To sell or to give away?

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FreddiesGal

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I've come to the descision to find Fred a new home, I just dont have the time to spend with him that he deserves. He's a Reg 14h Welsh D gelding. Most probably has IAD though not certain.

He hasn't been in full time work for about 4 months, although when he was he was jumping 1m courses and I got him out and about competing a little bit (both double clears).

I just don't know what to sell him as - if at all. In an ideal world I'd like to find him a companion home or light hacking home, but on the other hand I think if someone had the time and funds to have him in the inhalers or steroids as advised by vet, he'd be a great all rounder.

WWYD in this situation?
 
Sorry to be blunt, but if I had the "time or the funds" I would buy a horse which didn't need nursing.
Think of your horse as a dog or cat, what would you do then?
Send him to a charity if you want to secure his future or take him to the local sales if you'd rather not know his future.
 
DollyDolls - quite, which is why it is going to be very hard to sell him, which is why I am considering giving him away or letting him go for very cheap.

Rest assured - I am in no hurry and I will take as long as needs be to make sure he will be well looked after.
 
DollyDolls said:
Send him to a charity if you want to secure his future or take him to the local sales if you'd rather not know his future.
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What dreadful advice :(

Why should a charity take responsibility for a problem you should deal with yourself? There are genuine welfare cases that need those charity places.

If you want to secure his future completely have him put down.

If you want to be well secure about his future offer him to a blood bank.

Otherwise, loan him and check on him on a frequent basis, or get him fit and jumping a metre again on steroids/inhalers and sell him.

In my opinion the very last thing you should do is to pass him through the sales to an unsuspecting home to give other people more grief and him goodness only knows what future.
 
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I wouldn't sell him tbh. I'd at most put him on full loan so you can keep an eye on him, make sure he gets the medication he needs and he doesn't end up with an uncertain future

I'm all honesty, I'd keep him and give him a comfortable life but that's just me :)
 
I'd get him fit again with the steroids etc and sell him at a much reduced price with the potential buyer knowing from the offset that he requires extra money monthly due to this.
 
Just to be clear - I do not have time to get him back to full health. If I had the time to spend on him that he deserves I would not have made this decision. As it is I am working 45 hours and am seeing him twice a week. The rest of the time my friend does him for me.

I would never, ever send him to the sales. Why anyone would want to do that is beyond me. Firstly he would no doubt end up in the wrong hands as he's not the easiest the handle, and secondly it would not be fair on a potential buyer.

Likewise, I wouldn't send him to a rescue centre either - he's not a rescue case.
 
In that case I'd loan him or give him to a good home as a companion/light hacks horse.
Despite what people say not every 'free to good home' horse gets beaten with sticks. If a bit of common sense is used on both sides there is no reason that Fred wouldn't be a happy bunny!
 
Agreed ElsieCat - there are just as many horses who have been paid for in bad homes than horses who were free! In fact two of ours have been free. One I have owned for 11 years and is now living out her days in South West France with family friends, and the other who went to a forever home with a lady who just wanted an elderly horse to spoil!
 
When so many people are finding it difficult to loan fit horses I think you will find it hard to find someone to take on one with problems especially if they have to pay for the treatment. Can't you try offering him on loan but contributing towards his health care? Baring in mind if any perspective owner/loaner wants to insure him previous or ongoing conditions won't be covered.
 
FreddiesGal said:
Agreed ElsieCat - there are just as many horses who have been paid for in bad homes than horses who were free! In fact two of ours have been free. One I have owned for 11 years and is now living out her days in South West France with family friends, and the other who went to a forever home with a lady who just wanted an elderly horse to spoil!
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Ditto, I've had two given to me also!
One I helped with her manners, bought tack for and about 6 months later sold her on for a pittance to a girl that adored her.

The other came to me overweight, lame and skittish. She hadn't seen another horse in about a decade. She's now nearly the right weight, shiny, no longer lame, friendly to the point of down-right annoying and is in the process of being broken in which she is loving.

QUICKKKK I better put the free horse stick down :D
 
BB - what a very childish and presumptuous claim to make. If I was going to sell when times got tough I would have sold a year and a half ago when he was trying to kick my head in and chuck me off every time I got on. If I was that type of person I would have sold or put to sleep my other pony when she got kicked in the face and had to have thousands of pounds having her eye taken out. Bad day was it?
 
Whilst I think BB is being overly harsh, I think you're in a tricky position.

