Where do you think your horses would have ended up...

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Sophstar

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..if you hadn't bought/loaned them? This came to mind when I met with my little brats old owner's last week and got told 'I don't know what we would have done if you hadn't taken him.' In all honesty, he would have probably been PTS if they couldn't afford him as a field ornament anymore.

My brat pony worked as a riding school pony where I taught for most of his days. Monster to handle, would kick, bite, chase kids across the fields but throw a kid on his back he was an absolute angel. Needless to say, he was only handled by staff:rolleyes: When the riding school shut, owner loaned him out and was fully honest about his temperament. He went on loan 4 times, returned within a month of each and owner gave up on thinking she would find a home suitable.

I bought him for a whole £1:D I always believed he was just one of those misunderstood ponies, is my cob's best friend and I moved him with cob to new yard to start afresh. Two years later with me, he's loving, loyal, cheeky and generally still a brat but behaves impeccably when a friend's small kids get a ride on him. I feel proud to see him so happy, relaxed and somewhere people just 'get him':o

My full loan cob would probably be dead from laminitis. Awful owners who refuse to sell him despite not wanting anything to do with him, agreed to let me move him yet have not visited him/contacted me in 2 years. But that's a whole other drama...:rolleyes:
 
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still in the field i bought her from - lovely people. they still own her half sister from the same year and she stayed in that field untill early this year when she was broken :) so i go and ride her once a week
 
Maje - mismanaged with his feet and dead a long time ago.. Or beaten as he had quite the Cleveland personality

Rhana - still a broodmare

Sisko - he was "known" to be dangerous and seriously hurt someone through no fault of his own.. I never had a minutes problem with him..

Mystique - was being shot that week.. I bought her for £1

Jack and Iggy - bought by someone or other through the stud

Princess and Samson - no idea.. One adults dart/Shettie and one very abused ex traveller pony (police involved)
 
I know absolutely where one of mine would have ended up because his owners were so desperate after he'd dumped a dozen people who came to see him that they offered him to me (we were the only people he hadn't dumped) for meat money ( a discount of over a grand) and had already arranged that that's where he was going if I didn't buy him. They didn't really want to do that to him and gave me all his tack, rugs and pretty much everything else they'd ever got for him at no charge because they were so pleased we'd taken him on.

He is a dream pony in some respects - perfect to hack, absolutely amazing clean jumper at ridiculous heights for his size - but in others he is an utter nightmare and truly dangerous and he will stay with us to the end now.
 
My old boy would have died at the riding school I bought him from - he was a perfect horse to learn on, and if my poor parents hadn't made a rediculous offer for him (way more than a 17+ year old was worth!) because he was Mr Safety, he'd have been there till he dropped. Happily., he came home with me to his own fields with one other mare, happy hacking around the Yorkshire countrysides, pampering and eventually full retirement. No more than he deserved, he was literally the world's best :)
 
1st pony - still living in the garden shed he was kept in

2nd - meat man

This one - prob with some other child doing exactly what he has done with us :D
 
All of mine would have ended up in a tin. They were left at auctions. But for what I need they are brilliant. Love them to bits and can't bear the thought of the reality of what would of happened
 
Great idea for a thread!

Saffron - Bought out of a neighboring field from a gypsy lady. S'pose she probably would have stayed there or moved about. I've always wondered what she did for the first 7 years of her life before I met her, I often wonder if she's broken to drive. Being a Welsh D I could really see her being pounded about the road (she used and still does sometimes have a stonking driving trot!)

Mist - A very difficult pony, I know nothing of her past, the girl I bought her from used to deal with her viciousness by hitting her in the head with a whip. I remember Mist also had a number of black scars (she's grey) around her body so often wondered what happened. I dare to think what would have happened if I hadn't got her, she would rear, bite, kick whist being led, and ditto if you approached her in a stable. She's always been good to ride. If someone got her who didn't have the patience and respect for her she needed she would only have got worse. She's one of those misunderstood souls who you couldn't fight back or raise a hand to if she went for you, she's just fight back harder. Thankfully 13 years of gentle handling, and shed loads of patience she's unrecognisable now, I'm so proud :)

Penny - Bought from a riding school type affair, probably would have either stayed where she was (she was the YO's first pony), or eventually sold on.

