Why do people assume a horse could not be retired?

alwaysbroke said:
There is a thread on this forum about this it is MINE in CR. Thank God I didn't post it in here.
Do you know my OH's horse? He does he has owned him for 15 yrs.
All I can say is thank goodness you didn't post on my thread, all we have received is messages of support which have helped us through a terrible experience.
For your information we did do the right thing we stood with our lad while he fell in such a dignified way, befitting the horse he was, we watched the pm, WE KNOW WE DID THE RIGHT THING BY HIM. in a matter of weeks he would have been in agony, having watched my mare a few years ago suffer while the insurance vet wanted to keep her alive we couldn't bare to see another horse suffer like she did.
Sometime this forum can be a wonderful place, sometimes if you cant say anything nice say nothing at all.
Better a day too early than a day too late.
Thank you to the people on here who have offered their support we both really appreciate it.
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I am really sorry about your horse. This thread however has nothing to do with your situation. The circumstances are completely different and you put him to sleep because it was the kindest thing if he was facing the possibility of a painful life.
 
Flame_ said:
Another point, if "retirement", to you, means turned away in a big field, in a big herd, unrugged, without good shelter and kept on a shoe-string budget, no it won't suit all competition horses, but if it means being kept in a similar way to that which they are used to, just no longer being expected to work for it, which is what it means to me, they'd cope just fine.

It isn't the lack of work horses have problems with, it is the cheaper management that people want to provide retired horses with.
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Excellent point.
 
honetpot said:
I have just watched as my TB was PTS. He was 24, he was still sound but had not gained any weight over the summer and despite huge feeds, good hay and grass was not going to get any better, he was just old. We could have kept him going longer, he has been retired for 3 years but I thought it was time he went before he looked and felt aweful. So he went with the sun on his back, with people that he knew and his palls with sight. No stress just sleep.
All I can say is is easier not to make the descision than to do it. Retirement for him was living in a herd but being fed and shod as if he was in work, nothing was scrimpped because he was not being ridden. I hate seeing the ones with stiff joints,overgrown hooves 'retiring' in neglect just because someone can not be a***d to be a grown and take responsibility or frightened by obuse they may get from the ones that say ' you have to give it a chance'.
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That is so sad. What a brave decision to make though. Obviously your boy would start to suffer if his weight loss continued. He may even have had some sort of tumour. At least he had some nice easy years before he went.
 
Thank you

I think at the end of the day there is stigma in PTS for what ever reason you choose it, and i think that it is such a hard decision to make that most people do it for the right reasons.

I would also rather see a horse PTS early (or even for financial reasons) than one that is kept going too long. Its my pet hate but of course thats a different debate.

I guess part of my indecision with my own mare is i dont want to end up being one of those people that keeps her going for my own sake. I try and keep perspective and do whats best for the horse. So far she is being hand walked every second day which will build up to daily and then hopefully ridden. Thats the goal anyway. And ill spend every day hoping she doesnt hurt herself again.
 
I also have another mare in full retirement (due to age) who as long as she carries on will be with us until she dies. I wouldnt hesitate to PTS for financial reasons if we ever couldnt afford to keep her in the lifestyle to which she is accustomed, she is a poor doer and i am happy for her to eat me out of house and home as long as i can afford it. We never know when things may change or the curve balls life throws at us. At her age if we couldnt cope any more it would be kinder to PTS then to starve her or rehome her (if that makes sense ie if we couldnt afford to keep her in feed)

I dont think its a wrong decision to make there are too many horses out there who get passed from home to home and i would rather PTS than let her become one of them. (if it ever got to that of course)

We quite fancied emigrating but wont go until the old girl is dead, although by then the others will be elderly so i doubt we would ever go lol!
 
Wagtail said:
Why people assume they would be better off dead than a little bit bored, is beyond me.
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Why do you assume that the horse is better off bored than dead? The horse knows it's bored, it doesn't know it's dead. The only person who that matters to one jot is the owner.
 
