What do I do with a horse I can't ride?

Wow - it seems that as soon as a horse is no longer rideable people will just PTS these days.

I would find a nice retirement home for her, if you go on google there will be ones around your area i am sure.

My horse will be with me for life until the time comes when she is in physical pain and/or her quality of life has deteriorated. Im not just going to have her shot when the time comes that she is no longer rideable!
 
OP - A friend has her mare in retirement livery near your way, if you want I can PM you the details? I know it does cost her, obviously... But, her little girl is now living out her twilight years with company and good grass!
 
reading what youve put :

youve had her 4 years , as already said what happened during that time.

has this problem only just arisen? as you said you hadnt ridden her for 4 weeks or have you not ridden her much at all?


you say she scares you, in which case she may well be trying it on and wont do with someone else.

You also seem to come across as a novice rider? as you said you didnt know what a green horse was 4 yrs ago.

with all that in mind id say pop her on project horses for loan view to buy, find someone who will have fun with her, if you were experienced id say PTS but theres something telling me all avenues havent been explored with this 0one. could be wrong but thats my two penneth :)
 
I think if you take on an older horse with "issues" then you have a responsibility to them. We have a 26yo that is no longer ridden due to stiffness and being a cowbag:D She has a home till she is not able to enjoy life anymore, she has been retired for 5 years. We PTS a 12yo this year due to poor quality of life (not paddock sound on bute) but kept him unridden for 2 years prior to that.

You ask what can you do with it? Not much I am afraid. I think realistically you either retire or PTS whichever seems right for you and her. Money does matter but maybe you can find a cheaper way to keep her?
 
OK, here is what i do with my ex racehorse who can no longer be ridden. Groundwork, lots of it and games too. It sounds silly but tricks for treats forms a bond with the horse and it's quite fun. My horse is not ridden, but he's not neglected and all the groundwork has actually improved his manners and respect for me. If he'll trot up sound in hand next spring, I hope to do some in hand showing.

Good luck with your horse.
 
so when you got her and thought that you were getting a 'green' horse, did you actually think that you were getting that colour of horse??? Could you actually ride at that time. Have you had anyone else ride her. Perhaps you are confused with the aids that ask for the gaits inbetween walk and gallop.
I can't believe that you have kept her for 4 years and finally now, at the age of 21, you have decided she is not the horse for you.
This is why I object to ex racehorses being given away or sold cheap, they end up going to numpties who have no idea!
Sorry but it gets my goat.
I would get someone who knows what they are about, ie from racing rehab centre, to come and see what they think and if she is as bad as you make out then take it from there.
Poor mare!
 
Misinterpreted said:
OK, here is what i do with my ex racehorse who can no longer be ridden. Groundwork, lots of it and games too. It sounds silly but tricks for treats forms a bond with the horse and it's quite fun. My horse is not ridden, but he's not neglected and all the groundwork has actually improved his manners and respect for me. If he'll trot up sound in hand next spring, I hope to do some in hand showing.

Good luck with your horse.
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I like this idea - what sort of games?!
 
Berkeley said:
Any pay £350 p/m for something I can't use? Pah!
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OMG! I have to say I'm a little bit shocked at your comment here! It seems very....cold! I was given a little pony on loan which I was 11/12yrs old. We were told she was late teens/early twenties. Turns out she was late 20's. Anyway, point is, she was a nightmare when I started riding her - bucking/rearing/spinning/napping - you name it, she tried it on. So I started having lessons on her (not realising quite how old she was). After 6 months of lessons and a new saddle we were hacking out on our own and doing local gymkhanas/clear round jumping.

My point is, I don't think 21 is too old to re-school. You CAN teach an old dog (horse in this case lol) new tricks. BUT, it will take time and patience. If you can't give her that time and are not willing to give her a happy loving home for retirement, then find somebody who willl. Someone suggested advertising her as a project horse - start there. If you don't get anywhere, then think again but just to PTS because you don't have the time to work with her is a little unfair IMHO.
 
IMO you have 2 choices, either retire or pts.
This seems to me like a classic case of someone passing on their own problems. Who on earth gifts a 21 yr old ex-racer with schooling problems to someone who has no more horse knowledge & experience than to "think that a green horse is type of colour"?

ETA, all ours can expect as long and happy retirement as possible after they are unable to work. We feel that we owe them that, after all that they have done for us over the years. We have kept a retired horse at livery but it is certainly easier and cheaper now that they are at home. But we acquired them as riding/driving horses when they were quite capable of doing the job - not as some-one else's cast off of dubious value.
 
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if you've had her for 4 years, then you bought her when she was already an older horse... you knew she had issues... so, surely you realised this situation might arise?
in my opinion you owe it to her to either find her a decent loan home, or retire her somewhere nice.

i know it's easy to pts, but do you really think you've given her the best chance poosible? i know it would haunt me unless i knew i'd tried my absolute hardest to do everything else first. perhaps you should exhaust other avenues.

good luck. xx
 
Ok then.

The way I look at decisions like this is:

How would you feel if you decided to have her pts?
Relief? Regret? Guilt? Ditto the other alternatives. I go with the one that makes me feel as if the looming black cloud of indecision has been lifted.

Personally, if I had a horse that I didn't have the facilities for/couldn't afford to keep/didn't want to pay that much for to keep (and I am making no judgements here) I would have her pts.

