Why? Why? Why?

dunkley said:
.................... do people advertise for sale old horses?
I am "free" this morning, so have spent a bit of time looking at horsemart adverts. I am shocked by how many adverts there are for old horses, at cheap prices. One is actually advertising a mare of 20 yrs old, says she has been part of family for 14 years, but now past comnpetition - needs home as companion. There are others, it is so sad. If truly a horse is that old, has been with you that long, how can you bear to sell it on,to god knows what/where? My personal view is that, if horse is "past it" ( I HATE that phrase ), or no longer rideable, IF you cannot afford to retire it at home,look after it, and cope with the inevitable old-age vets bills, it should be Pts. Selling it is just a cop out, and I think, irresponsible. I don't see pts in these circumstances as "chucking away a horse", as I've been told, more like protecting it from uncertainty and possible abuse/neglect. I certainly woulodn't advertise. If I couldn't keep it, I would try to place it on loan, as companion, but only to someone known/recommended/local to me, with a contract, and checks. If that wasn't possible, I would pts. Does that make me a bad person? Just interested to know others thoughts.
Click to expand...


I am with you all the way on this one. I still have my old TB, nearly 30. I would be amillionaire if I had a pound for how many people say that I dont ride him anymore why dont I PTS, or rehome.

Quite simply my answer is he worked so hard for me, why does he not deserve a retirement?, also I could afford him while riding him ( just about), so what has changed, I dont have a job anymore, ( due to having an ankle biter) and he is no longer at home, but I just about manage to keep him.

As far as I am concerned that is the least I owe him.
 
ilovecobs said:
I think older horses are your responsibility and i couldnt sell an old horse id feel awful about it. My two are staying until their last days even if my one ridable one had to be retired she isnt going anywere!
Click to expand...

I completely agree, but unfortunately most 'horse people' don't seem to think that way :(
 
WoopsiiD said:
Theres a big difference between selling an older fit as fiddle still got years left to give type horse or pony then selling on because they can't keep up with the competion anymore so needs replacing.
My first pony was aged 25+yrs quite possibly when we bought him. He had been there, done that and was a PC dream-always on the teams.
He passed away at home aged 32 after spending only 1 year in retirement.
Selling on a older horse who quite possibly is only capable of sitting in a field, eating copious amounts and costing a small fortune is a different kettle of fish IMHO.
....and why do owners of mares always say that their 20+yr old would make a great (maiden) brood mare?????
Click to expand...

It is lovely to read of "oldies" being loved,and looked after, particularly when they ARE fit and well, and able to pass on all their knowledge to new riders. It's just the "selling on" to whoever pays the asking price that I don't like. I personally would NEVER sell in these circumstances, but very judicious loaning thereby always having the final say in what happens to my old friend. If my "old friend" was not fit and well,and able to do a good, and worthwhile job, (be it ancient schoolmaster having a quieter life, or companion) I would do the decent thing and pts. I certainly wouldn't sell it on and expect/hope that someone else has the guts to do what I should have.
 
I don't like to see those ads either. It is a difficult one though. When I took ill 2 years ago and it looked like I was going to be too ill to keep my tb mare, I was going to try and loan her to someone nearby so I could keep an eye on her,. She was almost 20 at that point. However, she is as fit as a fiddle, a bit of arthritis which is managed and is never lame. Still loves hacking and a yee ha in the field. I would have put her to sleep rather than sell her. She is high maintenance and needs her routine, also could be very difficult if not handled properly so would be the type to be passed around the dealers. It would be a shame to pts a perfectly healthy horse though just because of her age. Thankfully i improved to the extent that i was able to keep her.
She is still fab and we have a great time. If it comes a time when she can't be ridden anymore, she will just be my pet til the end, regardless how long it is.
 
Last edited:
Yes I know, it breaks my heart too when I read adverts in H&H and other places advertising older horses for a pittance coz you know where they're very likely to end up.

I get very upset about it do, like the originator of this thread; I could no more sell on my boy when he gets to 19 or 20, than I could sell on a friend, coz that's how I see my horses.

If, god forbid, something happened and/or I couldn't afford to keep him, then I'd have to make the PTS decision, I just couldn't sell him on and not know where he'd end up (but could probably guess).

What is wrong with people? With me and my horses, its always been "till death us do part". I know I'm soppy, but I think TBH by the time a horse is say 15 yo, you've got to have made the decision about where its gonna end up, UNLESS you know the home, know the people, and know they'd do the right thing (even then, people can still be fickle).
 
Hmmm, playing devils advocate here, how do we know that the sellers aren't just testing the water and seeing if there is anyone who could offer the mare a home first before having her pts? I am not going to comment on the breeding subject as I breed and there are a lot of factors to consider before condemning the idea out of hand.

I've done this, recently retired a perfectly sound 20 y.o from breeding and advertised her 'just to see'
I couldn't actually give two hoots what anyone I know, or don't know, thinks about what I do, I do it with the best of intentions and a great deal of prior thought about the individual horse.
As it happened someone bought her as a plod for wandering around the farm on. She's much loved and as happy as a pig in muck. I am lucky in that I have friends who run a rescue/re-homing yard and they always have a list of clients looking for lawn ornaments/plods so I probably wouldn't have had to go down the pts route. I would have had her pts though if it hadn't worked out. I have no problems with pts though whatsoever (horses do not know) and won't pass on an ill, lame or temperamentally dodgy horse - of any age.
 
Last edited:
I think it depends entirely on the individual circumstances. I sold a 21 year old horse, he was in perfect health, hunting fit and thrived on exercise - both mental and physical. He was my husband's horse (we bought him at 19), but my husband changed jobs which meant he couldn't ride his horse during the week, I couldnt ride two every day due to having a full time job myself plus other responsibilities; should we have compromised his lifestyle and kept him purely because he was old? He wasn't ready to become a field ornament, he would have been a stroppy nightmare if he was only ridden at weekends and it would have been dreadful to contemplate putting him to sleep as he was such a brilliant safe but buzzy schoolmaster - surely it was better to find him a home where he could do a job he loved? We were careful to find a suitable home.

It is quite easy to judge from the comfort of an armchair without possession of all the facts, but age is just a number - why should we have given away a horse just because he was 21? Im not altogether convinced by loaning, just a personal thing, hence I have never loaned a horse out irrespective of its age.

I didnt look at the ad concerned, so may have missed the point.
 
So agree with everyone who hangs on to their old horses. I've never sold a horse, only loaned to very special "close-friend" homes once or twice, and with the proviso that if they are no longer useful to them they come back to me. When my TB mare some years back became too arthritic to ride but who coped very well with being a companion to other horses on my land, I gave up riding as I couldn't afford to run 2 horses. She had to be pts 2 years later but I have never grudged that riding gap. She was peerless to me and it was a privilege to look after her in her quirky old age. Horses, like dogs, are not just for Christmas - in my book anyway!
 
It makes me really sad when i see them!!

We always keep are horses after the comp life is over its the least we can do for them!!

Dreamer is 35 now Midnight was 42 when he past away and my old girl was 34 when she was PTS!!

The ones i have now will never go anywhere!! :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top