19YR OLD MARE ready for retirement

warmblood

Any ideas where we can contact some person to take her as a companion horse.She is in good health after being involved in a full active life ie showjumping dressage and some crosscountry.She is not interested in this any longer due to her age .Very good temperment

paddi22

you might struggle to find a companion home. would you put her out on loan as a happy hacker? It would be better healthwise for her to be kept in low level regular work instead of retiring fully. If i was in your position id check around local yards and see if anyone suitable would take her on a long term loan - that way you could still keep an eye on her.

warmblood

Thanks Paddy
She has done the lease thing until recently and now due to her age she just wants a quiet life.If she went to a riding school it would be a lot of work with different riders and methods

lyoness

warmblood wrote: »

Thanks Paddy
She has done the lease thing until recently and now due to her age she just wants a quiet life.If she went to a riding school it would be a lot of work with different riders and methods

Why can't she retire with you?

byhookorbycrook

I think, having been in the situation of having an old horse and not wanting to turn him out in a field ,having been used to work all his life, you might want to consider what will happen when she leaves you. Some dealers have been known to take "retired" horses and sell them on to people who do not realise the horse was meant to be retired. The other thing, is that retiring a horse , as Paddi says is not always the best.

I don't want to sound insensitive, but if you can no longer keep her, would you consider euthanizing her? It really is the kind thing to do ,imagine her in a not so knowledgeable home where she was expected to do things she really wasn't able to?

paddi22

i didn't mean retire her to a riding school, i agree with you that that would be too much. A loaner home with an older person hacking would suit it down to the ground. we have a few older ladies at our yard who loan older horses and treat them fantastically well. They mostly hack and just potter, but its enough work to keep the horse healthy and moving well.

If the horse has been active all it's life, to then just retire it, often brings a ton of trouble and vets bill. They tend to go downhill very fast. It's much fairer to keep them in light regular work. 19 isn't that old, one of the ladies in the yard has a 26 year old still in regular work. I agree with the other poster, companion homes aren't always what they seem. Even if you did find an honest companion home, the chances are the horse will be riddled with arthrisis in a few years and a few harsh winters would be unfair on it. You'd need to be checking to see how it was getting on. Another option would be retirement livery where they are checked, but you could be looking at 25-30 euro a week for the next 10 years.

If it was my horse and I didn't have the means to retire it or loan it out, then i'd be honest with myself and put it to sleep.

warmblood

Thanks paddy thanks for your time replying will consider these ideas

fits

Three threads in last week with people looking to rehome horses... retirement homes just aren't very common and I think owners should take responsibility for the end of life of their horses. If that is through grass livery, euthanasia or something else.