She's getting on, she could go on for years without health problems, or not. She could be fine for someone else to ride, or she could kill someone - be that a driver, an innocent bystander or her rider. I wouldn't pass on that responsibility, or risk.

You could go down the companion road if you haven't already, but a Tb is an expensive hay burning 'pet' and takers for her would probably be few and far between.

I don't believe horses know that any particular day is going to be their last one, mine go with their head in a bucket of oats thinking about nothing but grub. There are worse things than a well placed bullet.

Out of curiosity, to those that say retire her, or pay the 350 pcm, could you, would you, give her a home then?
 
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chestnuttymare said:
so when you got her and thought that you were getting a 'green' horse, did you actually think that you were getting that colour of horse??? Could you actually ride at that time. Have you had anyone else ride her. Perhaps you are confused with the aids that ask for the gaits inbetween walk and gallop.
I can't believe that you have kept her for 4 years and finally now, at the age of 21, you have decided she is not the horse for you.
This is why I object to ex racehorses being given away or sold cheap, they end up going to numpties who have no idea!
Sorry but it gets my goat.
I would get someone who knows what they are about, ie from racing rehab centre, to come and see what they think and if she is as bad as you make out then take it from there.
Poor mare!
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I would be very careful about your insults. Do not offend me. I put this up for discussion. It does not warrant wholly misconceived responses. If I receive any further insults I will report this. Its not on.
 
Listen guys the level of intellect has descended into a kiddies play party with too much sugar. I am not finding this useful.

Carry on without me.
 
Berkeley said:
There's always one....
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Always one what? I actually thought you were joking as I couldn't believe anyone could actually mean a post like this.

Also referring to your previous posts, you have mentioned that she is fantastic now she has moved yards. I agree that she does not sound suited to you, I think you would be better off with a riding school horse/push button ride that can compensate for your noviceness, an ex racer was certainly not the best idea!

I also note you thought her colour was 'green' rather than it meaning she was very inexperienced - surely no-one is that thick?

And no, don't try and palm her off on a rescue, after all, you couldn't be bothered to wait for a fluffy kitten from a rescue centre, you just had to have one now!

Personally if you aren't trolling with this post I think you should re-home her with someone who has the knowledge and not replace her with anything but a stuffed toy!

You have money to spend on a 4x4 but not on her retirement - NICE!
 
Berkeley you need to get a bit of a grip! People are being really helpful and you think THIS is bad for insults? They're only getting started....people are being really helpful, take the advice.
 
Berkeley said:
Listen guys the level of intellect has descended into a kiddies play party with too much sugar. I am not finding this useful.

Carry on without me.
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I think you have received some well thought out replies on here. Just because you do not agree with them all doesn't mean they are wrong. You asked the question in the first place.
 
lochpearl said:
Always one what? I actually thought you were joking as I couldn't believe anyone could actually mean a post like this.

Also referring to your previous posts, you have mentioned that she is fantastic now she has moved yards. I agree that she does not sound suited to you, I think you would be better off with a riding school horse/push button ride that can compensate for your noviceness, an ex racer was certainly not the best idea!

I also note you thought her colour was 'green' rather than it meaning she was very inexperienced - surely no-one is that thick?

And no, don't try and palm her off on a rescue, after all, you couldn't be bothered to wait for a fluffy kitten from a rescue centre, you just had to have one now!

Personally if you aren't trolling with this post I think you should re-home her with someone who has the knowledge and not replace her with anything but a stuffed toy!

You have money to spend on a 4x4 but not on her retirement - NICE!
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Irony, darling.
 
Berkeley said:
Listen guys the level of intellect has descended into a kiddies play party with too much sugar. I am not finding this useful.

Carry on without me.
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May I suggest this is because you have not recieved the kind of comments you were hoping for?
I fail to see how you could not have found anything added to this thread useful. People have offered you ideas to work with your mare in and out of the saddle, they have suggested retirement livery's, I even offered to PM you with details of one in Kent.
People seem to have been compassionate, and offered you support in your decision making, but ultimately, You do not want to hear, do you?
You have already made your decision.
 
Sounds like you've lost the will with her for various reasons, the main being you're scared of her - fair enough.

Her age is against her as well as her behaviour.

I know it doesn't suit everyone but when i grew out of my first pony i couldn't sell her on, various reasons - i was attached to her, she was part of the family and being 12.2 and completely bonkers/waaaay too strong etc i kept her and retired her ridden career.

She still had fun, fuss, love and a routine. Walks at the weekends, just general fun times etc. She became a friend and more like one of the dogs lol

She was pts last year at the wonderful age of 34 :)

I'm very glad i kept her and although paid out hundreds for 'something i couldn't ride' i don't regret a day.

Maybe you could consider doing the same??

I know it's just not reasonable in certain circumstances e.g finance. I always accepted i couldn't afford to have two horses and have only just bought my new mare.

Good luck with whatever you decide
 
Obviously, from whats been said by the OP he doesn't want to spend £350 a month on a horse he cannot ride, as he is obviously at a yard he cannot retire at home.

If nobody wants this horse, who can look after her well, and maybe get some fun out of her, then she should be shot.

However, our 'green horse' owner here, sounds pretty 'green' himself, and I wouldn't mind betting a nice competant rider might make a difference.

(Some groundwork and a decent diet might help too).
 
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