Touchy Subject? Replacing your pet...

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Lvrees

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www.supergroom.co.uk
Right, if your horse had to be put down, say because of an injury, completely out of the blue. How long do you think it would be before you considered looking for another horse? Would you not be able to get another one, or would it make the grieving process easier if you just went out and bought a new one??

Opinions please...
 
Ive never thought of that, in a way it would be easier to get another one as you have a routine when you have horses. At the end of the day another horse will never ever replace what you had with the last horse but you need to move on in life. I dont know what id do! I think id wait a few months before getting another one as id try and clone the last one!!!
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You never know it might work!!
 
It would depend on the circumstances of their death. I love Daisy but I don't think I'd have too much trouble going out and getting another horse if something happened to her.

I used to breed Netherland Dwarf show rabbits and bred one myself to keep as a pet. She was the best rabbit ever. i had handled her from just a couple of days old, would lie on her back on my lap with her legs in the air, would run across and jump on my lap out of choice if you let her run free. Out of the blue she dropped down dead at the age of two. Happy and healthy one minute and dead the next. I just can't see myself ever having another rabbit. We had such a bond it really upset me.
 
NO!!!I could not go straight out and get another,i would be comparing everything it did to h!!Nothing could ever replace h which is why i will probably not have another when he is gone(i bought him as a baby and was very lucky coz he has always been easy to do,realise i had something to do with this,lol)!!Besides that i want holidays etc,lol!!
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He is my horse of a lifetime and when he has gone that will be it for me!!!
 
It totally depends on the person, getting another horse isnt replacing as such, i see it as giving another horse a good home.

When i was younger her horse died, she never got another one again. I think its best to go with your head. Wouldnt recommend getting another one if you feel that you might end up comparing them.
 
Well, I'd have mine stuffed so I could still feel as though they were alive. I'd have them posed, perhaps in piaffe, or passage...and I'd be able to groom them, tack them up etc just as if they were still alive.
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This sounds heartless, but I would start looking as soon as I could afford it. I'd hate to be horse-less.

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If you had them taxidermed (is that a verb?) you'd never have to be horseless...you could use Shetlands as coffee tables for example...
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Mickey died very suddenly at the age of 10; it was completely out of the blue. Initially, I said I could never have another horse for fear of losing them, too - but it didnt last long. I think I had about 3 weeks of shutting myself away, crying my eyes out and generally hating life, before my mum handed me over to a very good friend of ours who basically taught me everything I know about show jumping! He spurred me to ride again, and then to look for another horse, though it was another 6 months before we found Ellie. I think it is the best thing to do, when you've lost one; you will never replace him or her, but there is a space to be filled, and only one way to fill it! The same goes for dogs and cats too, IMO.
 
I think part of me would want to get a new one straight away - something to fill the gap. But I don't think I would, not sure I'd ever get another
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I'm not sure what I would do. Really don't know. It's got me thinking though as a pony on my yard was put down on Thursday as he was found with a broken leg in the field and they went out looking for another one on friday and one was delivered yesterday.

I suppose its nice as the little girl is excited about her new pony... but I can't help thinking, what about George???!?!?
 
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This sounds heartless, but I would start looking as soon as I could afford it. I'd hate to be horse-less.

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If you had them taxidermed (is that a verb?) you'd never have to be horseless...you could use Shetlands as coffee tables for example...
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looooooooool
 
Well when my jack russell vanished at the begining of the year (not quite the same as a horse I know) I tried to fill the void straight away and ended up missing out on all my puppy's fun young age becuase I hated her and wish she would grow up into the faithful dog my other was. The thing often is, when you are trying to replace something, you are always going to be dissapointed. I replaced my old mare with my coloured 2years ago, and even though my mare is still going albeit retired, I had the hardest time gelling with the new one, because nothing can beat perfection, and thats what my old mare was and always will be to me, perfection.
 
Ive never been horse-less. Every time that ive lost one, ive already had another since i had multiple horses in my teens. Tbh, i think that helped me a great deal. It got me back out and with the horses and they have always been good therapy for me.

I have just the one now although when he retires, i do intend to get another.

I don't think theres anything wrong with rushing out and getting another. As someone else said, i think you have to see the reality that he or she is gone and however awful that is, you could possibly give an amazing home to another lovely horse. The only quarm i have about it is the emotional state of the person who's just lost the horse and whether they're thinking clearly enough to judge a potential purchase objectively.

I think its always worth taking a trainer / friend whatever to get a second opinion on a horse anyway but doubly important after such a traumatic time. You have to make sure you're thinking sensibly and soundly about potential purchases and not just falling in love with the first pair of beautiful eyes you see just because you miss your friend
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My boy was put down just over a year ago and I was heartbroken, I'd only had him a year but we completely clicked and he was my horse of a lifetime. We knew for quite a while beforehand that it was likely he would be pts when the summer ended and so started tentatively looking at horses for sale.
We found his half sister and bought her a few weeks before he was pts. In many ways it made it easier having her, I think the shock of losing him and also losing the horsey routine would have made it harder. Plus the fact that she was related to him made it feel like he wasn't completely gone.

At the same time like Rosiie mentioned, I found it incredibly difficult to bond with her and did compare her to him often. There were many times were I regretted buying her but we came through that bad patch and now I'm extremely pleased that I persisted with her and bought her in the first place.
 
