Unsuitable for rehoming?

[Bellaboo18]

Following on from the rearing horse thread...
What 'issues' would people consider make a horse unsuitable for rehoming?

I think selling any horse can have potential to go wrong but what would make you think, nope they're staying here for good or PTS rather than re-home?

What makes it too risky?

Out of my three, I'd be confident selling two, they're both nice natured and i just couldn't imagine them showing dangerous behaviour...although who knows in a completely unsuitable environment?

The other I think is close to being unsuitable to re-home, she's a 'sensitive' exracer. I'd definitely have to be careful where she went but then the concern would be if she was sold on.
She's never reared or bucked and is a straightforward ride but she becomes very stressed on the ground with any change in routine and I think it *could* go downhill quickly.

What's everyone else's view? What couldn't you sell on?

 

[milliepops]

replied on the other thread but I would not sell my screwed up welsh girl unless it was to someone recommended, who knew what they were letting themelves in for and accepted everything. she is what she is and you just have to go with it.
I would not sell my wobbler because she doesn't look like there's anything wrong with her (and in fact you could just saddle up and ride her) but shes not right.

I think the TB would sell quite easily to someone who didn't mind his bowed front tendons! he's a nice easy chap now who is just a bit TBish

so basically, mental or physically knackered ones stay put!

 

[ihatework]

Selling or rehoming? The latter I would include loan in.

Horses that wouldn’t leave my direct care alive would be those with behavioural issues significant enough that they stood a reasonable chance of severely hurting someone or had a very difficult to manage medical condition.

For me to sell a horse (which I do) I need to be confident they have a useful ridden life and are sound for purpose.

If the horse falls somewhere between the two then they are loan or LWVTB.

Ive got one out on loan at the moment that is a very desirable type, 15.2hh chunky but with some quality and a good temperament. He had a few medical issues that meant he was only suited to light work and needed careful management. He’s been in that home for a number of years now, and actually I would hand over ownership if they wanted but equally am happy to be there as a back up if needed.

Ive loaned with a view to buy two other horses previously. One who had the PSD op and had a buck in him, one who was a neurotic box walker and had a nappy rear under pressure. The former went hunting, the latter was a happy hacker, both purchased after trialling for a few months and both stayed in those homes until they were PTS. The former one came back after the first LWVTB but stayed at the second attempt home.

 

[windand rain]

I would not sell an aggressive horse, I think there are special niches for bonkers on the go ones so would be careful to whom I sold one, I wouldnt knowingly sell one with medical issues even with full disclosure, I wouldn't knowingly sell a rearer as I was bullied into parting with one I was going to shoot only to find said bully calling me all the names under the sun because her affirmation she could fix it were false I should have had her shot (the horse although serously thought about the bully) It really upset me to have my good name blackened on the internet In fact it has largely meant I have never sold anything since except to gift to friends they stay with me

 

[Tiddlypom]

I was thinking of this.

I loaned (rather than sold) the late chestnut git to a pro while I was on a maternity break. I made full disclosure of his quirks. In particular, that he was cold backed so you needed to sit lightly in the saddle for the first 5 mins after you got on, and also to lunge him for a few mins before riding if he’d had a few days off, to take the tickle out of his toes.

Sooo... He stood in his stable for two days because of wet weather (he wouldn’t have melted, he was tough as old boots). He was tacked up, pulled out of the stable, rider got on and promptly jammed their legs and arse on and said ‘Right horse, WORK’.

I could have predicted with complete certainty what happened next . Rider unfortunately sustained a nasty injury as they fell, but why the heck they set themselves up to fail like that, I never could discover.

I did get him back and carried on riding him once I’d popped the sprog. He’d deck me once a year, but otherwise we rubbed along OK. I declined to pass him on again in case he injured someone else (owned him for 24 years).

 

[Chinchilla]

I would PTS over rehoming any of mine. Don't think any of them have any market value (in sensible times!) So too risky.

 

[meleeka]

None of mine are suitable for rehoming. Well maybe two as companionS, as they are all arthritic to varying degrees. One of them would be better in work but is not worth anything to sell (even though I’m a mug and paid money for her just to get her out of where she was). I’m afraid if I had to part with any of them I’d have to make the difficult decision to pts.

 

[honetpot]

I think the problem is everyone seems to think they are a better than the person who had them before, its all their fault, and they can do a 'makeover' in a week.
I know this because I have loaned my ponies out, and seen tack changed, food changed, pony not shod when it gets foot sore, pony with laminitis, when told not to over feed, and all this in a contract, and they still ignore it. Just about any horse will put in a buck in the right circumstances, go to the first rally at the start of the year at PC and a lot will put one in, really people shouldn't be buying or even learning to ride a horse if they do not accept that risk.
I think for your sanity its sadly easier to keep them or have them PTS, which is a sad state of affairs. I learnt to ride, and made my mistakes on rejects that lived in the bottom field of an old fashioned dealers yard. They were not suitable to sell on, but they taught you a lot without actually trying to kill you, and were a lot of fun.