Rosie - Her mum was rescued by my previous YO with Rosie at foot. YO gave us Rosie as a companion for Penny, she otherwise would have probably stayed where she was.
 
Mine had a week or he was going to Beeston, owner had back livery owing, had stopped feeing him a while ago (livery owner had been feeding him) and couldnt afford to pts.

Turns out, buying him was the best decision I ever made!
 
One would be dead, he was off the moor and heading for the meat man.
Second one I don't know, he was advertised as a 2 yr old gelding and free, he was actually a 1yr old colt and I paid £1 for him.
Third is on loan but if we hadn't had him would probably be in a field stuffing his face and being ridden occasionally, pretty much the same as now he's with us :D
 
Im sure my gelding would be in a happy home being someones pride and joy like he is mine.
No reason to suspect otherwise as hes a young, healthy, sound, uncomplicated, easy 16h ISH.
 
There are a lot of unfortunate but extremely lucky equines out there and a lot of similar minded owner/loaners who took them on :)
 
#1 previous owner committed suicide so prob PTS

#2 badly neglected and on deaths door previous owner threatened to shot him if I did not take him on

#3 slaughtered by meat man with unborn foal

#4 slaughtered by meat man

#5 neglected by dealer

#6 current has a lovely previous owner who is a good friend so prob would have been a field ornament or gone to a racehorse rehabilitation centre

All have been amazing to own and made me very lucky for the time I had with each.

R.I.P for those I have loved and lost.
 
My mini shets would have had a dreadful life, the mare would have gone on to produce foal after foal. Her very damaged daughter who came to me with her would have been so misunderstood she probably would have been knocked from pillar to post as she would not understand what was being asked of her.

My big horse would probably/hopefully been ok as she is an absolute gem of a horse.
 
Nitty would be off being someone else's beloved horse. She is pretty, young and uncomplicated so no reason to think other wise.

BH, well I don't really know. Still languishing in the field not doing much besides terrorising everyone on the yard and being the most hated horse in the world I expect. :D
 
Dead for sure. Apart from the fact I suspect she has had more owners than I've had hot dinners anyway as she was a lamb to handle but a classic hot-headed chestnut Welsh mare to ride and would have put the fear of God into quite a few riders, the fact that she has epilepsy which costs a fortune every month to manage would have meant curtains for her. Even my vet wanted to put her down - she outlived him.
 
Little Alfie = Dead where he stood by the road side
Sasha = Driven in a cart and thrashed
Georgia = Hard to say, she was a well bred welsh 'C' broodmare and wouldn't pull a cart for the skanky scumbags, how they got hold of her i don't know.

Anyhow all safe and happy now.

P.S Sasha about to foal soon.
 
I dread to think. We loan him & his owner had done pretty much nothing with him when we got him (he was 10 & couldnt walk in a straight line & jogged everywhere).
His owner doesn't keep in touch, we think she may have moved so aren't even sure if we could find her if we wanted to.
And although he has a heart of gold, he is a little mental & has the brain of a 5 year old rather than a 15 year old most the time. This is how we ended up with him - my mums friend got him on loan & he scared her so we took over as we fell in love with the stupid animal.
 
Dread to think where Moja would of ended up. Bought her from a dealer, she was sharp, rude, arrogant (typical ginger mare) but it was all a front, she'd had a hard life as an ex-eventer and she was pushed way too far until she mentally broke down. Found her history out after I bought her though (she probably would of been triple money if dealer knew of her eventing background)

Sadly she ws diagnosed with collateral ligament damage and severe navicular a year (and lots of money) later. She's now living life as a very happy lawnmower with my farrier. I often wonder where she would of ended up if she didnt come to me. She was just very miss-understood, was an absolute pleasure to own (half the time ;)), had a huge heart, she just needed time, patience and someone she could trust.
 
