What to do with old horses?

[nedzy]

I'm sure this has been discussed before, however, what do you do when horses are too old to ride or not quite rideable but quite happy? I have 28 year old mare who is a happy old soul just mooching around, and a 17 year old that needs a year off then hacking only. Is there much call for companion horses - would this be an option?
Where does one draw the line at expense (livery) to keep them going? I don't want to sound harsh, after all, I have had the old mare in retirement for over ten years, so not that I am thinking along the lines of no use, get rid, just wanted to consider options.

 

[jumpthemoon]

Well, there aren't many options for older horses, really. No-one wants them because they are old

I'm going to keep my TB for life and I'll just let her mooch around until she's not healthy enough to keep going anymore. I think rescue homes are normally full and putting out on loan is difficult because you can't guarantee the care (or that they won't be sold from under your nose as a 10yr old novice ride!) I suppose that's not what you wanted to hear though?

 

[AmyMay]

I think it is very difficult for those of us who keep our horses at livery especially when we have ones that are only paddock fit.

There is a market for companion horses - but you have to be soooo careful about placing them.

Sometimes finances outweigh the ability to retire our beloved horses to grass.

 

[nedzy]

You are right, options are limited. Just wondered if a steady old mare might work as a companion horse on loan, buyt suppose people would be afraid of a horse so old being any trouble to them. As I said, I have kept them in a retired state for a long time, ,but when money gets a bit tight one has to question all options. Sometimes hard to justify when even vet says 'They are not pets!' - Oh but they are!

 

[Happytohack]

I have two oldies - one is completely retired and the other has a potter out occasionally. They are very happy and content in their retirement, but I am lucky because I have my own land and stables at home. There isn't much call for companion horses. Sadly, some end up in places like Amersham. IMHO it is best to have an old friend put down at home than to face an uncertain future.

 

[jumpthemoon]

I know what you mean. Maybe try looking for a companion home, but be very careful about who you loan to. If I was to do that I'd want to have regular contact and someone local - you hear too many horror stories

 

[Rowreach]

I think I agree with Jaylen. I too am lucky to have plenty of room for the oldies - I currently have 4, two of which are fully retired, a 22 yo pony who is perfectly ok and currently teaching her umpteenth child to ride, and a 20 yo ex-hunter who is on loan to a friend of mine. The deal was that he came home to me when she thought he could no longer be ridden, but she's told me she never wants to part with him, so he will probably eventually retire with her. Have to say though, loan homes like that are hard to find. All mine can carry on as long as they are happy. As soon as they aren't, they will be PTS. I wouldn't want any of them to go off as a companion. Too risky imo.

 

[Tia]

I have a 24 year old oldie and he'll remain here for the rest of his life. One of my boarders fell in love with him a couple of years ago and asked to take him on full loan. So she pays for him and rides him once in a while. He's happy pottering around his field and he loves to go out for the occasional ride; actually he is 100% sound and would love to go out more I think.

If he wasn't on full loan, then I'd still keep him till he started to have problems and then I will have him put to sleep, here at home with all his buddies around him.

If I didn't have my own land and finances were an issue, then firstly I would see whether any of my good friends would take him as a companion/light riding horse (this would be highly likely that I could find one of my good friends to take him).

If my life was different and I didn't have these good friends then I would always always opt for having the horse put to sleep at home, rather than giving oldies away to someone unknown to me.

 

[madmuppet]

its a really difficult thing to decide.. I lost my old horse at the age of 36 in 2006 and it broke my heart. I had owned him for 22 years and i kept him at livery.. I hadnt ridden him for years as he was only field sound but he was my life. I was gutted when i lost him. I have my other retired guy who is now 21, well hes not totally retired, we plod about and do what he wants.. lol.. I also have a 6 year old cob who had just recently been diagonoised with arthiritis! Is a huge nightmare but i just get far too attached and i will keep my guys. Mine are on diy livery and in every night, However i fully understand that some folks just cant afford to keep their oldies, if thats the case i think the kindest and safest thing is to have the PTS rather than have the fall into the wrong hands. If the time came and i couldnt keep my oldie, i would have him PTS at home with me holding him rather than worry about where he would end up UNLESS i knew someone who would take him and love him like i do and i would then get him back again when they couldnt look after him... We owe it to them.

 

[teabiscuit]

i agree
my old boy will be with me till the end, couldn't cope with the thought of him somewhere else and him suffering

 

[Chex]

[ QUOTE ]
i agree
my old boy will be with me till the end, couldn't cope with the thought of him somewhere else and him suffering

[/ QUOTE ]

Same here. This is something that really annoys me, people just getting rid when the poor horse gets too old to be useful

. IMO you have a responsibilty to look after your horse in its old age, simple as. Or maybe thats just me.