He's the smart little black one, in't he? He's not going to be easy to pass on in any form. Even at full fitness, selling him would be tricky for you. He's smart, but he bucks like anything from what you've posted. So no happy hacker would want to take him on, because he would not be suitable. If he was fully healthy, you could find a decent jockey for him if you looked quite hard as he does jump well. But really, he's not going to return to that which means his quirks are quirks with no reward...

I think you'll struggle to do anything with him tbh, unless you really luck out.
 
Elsiecat said:
In that case I'd loan him or give him to a good home as a companion/light hacks horse.
Despite what people say not every 'free to good home' horse gets beaten with sticks. If a bit of common sense is used on both sides there is no reason that Fred wouldn't be a happy bunny!
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There is every reason. A horse I sold very cheap due to medical issues was starved within an inch of his life and I had to rescue him. And I currently own one who is still the subject of a court case because he was sold to a showjumping home while on loan as a light hack due to long term lameness. You cannot know what is a good home and what is not unless you personally know the person the horse is going to. I took full references, sold with a contract, and still got it wrong.

Very many "free to a good home" horses are taken by low end dealers and sold on to unsuspecting buyers who end up spending money and a lot of emotion trying to sort out their problems.

From my own experience, I believe that the only responsible thing to do with a horse with medical issues is either put it down or loan it and check on it regularly.
 
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No FG not a bad day. I made no claim that he hasn't had a wonderful life with you, you clearly have a beautiful relationship. Just mildly aggravated that you 'don't have time' to get him back to health. Make time, then pass him on. Pass him on all you like - people do that every day. Nothing wrong with that, but dedicate your time to making him well before you do so.

Not sure why you felt you had to defend your position with details about your time with him over the last year. The fact is he is now sick and you want to pass him on while he is unwell. Not acceptable in my view. It's ok that we think differently.
 
cptrayes said:
There is every reason. A horse I sold very cheap due to medical issues was starved within an inch of his life and I had to rescue him. And I currently own one who is still the subject of a court case because he was sold while on loan as a light hack due to lameness to a showjumping yard. You cannot know what is a good home and what is not unless you personally know the person the horse is going to. I took full references, sold with a contract, and still got it wrong.

Very many "free to a good home" horses are taken by low end dealers and sold on to unsuspecting buyers who end up spending money and a lot of emotion trying to sort out their problems.

From my own experience, I believe that the only responsible thing to do with a horse with medical issues is either put it down or loan it and check on it regularly.
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So your saying that every horse payed for has a brilliant life? Just because I've bought horses will I treat them properly? There are people looking to do the wrong things whether they pay, steal or are given horses.
Plenty of horses come back from loan underweight etc. Abuse consists in all forms. Don't tell me just because a horse is given free or cheaply it means it will be abused. Because I know plenty of cases where this is not the case - just as I know plenty of cases where people have bought horses and not abused them.

*BREATHS*
I get so wound up people acting like only abusers would want a free horse. Really annoys me after all the work I've put into the current freebie :(:o

ETA - obviously selling/giving a horse to just ANYBODY is stupid. Sellers/givers need to proceed with caution. It's very sad in circumstances where it doesn't work out (like yours.) But that's down to the bad eggs, not everybody!
 
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Horrid choice but in todays society i would consider having him put to sleep at home. You'd then know he won't suffer and you will never wonder what happened to him.



There's a bit in the new BHS mag about PTS, a horse that in some ways did not need to be pts, but it was the right thing to do. Only you can decide what to do with him and that responsibility is a biggie.
 
If you only work 45hrs then why can't you get him fit & competing again & then loan, sell, or lwvtb? I'm not asking you to divulge some deeply private other issue you have right now on-line if that's the reason, but as a buyer I'd be highly suspicious & think he wasn't physically capable of coming back to work, because in my eyes that's not enough to prevent regular riding.
Alternatively loan him as he is on the basis he will soon be rideable again, then you can change it to permanent loan or sale if you like the home. But, the market is flooded with companions, & I'd not risk loaning a horse, putting in all the work, only to have the owner sell it from under me.
 
EC - clearly CPT doesn't say that BUT she is talking about her own experiences of loaning/selling cheap/giving away. Clearly anyone would have to be stupid if they thought that cash assured a good home. That isn't the point being made - point being made is that quite often low end dealers and *******s use the 'free horse to home for life' as an opportunity to make a buck - fact.
 
