full livery it was not my original plan to bring her with me. Unfortunately due to medical intervention she’s not half as far as I was expecting her to be by now and is not the easiest horse to have around and so I realise selling her would not be very straightforward. The other problem is that I actually really like her! With a little more work she will be a super grassroots eventer and I feel incredibly bad about the idea of moving her on as she’s very comfortable with me and it’s taken a long time to build that relationship.

So credit to anyone who’s read all of my ramblings but please can anyone advise me what they would do in my shoes?? 56418185-2266-4F69-953A-D1E6F9B3A921.jpegHere is the beast in question this week.
 
She sounds like the quirky ‘marmite’ type that really needs to have a rider who clicks with her (I had a very similar sounding gelding once!)

I’d be inclined to sell if you can- if she has arthritis diagnosed at 7 and is going well now, someone might take a chance. I fear she may not fetch much though as there’s potential for decline in the near future.
 
Just to add to my post, I think if she were mine and I found her a loan home, I'd pay for the physio and sedation for the farrier.

This bit:
can only be ridden by soft riders on flat as otherwise becomes very backwards and argumentative, can be strong and careless into a fence
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sounds less like a behaviour issue and more like a response to the arthritis pain.
 
I think if she were mine I would find it hard to pass her on when she has several issues and is still very unproven so will be at risk of going to someone who will quickly put the miles on her and sell without declaring the arthritis or ovary removal which could mean she ends up in a home where she has less sympathy because they have spent a lot buying a 'sound' horse only to end up finding the arthritis at some point down the line which by then may be progressing elsewhere, I am sure there are numerous 'problem' horses around who have gone this route.

I would keep her and put the miles on myself so she is a grassroots eventer, rather than a potential one, once she is proven then is the time to look for the right home where someone will take her on knowing she can do the job but it may be for a limited time and that they are getting a lovely horse at a low price, I would probably do LWVTB so I could really suss out the home and also ask for first refusal if for any reason she has to be sold at a later date, although legally you lose the right just asking and staying in contact should help you find the right people for her.
 
Thanks for responses. With regards to being difficult to ride I believe a lot of it is simply pain memory and she is still improving daily.
Arthritis was discovered when taken for check up with Tom beech after having ovaries out. Was then x rayed to confirm. I don't know if I feel comfortable loaning as have had horse come back in the past very different from how she left and it was heartbreaking.
 
ponies4ever said:
Thanks for responses. With regards to being difficult to ride I believe a lot of it is simply pain memory and she is still improving daily.
Arthritis was discovered when taken for check up with Tom beech after having ovaries out. Was then x rayed to confirm. I don't know if I feel comfortable loaning as have had horse come back in the past very different from how she left and it was heartbreaking.
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Then I suggest that you keep her, doing what you can while you are at Uni, presumably you would also be heartbroken if you didn't know that she had stayed in exactly the kind of home you want for her.
 
I’d say keep her if you like her. You have the funds to keep, why not. You can always change your mind later if it’s not working.

I think if you were going to be honest about her, you’d have trouble selling her anyway.
 
meleeka said:
I’d say keep her if you like her. You have the funds to keep, why not. You can always change your mind later if it’s not working.

I think if you were going to be honest about her, you’d have trouble selling her anyway.
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this.
keeping her in your ownership is the only way you can guarantee her future. Bonus since you like her and can afford her keep :)
 
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