 

[FestiveFuzz]

My current 2 I think would pose no issue if sold (though neither would ever be for sale).

My youngster that ended up PTS would never have been sold if they’d come sound. In the words of the consultant at RVC they were “the soundest lame horse they’d ever seen” despite an acute DDFT tear and serious SDFT damage. The horse was young and nice to look at so I have no doubt an unscrupulous person would have buted up and sold on for a pretty penny given half the chance.

 

[The Xmas Furry]

I think most equines could be rehomed, but those with a severe behaviour issue would be best being pts rather than passed on to the next who thinks they can sort issues out, but that's just my opinion.

Rehoming with medical issues is also possible, but needs stringently looking at 1st, again, I would probably pts.
I'd never rehome my 2 x mini ponies.
One has a collapsing trachea and needs managing for laminitis, the other is a pig in a chocolate factory but has an enlarged heart, both are on easy routines tho. They only will go one way as both been with me a good long time.

 

[paddi22]

I get rescues in and the only ones I'm happy to rehome are the very placid ones, who are level headed enough to absorb small mistakes or nervous things that people might do. Once they are educated in loading, timing, leading, hacking, farrier etc and you know they understand their job and go to the right person then you know they have a good chance.

I have three here now though that I just wouldn't re-home one is an amazingly talented pony, but very quirky, hot and sensitive. I think one bad owner or rider could destroy her in a very short time.

The other is a gorgeous mini pony who was tethered in a. housing estate. he spins suer fast if he hears a noise behind him. he would be knocking kids over left right and centre.

Other ones have physical issues that are perfect if managed but you need to pick up quickly when they are arising or else they'd blow be a bigger deal.

My thinking with rehoming is 'can I give this horse to the novice nervous person I now and would they the horse stay ok mentally and be safe?'

 

[Misty 2020]

My horse is sellable to the right person But I would not sell my horse to novice rider . I would never sale my horse anyway because I love her to much.

I think if a horse has bad behavioral problems than I think it would be the kindness thing to do would be to pts or retire the horse . I certainly would not sell a horse that had a known rearing problem . Unfortunately I think a lot of people don’t look a the bigger picture when selling a horse.

 

[Pippity]

Mine is probably sellable, but I'd have to carefully vet the buyer! She's a stoic soul who will put up with a lot of unhappiness without misbehaving, so she could very easily be sold on by a low-end dealer as the sort of weight-carrying steady hack that can do a bit of low-level everything that so many people are looking for. But she has hock arthritis, she needs to be shod to be comfortable (and needs vet sedation to do it), and is surprisingly sensitive.

I'm as confident as I can be that she wouldn't hurt anybody, but I'm far less confident that she wouldn't end up being hurt. There are plenty of people out there who would do a better job of owning her than me, but there are also a lot of people who would do a worse job. I don't trust myself to know the difference.

 

[Red-1]

I would sell a horse if I believed they weren't in need of PTS.

However, I am the fussiest seller ever! I even do a home visit. One buyer informed me it was harder than an adoption interview. In return, I always give every detail about the horse.

One person (20 years ago) called after a week, was not happy the horse was bucking (I had told them he bucked). I instantly offered to buy him back full price. They were having none of that, I think my instant offer to refund gave them confidence, they took some advice and got on with it. He was their horse of a lifetime and they have spent many years, since he retired, trying to find another as good.

One horse I sold for a £1. I also told them that I would have him back if they weren't satisfied. He had soundness issues, but was good for hacking and some light schooling. He went lame instantly, I offered to have him straight back, they refused and he too had a rest then long and happy hacking life, with a bit of BD thrown in. He did have a rearing issue at one time early on when I first bought him, he hadn't done it for a while, but they were told. He didn't do it with them, but was all round prancing type horse, but nothing nasty. We had a 'gentleman's agreement' that they would not sell on, but I could buy him back if they had enough of him. I knew them enough to trust that.

Being as I don't think I am the best rider in the world, I never presume that selling would necessarily be a worse home. I am just VERY fussy who I sell to. The £1 horse had a list of 3 people I was happy for him to go to, other than that he could have stayed until someone popped up. I wouldn't have advertised him for £1 as I would, no doubt, have been inundated with chancers.

 

[dorsetladette]

I have one which will not go out of my care as I don't trust the human race. Unfortunately (especially in the horse world) people always think they know best. He's a completely fit and healthy pony to look at, lovely conformation and generally a kind sole. But, somewhere along the line, someone as really buggered up backing/breaking him. We have decided he isn't a ridden pony. I can't trust that if he is out of my control that someone wouldn't try and ride him.