Quite frankly I think the often quoted 'oh but my poor horse would NEVER cope with retirement' is just a cop out. Any and every horse would, if you manage their circumstances correctly and tailored to their needs, not just 'cope' with retirement, they will positively enjoy and embrace it. IMO of course!:rolleyes:

If a horse has reached the end of its working life and is in pain - PTS. If a horse has reached the end of its working life and is not in pain, or in pain that can be managed, retire. BUT - only if you have the facilitys, money and time to give them the care and life style that they have earnt. If you cant PTS.

But please, please dont spout the old rubbish that YOUR horse couldnt possibly cope with retirement - if you actually mean, I cant afford to retire him and get a new horse, I cant be arsed to give him the meds he needs every day to be pain free an comfortable, I cannot afford those meds and last but not least - if he cant carry me anymore in the disciplines I want to be doing then he is no longer of any interest to me.

Just be honest - would respect you far more and accept your decision ( its your horse after all - not mine) if you dont tearfully give all that ridiculous guff about how noble you are being by putting your faithful but now useless mount to sleep.

I just wonder if they could talk, and if we walked up to them with loaded gun and asked 'Look here Mr. Horse, you arent capable of doping a decent days work anymore. So I can either put this bullet between your eyes right now, or you can wander off into the field and spend the next few years eating grass, having a bit of a groom and a fuss now and then. Now Mr. Horse what would you like me to do for you?'

;)
 
SusieT said:
'She suffered with stress and colic, but gave birth to a healthy foal. After weaning, we then tried to bring her back into work, but all she wanted to do was jog - and each time she came back lame because she was supposed to walk. She was turned out, but stood by the gate. Her leg suffered with the mud, and cold and she was very stiff - so she stayed in. So it was obviously she was not going to come sound. But, we had come this far....what to do? The vet suggested using her as a broodmare, so the following summer she had another foal, and during the summer in the dry, she was sound. Unless she had a little gallop round the field, and then she would be lame for days....she was only 8. '

The difference with this horse is that it was lame, not field sound and had to be box rested. That is a totally different kettle of fish-that is not a soundish healthy horse that is able to tootle round the field.
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As I said, she was never horrendously lame after the surgery, just here and there. But the surgery was so she could live out a hacking life/retirement. We put her through hell only for her to live unhappily out of work in a field.

She was a TB who loved to gallop around the field, not live a live where she could only wander about - I would say this applies to many horses PTS instead of retired, because if they were not unsound/incapable of galloping around, then they would not be retired.

I think for elderly horses that are retired because of old age/stiffness then the retirement option is justified. But I fully understand when people say that the horses would not be happy as retired pets following an injury etc.

We wish we had followed our head and not our heart, and this would have meant to have her PTS from the onset and not tried to retire her.
 
My horse was retired after an injury where he was just about field sound. However, he got very fat out in the field to the point where he was risking becoming laminitic (vet's advice)
I would not put my horse who had loved in work in a situation where for the rest of his life he had to live in a starvation paddock on top of not being able to be worked. Very unfair IMO.
He was PTS on the vets advice
 
Wagtail said:
I see this time and time again on PTS posts where a horse sustains an injury that would make it paddock sound but no longer able to work. The owner says 'oh he could never cope without being worked...' or words to that effect.
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I think a lot of people say that when they feel they may be regarded by others as selfish for wanting a horse PTS when it can't be ridden again. Not everyone can afford to keep a field ornament and have another horse on which to compete or ride so I think they use it as an excuse so others don't think they are 'nasty', 'spiteful' or 'selfish'. I think everyone is entitled to do what they want with their own horse and to decide when to end its life without people causing them even more anguish, uncertainty or upset by criticising them when they need support their friends support the most. I agree that a balanced viewpoint from friends is worthwhile in some situations, but at the end of the day I would always go by what my vet thought and ultimately what i believed was best, not just for the horse but also for myself.

I always said I would have my horse pts when it couldn't be ridden again but when I actually found myself in that position I found myself begging for his life to be saved so I could keep him field sound but sadly it was not to be. As it happens I think I probably would have found it very difficult to be unable to afford another horse to ride, and I may have ended up resenting him or even having him pts at a later date but at the time with emotions running high and his life in the balance I found I couldn't have made that decision easily, so fortunately the decision was taken out of my hands. Would I still have him now 7 years on? I honestly don't know the answer to that question.

