Retirement yard/retirement livery

Jen Pigs Fly

Any recommendations for retirement yards or retirement livery? Needed for a horse who prefers to be out 24/7 but will need adequate field shelter for winter and rug changing as she is an Arab. Don't mind if they stable for November-Jan but she goes mad in a stable!

elusiveguy

Location?

Jen Pigs Fly

elusiveguy wrote: »

Location?

Doesn't matter really as long as she's minded. I'm located Maynooth/kilcock however so somewhere handy would be ideal.

elusiveguy

There's a really good place near Rathangan, its on the same premises as Equivet

Jen Pigs Fly

I have sourced a place near donedea. She will be out 24/7 with a lot of shelter, rug changes. In a jumping yard so farrier up every week and vet on call, she will be happy there. Moving there this weekend and I'm maintaining full ownership of her! I'm thrilled!

convert

Glad you found somewhere Jenny. Hope it works out for you and your mare.

Jen Pigs Fly

convert wrote: »

Glad you found somewhere Jenny. Hope it works out for you and your mare.

Me too, I'm the long term I'm looking to buy a site of land (5-10 acres) that I can build a house on, the rest of her days will be spent there. As of now I'm happy a more cost effective solution has been found.

charlieIRL

Glad you got sorted.

tri9876

xxxJennyxxx wrote: »

I have sourced a place near donedea. She will be out 24/7 with a lot of shelter, rug changes. In a jumping yard so farrier up every week and vet on call, she will be happy there. Moving there this weekend and I'm maintaining full ownership of her! I'm thrilled!

Hi Jenny I'm in the same situation and was wondering if you could pm me the details of the place?

byhookorbycrook

Not directed at the OP, but based on my own experience. I am no longer sure about retiring horses who have worked all their lives.
Well done to the OP for looking after her lady, it makes my blood boil to see people putting old and faithful horses up for sale as "companions" to go to complete strangers. Do the decent thing, either do like the OP and continue to care for them or else make the call. I know of a horse locally who was "turned out" and "retired" that eventually more or less starved to death as the owner never bothered to check its teeth and only dropped by about once every three months,

I waited too long to make the decision with one of my own and he shattered a hind leg and had to be dragged out the stable to be destroyed. His groans haunt me yet. He didn't understand why he wasn't working like he used to and used to get bothered to see other horses leaving his field or stable block.


When the current equine love of my life starts to really slow down, I plan on a month of so of turn out for him and then to make the decision. For me, I think a long retirement is more me being selfish as opposed to being kind.

Ah_Yeah

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

Not directed at the OP, but based on my own experience. I am no longer sure about retiring horses who have worked all their lives.
Well done to the OP for looking after her lady, it makes my blood boil to see people putting old and faithful horses up for sale as "companions" to go to complete strangers. Do the decent thing, either do like the OP and continue to care for them or else make the call. I know of a horse locally who was "turned out" and "retired" that eventually more or less starved to death as the owner never bothered to check its teeth and only dropped by about once every three months,

I waited too long to make the decision with one of my own and he shattered a hind leg and had to be dragged out the stable to be destroyed. His groans haunt me yet. He didn't understand why he wasn't working like he used to and used to get bothered to see other horses leaving his field or stable block.


When the current equine love of my life starts to really slow down, I plan on a month of so of turn out for him and then to make the decision. For me, I think a long retirement is more me being selfish as opposed to being kind.

I think it depends on the horse. I had a horse who couldn't care less if she was working or not - she would do holler the yard down if she didn't go to the field, it was her favourite place to be. And you'd be hard pushed catching her after her holidays when she was turned away for a few weeks! When it comes to her retirement, if she's not in any pain, I am certain that she will enjoy a life of leisure out in a field 24/7.

However my current horse is like an antichrist when not in work. I put him on holidays for three weeks and he was the grumpiest sod, so narky, and he is like a pet again now he's back in work. He's young now but if he was this way when he is older too then retirement might not suit him.

It has to be done, as you say, in the horse's interests and not our own. If we think of the horse, we'll make the right decision (or the best one we could make given all the information we have at the time) every time.

Jen Pigs Fly

Shes doing well, stopped up to put cream on her feet (mud rash - she gets it all the time - it's not too bad) and she's out with around 20 others but has made friends with three, they're split into 4/5 little groups.

I plan on going up every odd day, I can't be one of those who retire the horse and see it once a month. I was talking to a girl who works there and I apologised for not being up as I was sick and she said sometimes they don't see owners for months on end!