 

[chaps89]

Mine, when she is sound and in work, is a very useful type that alot of people would like to have. Her issue is she's not the soundest horse ever (as I write this from my horsebox whilst I wait for her at the vet) and has a vet history as long as your arm.
If my circumstances changed and I could no longer keep her for any reason she would maybe go out on loan if I found someone trusted via word of mouth and with references etc if I thought she was up to doing a job at that point in time but tbh pts to secure her future would be more likely.

 

[minesadouble]

I've been thinking aboiut this lately as I have a lovely 12.2 who will be outgrown sooner rather than later.
He has EMS and is very laminitis prone. I wouldn't sell him as he has to be monitored so closely and my fear is even I found him an experienced home how could I ensure he didn't end up sold on to someone unsuitable.

We have a large DIY livery yard and the lack of knowledge of the average owner there is frightening. Especially the inabity to notice fairly obvious lameness. It's definitely a contributing factor to my decision not to sell.

 

[meleeka]

I've been thinking aboiut this lately as I have a lovely 12.2 who will be outgrown sooner rather than later.
He has EMS and is very laminitis prone. I wouldn't sell him as he has to be monitored so closely and my fear is even I found him an experienced home how could I ensure he didn't end up sold on to someone unsuitable.

We have a large DIY livery yard and the lack of knowledge of the average owner there is frightening. Especially the inabity to notice fairly obvious lameness. It's definitely a contributing factor to my decision not to sell.

It sounds as if a loan home could work if he’s a useful sort and you can find the right home.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

My old boy could rear; I didn't find out till much later in his life when he was a veteran that he'd been taught to do this by a previous owner, but because of the fact that he could do it, and would do it if you didn't read the warning signals right and do something about it, I couldn't/wouldn't ever have sold him on.

The other things I wouldn't pass on are anything that has ever kicked out deliberately or attacked a person, also biters, persistent buckers and bolters. I would try to find out if there was any pain issue first, but if the problem persisted and I was unable to keep the horse for whatever reason, it would be a call to Kennels I'm afraid rather than pass-on a problem. I just couldn't ever live with my conscience if someone was injured and/or the horse during its lifetime was passed on at some future stage without the buyer being made aware of the issue.

Medical conditions would perhaps include laminitis (unless my vet had explained directly to the person what was involved and they had signed that they had understood this and would adhere to it); any other persistent and incurable unsoundness, severe/uncontrollable sweet itch, headshaking, EMS, and cribbing/windsucking.

 

[Equine_Dream]

I would be very cautious about selling my husband's TB x. He is what I would describe as VERY quirky. Definitely not a novice ride.
He naps when leaving the yard alone or if unsure of something, and by "nap" I mean leaps/mini rears. Looks far worse than it is to sit, and riding him forward will usually nip it in the bud almost immediately.
However I would be very cautious where it could lead in novice or nervous hands.
He is also very strong to ride and needs a cool calm rider. My husband describes riding him as "acting like you're leisurely reading the newspaper with not one care for the bouncing bomb beneath you, while inside you're thinking "this is it! This is how I die"" ???

 

[scats]

Millie would be fine. Sound, fairly uncomplicated and relatively sane apart from being quite spooky. She’s the type that a lot of ‘regular’ people probably want. She’s not particularly talented in any sphere, but she’s just a nice straightforward type. The vet who vetted her called her a diamond in the rough and I think he was right.

Polly is a different kettle of fish. I would worry that she’d end up in the wrong hands. It’s taken me 3 years to get her to this point and I now have a sound, little horse in light work. But i keep her this way through regular chiro, an exercise plan including lots of long reining, very careful monitoring of ground conditions and an eye like a hawk to spot potential issues which I jump on before they get worse. If you don’t understand her, she will nap quite badly and will rear if pushed. She also likes to hack out sideways, rather enthusiastically. Argue with her and she’ll treat you to a gymnastic display. I just sit and enjoy the ride, but many wouldn’t want to. She is not for the faint hearted, but she actually doesn’t have a bad bone in her. She would never purposefully try to remove you from the saddle, her antics appear to be more of a way of communicating. If you listen and come to some sort of agreement, it’s all jolly good fun.