It may get on your nerves to hear people saying that but maybe they say it because they are scared of the reaction of you and others to their plight?? Do you think I might be right??
 
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Qr- haven't read all the answers.
I have an ex-comp horse who used to be incredibly fit, who had a longish career. Now he is retired, does he care? Does he hell! He is happy as larry, he doesn't care as long as there is good care and lots of buckets, cuddles and warm rugs.
FDC
 
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Sorry can't quote, I know that some horses may cope quite happily with retirement, but I also think that some won't and also depends on the faclities that you have, ie a big field, or field and stabling etc, and yes prop also if you can afford to keep a horse happy as a field ornament. I was just saying in my post that if you really don't think the horse will retire to the means that you have it's fairer to PTS whilst the horse is still happy than possibly have an unhappy horse for a year, beacuse you think you are doing the right thing by retireing them, and letting them live longer. As I said on an earlier post, my mare is being retired out on the hunting field which she is very happy about.
 
I'm lucky in the fact iv got lots of land and plenty of stables (actually got 5 empty!) which is why I can keep one of mine retired. He's a 10yo also, took him on as a companion and I'm lucky in the fact he loves not working, mooching about!! He gets as much attention as my tb as they're inseparable, so he comes in when my tb does and vice versa! I'm one of those who when I take a horse on they're with me for life.
 
My feelings on the retirement of an unsound horse is if they are not able to walk with even footsteps they must be in pain - is it right to keep them in this permenant state of discomfort.

While an anti inflamatory or other pain killer may be administered those of us who have long term injuries relying on medication to keep us comfortable know full well that they don't always leave us totaly pain free - less pain sometimes no pain but never guarenteed.

My lovely 14yr old TB diagnosed with navicular would stay sound for days at a time but then he'd go for a blat around the paddock and make himself sore. I couldn't bear to see my dear horse hobbling around looking so miserable. I would have loved to have retired him but his love of speed and life wouldn't let him accept his lot and he repeatedly made himself sore.

He is buried at my friends farm in his favourite paddock. He went on a good day having had a great time larking about the paddock that would be his final restingplace. He'll never be forgotten.

My Clydesdale mare gets incredibly jealous if I fuss any of the others - pushing them out of the way for mums attention. We can stand at the gate for ages her head on my shoulder huffing in my ear. Being a paddock ornament would not be her ideal life.
 
I think its amazing how anyone thinks they can judge individual situations! I had my unsound horse put To sleep. He was not happy retired. How do I know? He lost all the sparkle from his eye.
I Also cannot afford to collect lame horses. Harsh but the truth.
I certainly won't be made to feel guilty about it by a bunch of strangers and nor should anyone else!
 
too many responses on here to read, and mine will likely be one of the very ones that never gets read due to the sheer volume of comments on here ;) but just wanted to say that I don't think my boy would happily retire now, at 12. He had some extended time off before I got him, and from what I understand, he was miserable. I had to give him about 6 weeks off last winter due to the weather and work - he was a miserable git to be around! Soon as he went back to work, he was lovely happy boy again.

Even if he retired from competing, he'd have to still be doing some kind of job just to make him feel part of things. Even if it was leading round small children, he'd have to do SOMETHING!
 
It's horses for courses isn't it.

As the OP has 'admitted' some horse's will not cope with retirement. It's all very well saying that they lived in a field, etc., before being broken in, but the point is, they've been and gone and done since then - they know a different life.
We have:
One retired - happy as Larry to spend all day mooching around a field. He was poor earlier in the year and we were getting ready to PTS before the winter (the last one was tough on him), but a different regime and he's looking pretty good, so we are going into the winter with our hopes high that he can keep enjoying his mooching about.
One retired - has lost his sparkle and would rather be doing and/or in a bigger herd. Monitoring him to figure out the best route to take with him, for him.
One in work - if she has time off she gets positively grumpy, loses her sparkle and generally looks 'depressed'. If circumstances meant she couldn't work, I think we'd only have the PTS option for her.One in work - becomes positively evil if not handled (lovely, on the whole, so long as she's handled pretty much daily). If she stops work, her wonky bits will catch up with her; working means muscle, which is holding her together nicely. If she can no longer work then she will probably be PTS, but we would assess at the time.