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

I agree, and I hate it when peeps have a horse and it gets injured and they then advertise for any old random companion home cos they supposedly 'cant afford' to keep it cos its injured. O yes they can, they just dont want to as they wont be able to get a new horse as well that is perfect and not lamed trying its heart out for them. They could afford it before it was hurt!! if theyre only prepared to keep horses while theyre perfect and sound they shouldnt have them! and if they do have them , they shouldnt pass them on to god knows where but PTS.

sorry but its a pet rant!

 

[Maesfen]

On a slightly different tack so apologies to opening poster,
wouldn't it be nice if some people (I don't mean on here either unless the cap fits of course!) took the same fantastic care over their parents in their old age and what happens to them instead of rushing to put them in a home as they are taking over their old horses?!

I am also of the majority view; either keep or if unable have put down at home - I'm not talking about parents now BTW!!

 

[Donkeymad]

I too agree that if you are not willing or able to care for your horse at the end of their usefullness, then it would be kinder to pts than to rehome. Mine will stay with me as long as I am able, and that hopefully will be to their last day of natural life.
PS I currently spend many hours most days caring for my parents, they will NOT be going into a home.

 

[Parkranger]

QR - I think it's a bit harsh to just assume that people are 'mean' because they rehome a horse that's older. At the end of the day if you keep a horse to ride and it can no longer be ridden then if it can go somewhere to chill during it's old age then that's great.

If life works out the way I hope mine does, Ty will come back to me one day and grow old with me....I really hope I'll have that option. At the end of the day though you have to be realistic.

It's a horrible decision to have to make but there are options and certainly good retirement livery homes.

I suppose alot of it also depends on whether your retired horse will live out 247.

 

[Parkranger]

[ QUOTE ]
I too agree that if you are not willing or able to care for your horse at the end of their usefullness, then it would be kinder to pts than to rehome. Mine will stay with me as long as I am able, and that hopefully will be to their last day of natural life.
PS I currently spend many hours most days caring for my parents, they will NOT be going into a home.

[/ QUOTE ]

are you comparing your parents to horses?

 

[kerrylou123]

i will be keeping my current horses for the rest of their lives,
but they were all more or less 'aged' when i took them on. The next might not be so lucky, as I will be buying something younger.
I'm lucky enough to rent my own land, and pay for it as a whole, so it doesn't matter how many horses i have there, its never going to cost me any more, and had way to much grazing as it is.

 

[MurphysMinder]

I am lucky that I have my own land so my oldies stay here until I feel their quality of life is suffering and then I will pts. I would dearly love to be able to look after my Mum as well, and in fact tried to do so for 2 years. Unfortunately it became impossible and she is now in a home. It was the hardest thing I have had to do, but she is actually receiving far better care than she could have received from me. As she has no real mental awareness or ablility to communicate it is hard to tell if she is happy but I pray she is at least content. But I am not too sure about her quality of life

 

[xcharlott3x94]

Did you know that to keep your horse going, you should still ride and exercise them? it gives them a happy and longer life.. i have a friend with a 43yr old geldin and she has to still ride him because it helps them stay healthy. 17 yrs old? that isnt old at all ... a 19yr old has taught all my brothers and sisters how to ride and he has a lot of life in him... hes brilliant! dont retire them because they are gettin old.. the older ones are the ones that appreciate you more and i can gartentee that my 37yr old deffinatly loves an old ride. numerous numbers of vets,farriers and radom people have told me that you should still ride your older ones.. its up to you but thats whats best for them, at least you aren't wasting money watching your horse do nothing when you could be wasting your money on watching yourself have fun in a menarge and jumping or doin fun things with them..x

 

[star]

my old boy is 22 and will live out his days as long as he's happy. he's got an injury to his annular ligaments which means he is paddock sound, but goes lame if you ride him. he's currently on retirement livery but i go to see him every couple of weeks and i will move him closed to me once i find somewhere here to keep him.

 

[Boodle]

I think you have to weigh up what you want out of owning horses.
I have 3 unrideable/retirees. One 33, one 28, and one 6 (Shetland gelding with UFP). And my 17yr old mare who can only hack.

If I chose to I could get rid of all my invalids and I could keep the one sound and well horse we have, my sisters TB who is for sale (7yr old).
But for me owning horses is more about the relationship I have with them as opposed to what I can get them to do.

