where to advertise free to good home?

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buddy's mummy

buddy's mummy

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have to part with buddy but want to give him away and contribute to costs and ensure his future with a contract which says if he is ever to be passed on he must come back to me free of charge etc? is there a demand for a plod light hack, 16yr old coloured cob 15.2hh gelding with athritis & old tendon injury but can hack ok.
 
Depends if he is a novice ride ride or not, i know someone who is looking for something like him but can do schooling and some dressage/a little bit of showing. She will be a first time owner who wants a confidence giver.
 
he is a total gem, amymay - he is not lame and certainly not broken enough to be put to sleep, although that may happen if cant find him a suitable home - he is an excellent confidence giver, and is on danilon which I would continue to pay for. definitely a novice ride.
 
Please don't sell/ gift him. Loan only then you can keep an eye on him and retain control of his future.
He's not that old so a dodgy dealer will easily bute him up to cover the injurys and sell him on.

There will be loan homes esp. if you contribute to costs. Preloved, facebook, word ofmouth etc.
 
Well unless you are very careful lord knows where he could end up.

Having explored this option myself a few years ago, it's not an option I would ever consider again. A 'contract' would not be worth the paper it was written on.

You could explore the option of loaning though, I suppose.
 
The only way to really ensure his future would be to put him on full long-term loan, that way you can make sure he comes back to you if required and can also have some say in his care (the medication etc) and keep an eye on him. Once given away/sold you would lose any power/input. I have also heard so, so many horror stories about horses being sold free to good home, and so personally I would avoid giving him away using this method.
There will always be people looking for confidence giving horses, his age won't be in his favour (though I certainly don't consider 16 to be old!) but I'm sure you would find a home for him if he is a genuine and easy chap. Word of mouth / preloved / Facebook are very effective and I have seen similar adverts on those websites x
 
amymay said:
Do the right thing. Have him put down at home.
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I'm usually the first to agree with this suggestion, but I think this is a bit rash in this situation.

Personally OP I think if you were to put him on loan with a strong contract, good contact with the loaner & a contribution to costs you'd be able to find him a good home & ensure he doesn't get passed to an unsuitable place :)
 
thinking of loaning but if he had to come back then I would be in same position as am now want something permanent otherwise the other option is PTS peacefully at home. . I literally go the the yard for about 5 min a day to give him his feed and thats in the dark!!
 
A loan is no different to your initial suggestion. I.e he comes back to you rather than being passed on.

But if the reality is that you want rid, and won't want him back (I am being completely practical here) have him put down.
 
Well if you are concerned about him coming back then quite frankly it sounds like deep down you just want rid & the guff about 'buy back' clauses is just hot air to ease your guilt.

If it purely is time then
1) find a sharer, if you don't need a contribution to costs you won't have any problems at all, I'll bet there are literally hundreds of horsey people in your area that would love a horse to care for & pootle about on but can't afford one.

2) put on loan as I described before

3) or put to sleep & give him a dignified end.

I wouldn't ever consider the free to good home option particularly as by the sounds of it you have no intention of sticking to taking the horse back if the home can't keep him :(
 
amymay - I dont want him back so effectively want rid - that sounds awful but true!
I dont have the time or the resources really to keep him, however can afford to contribute to him and pay for his danilon/bute every month. he is a gorgeous horse who I love dearly hence the need to find somewhere he will be happy and loved and not ridden into the ground as he is unhappy in canter also so is essentially a plod for someone wanting to amble out safely, perfect for me but just dont have time anymore. and o/h complaining about finances. etc etc. I wont just let him go to anyone.
 
glamourpuss said:
Well if you are concerned about him coming back then quite frankly it sounds like deep down you just want rid & the guff about 'buy back' clauses is just hot air to ease your guilt.

If it purely is time then
1) find a sharer, if you don't need a contribution to costs you won't have any problems at all, I'll bet there are literally hundreds of horsey people in your area that would love a horse to care for & pootle about on but can't afford one.

2) put on loan as I described before

3) or put to sleep & give him a dignified end.

I wouldn't ever consider the free to good home option particularly as by the sounds of it you have no intention of sticking to taking the horse back if the home can't keep him :(
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thats wrong and unfair....I love horse to bits but probably wouldnt be in a positionj to take him back but would if I could find somewhere and they couldnt keep him, rather than have him passed on id rather have him back and PTS.
 
You don't want him back, spend 5 mins a day with him, he has to be on painkillers, if he is on loan he probably will come back, do the right thing and put him to sleep, or just advertise here as you have done and no doubt find sime sucker to take him on...
 
buddy's mummy said:
thats wrong and unfair....I love horse to bits but probably wouldnt be in a positionj to take him back but would if I could find somewhere and they couldnt keep him, rather than have him passed on id rather have him back and PTS.
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Actually that's not wrong & unfair. In your initial post you said you wanted to rehome him with an option to buy him back.
However further posts you state that actually you couldn't/wouldn't take him back.....so why bother saying you'd put a buy back clause in? It doesn't sound like you've any intention of honouring it?

Look, I'm sorry if I sound mean but that is how I see it.

Why not investigate the loan route? You might find him the perfect home where he can live out his days but you can ensure nothing bad happens to him. Or you might find a lovely home where he has a couple more useful years then if the loaner can't keep him have him PTS then? Or you could try to loan him be unsuccessful so then PTS knowing you did your best by him.

Good luck
 
sounds like what you would like to offer and what you can offer should someone take him on and it not work out are very different things, personally if you really feel he is not happy living the way you can in reality offer then I would be giving PTS serious thought-it may be far kinder than him going from pillar to post because it is something you are not ready to face just yet
 
zigzag said:
You don't want him back, spend 5 mins a day with him, he has to be on painkillers, if he is on loan he probably will come back, do the right thing and put him to sleep, or just advertise here as you have done and no doubt find sime sucker to take him on...
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No need for such rudeness. I am trying to do right by my horse.
 
I am saying if he went somewhere and it didnt work out then it would be a pain in the bum if he came back but he could then I would reassess.
 
If it was my horse and I really thought a lot of him then I would certainly PTS before I gifted to a stranger who replied to an advert. If you really don't want the responsibilty of him (and when you loan you are right you remain ultimately responsible) then PTS

It will make you feel sad but not as sad as seeing him advertised for £3k buted up to the eyeballs or going though a market for meat.
 
I would try your local horsey Facebook pages, you would have a greater chance of keeping track and checking up on people. I have a friend who bought a horse so her and her livery can potter down the track twice a week in walk and trot for 45mins, she owns her own land and stables. I would do LWVTB, even it its a nominal amount. I have loaned out my old ponies and you have to accept that people never look after them like you do, somehow however nice they seem they never spend on it like its their own even if you offer to pay. Its a hard choice as with good care he would do someone a job, but finding the right person.
 
I have to agree with Amymay. If it was my lad, i could not bear the thought of him ending up in the wrong hands and being in pain. Arthritis can be incredibly painful. It does not bear thinking about where some of these poor horses end up.

So sorry, but I would PTS.
 
You describe him as sound and suitable to be a 'light hack' when he's on Danilon, but then go on to say that he is unhappy in canter. I'm sorry, but in my book a horse who is not comfortable in canter should not be ridden even in walk and trot, as he must be in some discomfort.

I feel for you OP, as you clearly love this horse, but I do not think that you should pass him on. There are many worse things that can happen to a older, unsound horse than being PTS at home in familiar surroundings, if you can no longer afford to keep him.
 
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