If any of them need, for medical reasons, to be pts then they will be. If we can't afford to keep four then, given their various issues, they would be pts and not sold on.

But, whatever we do, it would be up to us. Other than our vet, farrier and dentist, no-one else has the right to be part of that decision making.
 
mahonenx said:
As I said, she was never horrendously lame after the surgery, just here and there. But the surgery was so she could live out a hacking life/retirement. We put her through hell only for her to live unhappily out of work in a field.

She was a TB who loved to gallop around the field, not live a live where she could only wander about - I would say this applies to many horses PTS instead of retired, because if they were not unsound/incapable of galloping around, then they would not be retired.

I think for elderly horses that are retired because of old age/stiffness then the retirement option is justified. But I fully understand when people say that the horses would not be happy as retired pets following an injury etc.

We wish we had followed our head and not our heart, and this would have meant to have her PTS from the onset and not tried to retire her.
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We all have regrets. I wish I had had my big lad PTS at home rather than travel him for colic surgery that paralysed him. But then, how lovely would it have been if the surgery had been a success and I had him home now? You gave your mare a chance. She could just have easily recovered as not. Then you would be congratulating yourself for perservering. There are certain things I wouldn't do again, put a dog through chemo, for example, but hindsight is a fine thing.
 
Evelyn said:
My feelings on the retirement of an unsound horse is if they are not able to walk with even footsteps they must be in pain - is it right to keep them in this permenant state of discomfort.
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My mare is 1 tenth lame. It is entirely mechanical (vet confirmed) and she is on no pain relief. She gallops around, bucks and rears as much, if not more than the others.

While an anti inflamatory or other pain killer may be administered those of us who have long term injuries relying on medication to keep us comfortable know full well that they don't always leave us totaly pain free - less pain sometimes no pain but never guarenteed.
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But does it make life not worth living?

My lovely 14yr old TB diagnosed with navicular would stay sound for days at a time but then he'd go for a blat around the paddock and make himself sore. I couldn't bear to see my dear horse hobbling around looking so miserable. I would have loved to have retired him but his love of speed and life wouldn't let him accept his lot and he repeatedly made himself sore.

He is buried at my friends farm in his favourite paddock. He went on a good day having had a great time larking about the paddock that would be his final restingplace. He'll never be forgotten.

My Clydesdale mare gets incredibly jealous if I fuss any of the others - pushing them out of the way for mums attention. We can stand at the gate for ages her head on my shoulder huffing in my ear. Being a paddock ornament would not be her ideal life.
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Is she retired? If not, would you PTS rather than retire? She sounds exactly like my retired mare, very jealous and very touchy feely affectionate. Why does that make her not want to be a field ornament? I could understand this if you were intending just to turn her away and never give her attention again, but why should that be? My mare gets loads of fuss even though she's retired.
 
Wagtail said:
Is she retired? If not, would you PTS rather than retire? She sounds exactly like my retired mare, very jealous and very touchy feely affectionate. Why does that make her not want to be a field ornament? I could understand this if you were intending just to turn her away and never give her attention again, but why should that be? My mare gets loads of fuss even though she's retired.
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Quite. It's the retirees in the crap paddocks who hardly ever get any attention/are made to feel like second-class citizens etc. who would be better off PTS, not those whose owners still care for them as they used to.

I've got one fully retired and one semi-retired, both on DIY, and they still treat me like a slave and live like kings.
 
I agree fully with the op!
There's way to many comments that are along the lines of 'I can't ride him anyone, don't want him to be unhappy, ill put him to sleep' whereas I think in a lot of situations it is just for the want of a new horse.
Its fair enough to say you can't afford a field ornament, but really before you buy a horse you should ask yourself this question.
As we all know when we buy a horse the worse could happen at any moment. If you could obviously afford that horse before, it won't end up that much expensive after.
And I don't see how unhappy a horse could turn if its still properly cared for.
The way I see it is that horse gave you its best years, you repay it by caring for it through its worst.
If you can't afford another horse, your committment has already been made live up to it!
Again this is my opinion so I'm not attacking anyone!
 
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