 

[swilliam]

I'm not very good at selling, which is how I've ended up with eight. Two are rideable, and I would consider selling, though reluctantly and very warily. The others mostly have health issues. One, a TB mare which we bred ourselves, has problems we have never managed to get to the bottom of. She is 13 now, and if we cannot keep her for any reason, she will be PTS. She is beautiful, and much of the time, easy to handle, but under any sort of pressure, she will rear straight up and go over. I gave up on her having a ridden career the second time she did it, and she now lives in a field I rent. We have tried to load her, but could not - the vet sedated her as a last resort, but she still went up and over as soon as she got near the trailer, though in her younger days she would load happily. Another vet who had never seen her before, came to the field to visit another when Coco was having one of her funny days - bizarre capering and running at people/cars/horses. She immediately said that she thought she might have some sort of tumour, which put pressure on her brain when she was stressed. At the moment, if unstressed, she seems quite happy, but obviously rehoming her is not ever going to be a possibility

 

[SEL]

The big boy and the Appy will finish their lives with me. Both have a tonne of medical issues and i work with the Appy's quirks to keep everyone safe.

With a bit of schooling and feet handling the pony would be fine. Currently her little life has involved a lot of maternity leave and hacking - she's a super mum and a virtually bomb proof hack. Bending to the left though is still work in progress!

 

[LaurenBay]

Personally I would not sell anything over the age of 20, anything lame, aggression, or any ridden behaviour which could be lethal (broncing, bolting, rearing vertical) But there is a line, because i'd sell something that bunny hops, bucks (small) or can pull faces and have the occasional bite.

My friend and old YO never thought she would ever be able to sell her Horse, he was 10, very easy to do on the ground, a nice person to be around, but was very speedy and sharp, you would only have to think forwards and he would go, got excitable and bunny hopped, small bucks etc. Had to be kept in consistent work otherwise he would become very nappy and he would rear (very small) she said she would only sell if the right rider came along, she advertised to test the waters and the first person that came to view him, bought him that day (and yes he did massively nap with her) she still has him 8 years on and loves him to bits and has gone to beach rides, SJ etc.

 

[Bellaboo18]

I would sell a horse if I believed they weren't in need of PTS.

However, I am the fussiest seller ever! I even do a home visit. One buyer informed me it was harder than an adoption interview. In return, I always give every detail about the horse.

One person (20 years ago) called after a week, was not happy the horse was bucking (I had told them he bucked). I instantly offered to buy him back full price. They were having none of that, I think my instant offer to refund gave them confidence, they took some advice and got on with it. He was their horse of a lifetime and they have spent many years, since he retired, trying to find another as good.

One horse I sold for a £1. I also told them that I would have him back if they weren't satisfied. He had soundness issues, but was good for hacking and some light schooling. He went lame instantly, I offered to have him straight back, they refused and he too had a rest then long and happy hacking life, with a bit of BD thrown in. He did have a rearing issue at one time early on when I first bought him, he hadn't done it for a while, but they were told. He didn't do it with them, but was all round prancing type horse, but nothing nasty. We had a 'gentleman's agreement' that they would not sell on, but I could buy him back if they had enough of him. I knew them enough to trust that.

Being as I don't think I am the best rider in the world, I never presume that selling would necessarily be a worse home. I am just VERY fussy who I sell to. The £1 horse had a list of 3 people I was happy for him to go to, other than that he could have stayed until someone popped up. I wouldn't have advertised him for £1 as I would, no doubt, have been inundated with chancers.

I agree with your stance. I don't assume I'm the only person that could offer a good home and I know I couldn't possibly be the most suitable home for every horse so I'm normally fine with selling. I suppose the other thread just showed how wrong it can go and I think some horses are more likely to fall in to the wrong hands.

 

[Bellaboo18]

Mine is probably sellable, but I'd have to carefully vet the buyer! She's a stoic soul who will put up with a lot of unhappiness without misbehaving, so she could very easily be sold on by a low-end dealer as the sort of weight-carrying steady hack that can do a bit of low-level everything that so many people are looking for. But she has hock arthritis, she needs to be shod to be comfortable (and needs vet sedation to do it), and is surprisingly sensitive.

I'm as confident as I can be that she wouldn't hurt anybody, but I'm far less confident that she wouldn't end up being hurt. There are plenty of people out there who would do a better job of owning her than me, but there are also a lot of people who would do a worse job. I don't trust myself to know the difference.

I think this is a really good point. My other mare (not the exracer) is stoic and almost too 'nice'.
So when I said in my OP i'd be confident selling her maybe I wouldn't after all. The more I think about it the more I think I'd loan or lwtb if my circumstances changed.

 

[Spiritedly]

One of mine is 13.2 and a complete sweetheart on the ground, he loves fuss and would be a perfect child's pony in everything except the fact that he has a habit of pile driving riders into the ground!
He's had all the tests and xrays going and nothing has ever been found. As a result my family know that should anything happen to me unless they could keep him he is to be pts.
As far as I'm concerned he has the potential to kill or seriously injure a rider especially a child so I would never put him into a situation where he may end up being sold as suitable for a child.