BillieBlitzen said:
No FG not a bad day. I made no claim that he hasn't had a wonderful life with you, you clearly have a beautiful relationship. Just mildly aggravated that you 'don't have time' to get him back to health. Make time, then pass him on. Pass him on all you like - people do that every day. Nothing wrong with that, but dedicate your time to making him well before you do so.

Not sure why you felt you had to defend your position with details about your time with him over the last year. The fact is he is now sick and you want to pass him on while he is unwell. Not acceptable in my view. It's ok that we think differently.
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And I am not sure why you felt the need to take a stab at someone you know nothing about. I am not trying to find him a home because I am now thinking to myself "Oh what a useless horse, he will never live up to my high standards". I am trying to find a solution where he will have more than 2 days a week spent on him, in a home where he will be able to munch on grass in a field all day. I don't want him to have to ridden again because I want him to be at ease and comfortable without having to have steroids pumped in him just so that I can trot him up the road. I am doing what I see fit with the time and funds I have available.

Yes Lolo that is he - Buckaroo Fred!
 
BillieBlitzen said:
EC - clearly CPT doesn't say that BUT she is talking about her own experiences of loaning/selling cheap/giving away. Clearly anyone would have to be stupid if they thought that cash assured a good home. That isn't the point being made - point being made is that quite often low end dealers and *******s use the 'free horse to home for life' as an opportunity to make a buck - fact.
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I know. The dealers taking unfit horses with medical and selling them on for something they're not was included in my 'abusers' and 'bad eggs.'
I know it happens I'm just saying there is plenty of cases where it doesn't happen. If OP can find someone through a friend of a friend etc I don't think its likely to happen.
 
We had a pony that went on loan as a companion - after a year and seeing a happy pony we gave him to the lady.

We also had a scatty WB broodmare that at 19yo was wasted so we put her up for rehoming, she found a great home, the lady started riding her and from the photos you would believe it was the same horse. She asked to buy her and we sold her for 50p.

We have always vetted the homes they have gone to.

So I would in your situation put a ad for full loan as companion but also say can be ridden and explain his issues. Then if it works out then sell him but cheap cheap. That way you know his got a good home.
 
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Elsiecat said:
So your saying that every horse payed for has a brilliant life?
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No, I am saying that "free to a good home" horses often end up passed from pillar to post when people find out their problems, whereas horses paid for at a decent price do not, simply because of their lack of unsoundness and value.

Plenty of horses come back from loan overweight etc. Abuse consists in all forms.
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Yes, this is why I said loan with frequent checks.

Don't tell me just because a horse is given free or cheaply it means it will be abused.
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Please calm down. I didn't.

But the fact remains that far, far more "free to a good home" horses will end up being sold to unsuspecting new owners by low end dealers than properly priced sound horses will be missold by a low end dealer.

I get so wound up people acting like only abusers would want a free horse. Really annoys me after all the work I've put into the current freebie :(:o
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Yes, you are getting wound up by something which was never said.

I also own a freebie.

ETA - obviously selling/giving a horse to just ANYBODY is stupid. Sellers/givers need to proceed with caution. It's very sad in circumstances where it doesn't work out (like yours.) But that's down to the bad eggs, not everybody!
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I did proceed with caution. Extreme caution. The person who owned the freebie I have now proceeded with caution. The person who sold that dressage horse that was all over the forum a couple of weeks ago proceeded with caution. And I maintain that the only way the owner can be sure that the horse in this thread has a secure future is to have him put down, or pass him to someone who she already knows very well.

I am talking percentages here. Of course there are good people who take free horses. You and I are two of them. But there are far too many bad people who take free horses too. The poster I answered suggested that all that was needed to ensure the horse was safe was
a bit of common sense
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and sadly that is far, far from the truth.
 
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With Cptrayes on the 'free' issue. I'm sure not everyone with cast offs treats them badly, I certainly don't myself. But the margin for someone to do so with a freebie is so much bigger. Checks mean nothing unless you know the home already. Someone taking freebies for profit will have a good enough act to fool anyone.
 
cptrayes said:
I am talking percentages here. Of course there are good people who take free horses. You and I are two of them. But there are far too many bad people who take free horses too.
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Agreed.
I've spent too much time in the cold tonight brushing s*** off freebies fur and tail to listen to anything remotely or possibly or even potentially playing down the care I provide. Grey ponies are attracted to s*** - fact.
 
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