Would you think its cruel???

I agree with all of the above - I think once customers knew a little of his story, they will be pleased that he's ended up in a nice home. As long as he's suitable for the centre, he could end up the star attraction! :D
 
it would be a shame to PTS after you have put so much effort into him, i worked in a trekking centre and while you always get the odd one or two pompous know it all clients , most are there because they love horses. A sign explaining his injury would be a help and stop you spending half your life explaining his story;) my bet is ,if you use him he'll end up with his own fan club;)
 
I wouldn't be put off. Might be nice to have a notice board somewhere saying a bit about each of the horses. You could explain why he looks like that and how you have helped him, i think something like that could well show you to be a caring business and be a positive rather than a negative as far as your clients are concerned.
 
i agree with everyone else - keep him and just expalin what happened to him - we rode at a ranch where one horse had lost an eye due to a fungal infection - everyone fussed over him and he was a very good horse for children to ride.
 
misskerry said:
Thank you sooooo much for your nice replys.
My real worry is tourist not wanting to ride him due to his face for the pictures but I like the idea of a mask over it. We have had him in the yard where tourist have seen him and have asked what happened to him and we were told he was a lucky horse but its a pity he is so ugly... I am going to put through our "school for trekking ponies" where we ride him our selves for a while and see how he goes and what people will say..
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I wonder if the tourist was such an oil painting themself :rolleyes:
What a crappy thing to say. I wonder, would she rather a handsome possible eejit of a horse, because it looked pretty,or a unique one of a kind gentleman, i know what id prefer :D
 
I can't for the life of me think why you would spend time and money rehabilitating this pony to then consider PTS because he is ugly and customers might think it cruel! Did this not occur to you when you first embarked on the rescue mission?

I would feel it was rather cruel to treat, re-establish trust in humans just to dispose of if he doesn't find a suitable home or fit in with your trekking centre? What was the point - would have been kinder to PTS right at the start.
 
misskerry said:
Thank you sooooo much for your nice replys.
My real worry is tourist not wanting to ride him due to his face for the pictures but I like the idea of a mask over it. We have had him in the yard where tourist have seen him and have asked what happened to him and we were told he was a lucky horse but its a pity he is so ugly... I am going to put through our "school for trekking ponies" where we ride him our selves for a while and see how he goes and what people will say..
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It all depends on how you market him.

Like has been suggested, people root for the underdog and sob story.

People would feel honoured to ride the special horse who survived abuse and still trusts humans enough to allow them around him.....

His story on his door - heavy on the narrative and emotion and bigging up his bravery - with a really tear jerking poem about the beautiful soul of horses...and he'll be the 'daaarrrling' of the yard.

If you look at some of the dog ugly celeb sex symbols out there - you can appreciate how important marketing is :D

If you wanted to mask, you could make his show name, "Phantom of the Opera" to engage people more too.....
 
Keep him, enjoy him. The best pony I ever had as a child came from Ireland with nose damage that he probably sustained on the boat over. His nose was always badly crooked. We didn't love him any the less, and he was the most sensational hunting pony ever.
 
You could make him his own facebook fan page or a separate page if you have a website. could even increase business as people may come especially to see him or just increase exposure for your centre you may find you get lots of requests to ride him :-) I knew a one eyed cob that was beloved of the entire pony club.
 
I would tell people he is excellent at his job will look after you and was mistreated by humans! It is a selling point as most horse lovers would really enjoy using him(& giving him a carott at the end).

When I was looking for a safe horse I always said if it had two heads as long as it was good I didnt care for looks

Good luck
 
I think people will like the idea that you rescued this horse and have given him a new home, it might be good for business as tourists might think that you are a kind person to rescue this horse. I would not be surprised if people will want to buy him treats and want to pamper to try and make up for his past treatment.
 
grumpyoldmare said:
I can't for the life of me think why you would spend time and money rehabilitating this pony to then consider PTS because he is ugly and customers might think it cruel! Did this not occur to you when you first embarked on the rescue mission?

I would feel it was rather cruel to treat, re-establish trust in humans just to dispose of if he doesn't find a suitable home or fit in with your trekking centre? What was the point - would have been kinder to PTS right at the start.
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We were hopeing we could rehome him but we cant and I was not prepared to leave him in the field without feeding him and looking after him like I treat the other horses. But after 2 months no one wants him and I havent really considered putting him to sleep, I really wanted to know what people thought if I used him in the trekking centre. I have other ideas for him if he doesnt work out in the trekking centre so I think putting him to sleep is the very last option...
Trust me guys we get some picky people into our yard. We use alot of black and white cobs who are great for trekking lazier the better but there not always the most stunning horses (I think there all stunning).
I will try put pictures up later
thanks again for the nice replys
 
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