I would so love to have something at livery which I could school and jump and compete. But I couldn't choose that over my oldies.

In short, ultimately it is a very personal decision IMO. Whether you can afford to keep your oldie and another fit horse, or whether you are happy to simply support the oldie, or whether you want more out of a horse than simply looking after it (very understandable).

I have absolutely no qualms with people who put their oldies out as companions, or have them peacefully PTS when the time comes. Realistically not many people can keep their horses into very old age.

So long as it's responsible and the welfare of the horse is put first.

 

[carolmalin123]

Its obviously a lot easier to say 'they are with you for the rest of their lives', when you have your own land/stables etc. If you are paying livery, then it becomes very expensive to do that. I have a 24yr old TB, he has been retired for 4yrs, he is well and happy and I will keep him until he becomes unwell or cant get around due to arthritis (which he has no sign of at the moment). But it is a huge drain on my finances, as he is retired and I want to compete i have a young horse too and find I am restricted financially having the two. I dont want to hang around until he has gone to horsey heaven before i do anymore competing, that could be years and I am not prepared to do that, so to all you who also keep retired horses for years, I really admire you, it is a huge commitment and hard work!

 

[star]

[ QUOTE ]
Its obviously a lot easier to say 'they are with you for the rest of their lives', when you have your own land/stables etc. If you are paying livery, then it becomes very expensive to do that. I have a 24yr old TB, he has been retired for 4yrs, he is well and happy and I will keep him until he becomes unwell or cant get around due to arthritis (which he has no sign of at the moment). But it is a huge drain on my finances, as he is retired and I want to compete i have a young horse too and find I am restricted financially having the two. I dont want to hang around until he has gone to horsey heaven before i do anymore competing, that could be years and I am not prepared to do that, so to all you who also keep retired horses for years, I really admire you, it is a huge commitment and hard work!

[/ QUOTE ]

agree - i keep my old boy on retirement livery which is £150 a month. i'm looking for a new one now and i know things are going to be really tight when i get him and probably wont be able to afford to compete very much. if it wasn't for Dan then i could spend that money on competing, but I love Dan to bits - he could live for another 10yrs but whatever it takes I will keep him for that time, even if it means compromising on other stuff.

 

[AmyMay]

[ QUOTE ]
Did you know that to keep your horse going, you should still ride and exercise them?

[/ QUOTE ]
All well and good if the horse is sound and healthy. But many people retire their horses as they are no longer fit to work.......

 

[nedzy]

Thank you for all your responses. Glad to hear so many oldies are so safe in their golden years. I will continue to let them potter about in the knowledge that they have earned their time of rest. Think I just needed some confirmation that I am doing the right thing by them, when some other people criticise me for being sentimental. Thank you all.

 

[Tierra]

The ideal i suppose is to allow them to live out their days as horses. Either by throwing them out 24/7 or just bringing them in at night if that suits them better.

The reality, as Amymay pointed out, is that most owners are at livery and justifying the costs for a retired horsey; particularly if you then want to buy something young to ride, is difficult.

There is a call for companions without a doubt but you never know for sure if thats where they will go

There seems to be quite the trend for people to buy very very cheap companions, knowing they are unsuitable for work and then drugging them up and selling them on as sound

I think the recent cases in Amersham have also highlighted that we need to be more careful when passing horses on.

There seems to be more and more retirement livery yards popping up and i think thats a lovely idea, but again, its not financially viable to everyone.

The problem is, so many horses can live happily and relatively painfree after their retirement and then there is the issue of whether you can PTS a happy horse.

Personally - i think if an owner has a retired horse that can no longer work and they cant either provide it livery, keep it at home or pass it to someone where they can CHECK to ensure its welfare regularly; then the sad but fairest option is to have them PTS.

 

[amandaco2]

my horses have stayed with me until they die.
my oldie mare was PTS last year aged 49.she was still being ridden at 36.
my ex competition mare is 18 this year and shes been semi retired through injury.we enjoy our hacking now and she will also have a home for life.
i wouldnt be able to sell an older horse-i would worry too much what kind of life they were having.bad enough with a younger horse with a good competitive career ahead of it!

 

[honeymum]

My mare is 32 and has been retired out in the field for about 4 years now, she is used as a lawnmower by various neighbours in the summer and lives with the cows and 3 other ponies the rest of the year. Unfortunately she is unable to be ridden by me or my mother as she trips with us. But my sisters are 10 and 12 and are bringing her slowly back into work to do some ridden veteran classes this year, or they will if they can find the brakes again!lol