I lost my Sapphire October 1994 after owning her for 22 years; she had been retired for a couple of years before she died and I already had a replacement horse. What I could not cope with was seeing an empty stable whre my beloved Sapphire once stood, so, as my horses were on full livery at the time, I asked that my other horse be put in Sapphire's stable so there was no horrible, empty box staring at me. Sapphire was cremated, and I remember driving to the crematorium to collect her ashes but, once in the car park, I could not go into the office to collect them. My husband (now ex-!) went in with my daughter to collect the casket and returned to the car, opened the door and threw the casket onto my lap saying "Quick, catch - they're still warm!" . I immediately burst into floods of tears and all he could say was "Oh, I thought that would make you laugh...........".

No, I'm the sort of person who has to get a replacement to fill that gap straightaway! I don't want to spend time grieving (I don't mean that in a heartless way!), I want to focus on a new ned, otherwise, I'd spend all my time crying!
 
For me I would get straight on and find myself a new friend.

You never forget your old friend. You certainly can NEVER replace them but a new friend can bring you a whole new bundle of joy.

I have said goodbye to a few and have said hello to a few more. They are all wonderful.

Everyone is different but I have to have my horses around me.
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We are the same with dogs. An old one dies and then we get a new puppy. It kind of helps you get your head around the circle of life.
 
You can never replace them!!!! you can fill a hole that they left and learn to love another, but you will never stop thinking of the one you lost and the times you shared.

When i lost "G" in the June, i said never again. I knew that i could never come close to anyone like him again.
It was a few months before i started to miss the contact with horses and thought about looking on the salles sites.
Viewed several, but didn't feel anything.
Ended up buying 2 very wrong horses, and losing lots of money.
Had just about given up, when i saw "Max" pondered long and hard about him, and wondered if i could ever love him, like i did "G"
He came to me in March this year, and i swear "G" sent him.....
They are so alike, except "Max" doesn't bite or kick, lol

So what i am saying is, when the time is right you will know. And when the right one comes along you will know

I will never stop missing "G" but "Max" has filled the massive hole he left when he went

RIP "BIG G" sleep tight darling boy xxxx
 
I haven't been without a hose for ages and ages and ages. I'm not sure what I would do if we didn't have something in that stable!

BUT I'm a bit vulnerable now as we're down to one - I've always had more than one.......but my daughter's eventing habit is a bit expensive and I've sacrificed my love of M&Ms for her love of eventing for a while. If we lost him I think we'd be out looking for another pretty much immediately to be honest. I hope that doesn't sound heartless - we love him to pieces, but we also NEED that equine part of our lives like some people need smoking/drinking/drugs.

Blimey - do you think there's an Equine Anonymous out there that could help us......!!!???
 
When Rocky died (kids pony suddenly of poisoning) someone turned up two days later with a pony for us out of the blue - (wasn't nearly the same but it helped the kids). A month later my horse died of colic and again I was phoned by lots of people offering me a horse. Another month later I had my old horse put down (was meant to be PTS the day the other died of colic, so obviously put it off) and that was the final straw. I took back the loan pony and didn't have a horse/pony at all for about 3 years. Having lost all three horses in three months was unbearable.

When I got my current mare (2/3 yrs ago - again given to me) my heart was in my mouth everytime I went to the stables, expecting to find something terrible and that feeling took a long time to fade.

I think replacing a lost horse is individual to the circumstance, the person and the horse.
 
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I suppose its nice as the little girl is excited about her new pony... but I can't help thinking, what about George???!?!?

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George couldn't give a monkeys because he's dead.

If people want to wait, fair enough, but not doing so doesn't negate what you felt about the one you had.
 
I started looking straight away. I have lost 2 horses, and did the same both times. Both times I went for completely different types, I live by myself and my only contact with people is at work and the yard really (that sounds really sad!) and there was such a void in my life without a horse to care for. None of my horses have 'replaced' each other and it didn't mean that I didn't care about the ones that I lost, just needed something to fill the gap - even now when I think about Maverick and Mikey I can tear up.
 
I'd definately go out and get another one. I hate being without a horse, i miss them terribly. When my mare was PTS i was glad i still had my 2 geldings to look after. They kept me busy and took my mind off her for a little bit each day.
 
It depends I think. If it were my only horse then I think I'd probably want another one a short time afterwards because it would feel very odd not having any horse. I have 4 though, so not quite so empty if something like that happened to one of them. It depends on the horse though, if it was one I rode and competed then yes, Id get another after a while. But obviously if it was retired / old then I likely wouldn't.

I agree, its not a case of "replacing" the horse - I dont see it like that or else you then compare the personalities of them which is unfair. It felt a bit like replacing when we lost our 2 cats and got 2 kittens. The only thing we couldn't do is get 2 in the same colours as the last ones - I dont know why.
 
Having just lost Blade this weekend I will be waiting till Christmas and New year is over before I start looking for another, i think I will know when the time is right because i'll see an advert and think 'yeah I'd like to go look at that'. I am already feeling at a loose end and the relationship I had with Blade was so special if I can experience half of that bond again with another horse I'd be happy. I'm thinking it might be easier for me to advertise what I'm looking for and see if any one answers my ad though! I think if I started looking now I would be searching for something identical to Blade and comparing everything to him and thats not fair.

 
I lost my last horse in Feb 2005 and decided to start looking for another almost immediately, within a week I had found 'ginger beast' had him vetted and delivered. I didn't set out with intention of buying one so soon but he was the 2nd one I looked at and I just knew he was right for me and what I wanted to do. I loved my other horse to bits and love this one as much, they are like chalk and cheese tho!! My farrier always says that you will love the new horse as much as the old one, and I think in time you do, but I'll never forget the old boy!!
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