Most of these horses/ponies would probably be in a nice happy home, but ned would be dead for sure, i don't have a single doubt there. Poor lad.
 
My mare would have been bought by anyone who saw her. She is quirky but a fab jumper and honest. I was lucky I got to her first!

My gelding would have probably been a police horse as they had already been to look at him once when we tried him. The lady selling him (dealer) said they often missed out on horses as they took too long to decide! I think he is a little too spooky to have got in the police (he isn't really, but pretends to be and I don't think the police would have needed it!) Pic of him on the ISH thread - much too handsome for a policehorse!
 
Amber would be a brood mare and i think rory (if hed stayed with his breeder) would be a breeding stallion if hes stayed with the dealer i bought him from then either in a tin or a nervous wreck, hes some boy best decision i ever made (apart from buying my mare)
 
In the same field she was in last year, a lot fatter and probably with a huge bout of Lami.
Previous owner did NOTHING with her, she's now a 7 year old and partially backed because of my insane lack of time and money, which is also the reason she's now for sale. But at least she isn't obese, wild and on the brink of Lami anymore.
 
Meg would have been broken and ridden and used as a dressage pony by her breeders daughter... then would have been sold on cos girl grew too big, and on and on and been misunderstood, and would have turned into a pretty angry mare which in itself is a downward spiral of disaster!
Penny would have been sold to someone 300 miles away who didn't view her and just wanted her 'shipped' up north, cos ''she looked pretty''! What for is anyones guess!
 
With his old owner getting fat! If he had been sold theres no reason he wouldnt be doing what he is now with me or being a kids pony or what ever else his new owners wanted him to do. Yes he is stubborn but theres no reason that he wouldnt be great with some one else if they wanted him to and were willing to go through his strops.
 
My boy was going to be sold through the sales for meat, he was a 4 yr old, very lame, tb.
I offered a little bit more than the doggers, and saved the owner the trouble of transporting him.
Best money I ever spent.
Kx
 
J who knows - back in the day before coloured traditional types were popular, and he was a complete knob (kicked out of riding school for bad behaviour :p RS went under anyway so no hope of him staying there...). Either lucky with a nice private home or unlucky in a tin of dog food.

Fergs and D would probably have ended up at some nice, well vetted home. However, being highlands, they would probably have ended up obese and lazy, rather than slim, well muscled evil geniuses :cool:
 
If nobody else as stupid as me had come along, probably sent to the market and passed from pillar to post, dealer to dealer until she was broken down! She was a load of rubbish bless her :P paces were drunk and she had an 'old' (she was only 5!) ddft tendon injury, whacking great lump on her poll, suicidal to load, reared when you picked her feet up, never seen a coloured pole before.. yeah probably would have ended up somewhere pretty bad, ridiculously overpriced too at £2500.... amazing learning curve!
 
no idea really... he had given up on jumping (poor riding, and lack of schooling), couldn't canter a circle (lack of schooling), and was a grumpy sod.... he's still a grumpy so and so when it suits him, but we've schooled on and can do a passable test, and I now have problems stopping him jumping rather than with him stopping. :D You can't bully him, he just gets stroppy and harder to bully. So he'd either have been beaten half to death, or got his own way!

he's the most honest, kind, gentle horse on the ground with people, but he's not a sociable horse and he Hates ponies. Out hunting he steals kids whips then beats their pony! :eek: He used to kick 7 shades of poo out of the pony he lived with before I got him! He's the sort who needs a pair bond with a human to really flourish, and he's not fussed if he's in or out, or alone, or got company as long as it's not stressful (can't be doing with too much stuff going on!)

I guess he would have been passed pillar to post until someone got him who would take the time to school him and make friends with him, or he'd have been classified dangerous depending how far they pushed his temper.
 
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