Why do I always feel the need to justify myself

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Qru

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I have a 19/20 Years old TB who is now in semi-retirement, he'll MAYBE get ridden once a week, and usually bareback, just walk and trot.
He isn't OLD by any standards but due to being a racer he has leg issues - one previous break and one previous injury that had him lame for 2 months.
I see him every day, he comes in from his paddock and gets a daily groom and a weekly bath. He has a nice sized paddock that he trots around in but I ALWAYS feel that I have to justify myself as to WHY he's retired. :rolleyes:
He's with us for life and I'm in the mind set of, what you do with your own horses is your own business as long as they're happy but I feel that some people judge.
What do you think? Do you think they are bad reasons to retire a horse? Support welcomed :D
 
FfionWinnie said:
Are you justifying it to yourself or others?
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Good question.
When we retired him, we were told he'd only ever be able to walk and trot again after his injury.
The news killed me as I love him dearly but as I've said to people if he never works another day in his life, I'm happy as long as he's happy. So I've come to terms with it but am still quite defensive about it :/ Maybe I'm overreacting?!
 
I'm not exactly sure what you are asking. I don't see the problem retiring any horse for any reason tho. I have a 7 year old pony I've had for 2 months and if I never rode her again I'd keep her til she popped her clogs as I love her so much. I have never felt about a horse the way I do about this one before.

Anyway off on a tangent but do what you like. I'm sure the horse is completely happy.
 
Wow - with his history I would say he is entitled to be taking it easy. You obviously feel this to be the case, and I think he is lucky to have you as an owner, so why are you concerned with what other people think? There will always be people who judge others and take the moral high ground. It's called being a gossip and an inferior human being. Have nothing to do with these people. It is none of their business - you know that. Why are you worrying about what others think anyway? Are you on a yard or do you have him at home?
 
Its good to know other people the same :)

I guess my question was am I off my rocker for A) retiring him for these reasons and B) keeping a retired horse (this is a no-brainer for us and we love him too much but many people think were strange!)
 
d_morrow said:
Wow - with his history I would say he is entitled to be taking it easy. You obviously feel this to be the case, and I think he is lucky to have you as an owner, so why are you concerned with what other people think? There will always be people who judge others and take the moral high ground. It's called being a gossip and an inferior human being. Have nothing to do with these people. It is none of their business - you know that. Why are you worrying about what others think anyway? Are you on a yard or do you have him at home?
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He's on a yard :) I think the main thing is we are already in a minority as we own our own horses and pay livery ect whereas the majority just ride or half loan. On top of this we have a retired horse who we dont do much with, i think people think its a waste of money!
 
I know people who have kept and loved their horses into a happy and contented retirement whenever possible i have done that myself my horses earned their retirement and as long as they can enjoy it i have no problem with anyone keeping a retired horse - horses do not just live to be ridden and i think there are plenty of ways a person can enjoy their horse without ever sitting on its back!
 
One of mine is on enforced retirement and has been since she was 11 . She 's now 26 , and is the happiest field ornament I know . She gets just as much attention and fuss as the other one , she's just not ridden , but is quite content to bimble round the field all day long . If you can , then why not ? As long as she is loved, healthy and happy ( and I'm sure she is , because if she wasn't I don't think this thread would exist ) and you are happy , that's all that matters .

Everyone else's opinion is just noise .
 
Well I'm on livery and have 2 retired horses, one 20 who's loseing his eyesight and one who isn't old but sadly outgrown and after seeing so many like him go through the sale ring, NO WAY he will stay as a pet as he's done me well and he's only 13. And I have 2 youngsters before I get to my ridden ones so people could say what a big waste of money BUT I couldn't care less, they give me great pleasure and I would rather spend my wages on my horses than save it as I can't spend it when I die. Do I care what others think ..... NO WAY.
 
I have a mare who I was told would never be able to get out of trot again due to her tendon injury. She has since sj, xc, and done endurance up to 50 miles. I was lucky, in that she came back, however, if she hadn't she would still be with me, because she is my pride and joy. Sometimes I find vets etc get over excited and tell you to retire them, but you can bring them back. However, where you and the horse are happy bimbling around occasionally, what is the problem? Glad to hear people with the same attitude I have, a horse is for life, not just for riding.
 
The answer to your question is 'Because you take too much notice of what other people think'.
In support of your decision, we had a TBxWelsh D mare who officially retired aged 12 but in effect had done very little for several years before that, we kept her until she died at home aged 24. we were on a yard for the first few years of her field ornament-ship but then moved to our own place. I can't say that I've ever taken much notice of what other people think.
 
Never any need to justify retiring your horse. My beautiful mare I lost this year retired at about 15. She had an enormous ovarian tumour which affected her mentally as did the operation physically. After things settled down with her post op she became too 'precious' . Never regretted retiring her for one minute.
 
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