oap horse

[helpwithhols]

Has anyone got an old horse..I have still got a horse that I have had since I was 12!..she is old and grumpy and having her doesn't mix very well with a 2 year old and playgroups etc. I have to go to her every morning and it is bloody freezing and quite frankly is pissing me off. I love her as she has been a part of my life for 20 years but could do without it!I feel like I am the only person in the world who has to do this and I am sure my new group of playgroup friends think she is imaginary because I am always early for our days out(comes from having to get up so bloody early!) feel better now..Rant over!!

[NomDePlume]

rofl @ 'she is old and grumpy'. I wonder if she thinks the same about you ?

[NomDePlume]

FWIW, i had a horse when I was younger, but he got laminitis and had to be put to sleep

[helpwithhols]

I think she probably does think I am old and grumpy but I am very commited to her and go religiously evry day and look after her very well..I think unless you have done this for 20 years it is really hard to understand..I just wish I had a big house with a big field so I didn't have to get out of bed in the winter!!

P.s Pregnancy was very much unplanned and because of the commitment to the horse I even considered a termination(obviously I can't believe that now).just feeling fed up juggling everything

[NomDePlume]

Helpwithhols, I was only joking about the grumpy thing. I didn;t mean to offend you.

[helpwithhols]

not offended..just fed up thanks

[Fauve]

I sympathise...it's hard work looking after a horse - not the romantic ideal some of us still nurse in our hearts (I often fantasise about keeping a pony at the bottom of the garden). Would anyone take the horse off your hands - a city farm, for example?

[GeorgieVickyLou]

Is she kept in stables with other horses? would some one be willing to 'Job Shre' with you, maybe one of you look after both horses every other week or other day or share evenings and mornings, somthing like that?

[helpwithhols]

thank you for your help..(it gets worse) I had her in full livery before i got pregnant which cost £400 a month as I have given up work now I keep her at my mums neighbours house and i look after her horse in return for livery and hay so only cost me shoes and hard feed evry month.SO in reality i have two horses who I CANNOT separate as they are totally on love with each other and go mental when seperated. SO I am stuck with it. I will not give her away or send to sanctuary etc as I had another horse who i sold many years ago and the woman promised me she would keep for ever ..6 months later she was for sale again and had gone up in price 3x.(couldnt afford to buy back). Would rather have put to sleep than that ..Btw she is 33 and is of no use to anyone and is a weedy thouroghbred who needs to come in at night..feel better just for writing this down thanks for listenng

[GeorgieVickyLou]

How about an overly keen 15ish year old who would look after them in return for a ride out every now and then? even if it was just on weekends it would give you a break and i'm sure if you where to ask at the local riding school there would be some one who would jump at the chance

[helpwithhols]

thanks but she is way too old to ride just a very time consuming pet

[helpwithhols]

gosh i remember being that overly keen 15 yr old !

[GeorgieVickyLou]

What about the other one, would your Mums neighbour let some one ride her horse?

Winters nearly over, evenings are getting lighter (apprently) it'll get easier soon or at least won't be so bad. I always heated going to the stables in the winter but the summer was great (or at least better)

[Berries]

I'd ask at the local stables. Most 15 yr olds will want to be able to ride as well, but you may find 1 or 2 who will do it for the love of the horse, I kow my dd would (but she's only 10 so I would have to go with her). Even 1 or 2 days a week would help. Also, check whether there are any colleges nearby offering equine management courses, someone may need a bit of practical experience!

[helpwithhols]

yeh it is really the winter thing..summer is lovely ..no rugs to deal with no ice ..freezing fingers etc..other horse also retired...I know I am just destined to it until she goes to the big stable in the sky but it just gets to me

good ideas about helping but woman is lets say difficult and it is too much bother!

It is nice to get fresh air and excerise in the morning so not all bad and it is the most lovely location...usually see foxes,rabbits and have a family of deer who visit daily..

actually doesnt really sound that bad does it

[leggymamba]

Good point about the summer coming.

My 28 year old weedy tb cross had a fall last month and had to be put down. You won't realise how much you miss doing horsy things until you don't have them to do. I said never again but am now thinking pony for dd even after reading the fingers you can't feel bit!

Just have to talk around dh - he got his way with dog even after I said never again!

I think the best thing about winter is tucking them up at night and turning the lights off - smells really night and hearing chewing of straw is quite a stress buster even if you have been running around like a loon to get back in time for baths/bed/tea etc

[Fauve]

If you were round the corner from us, me and dd would help - no rides required - just soppy about horses. I'm sure we aren't though, we're on the edges of London. We'll be with you in spirit! Delegate to your child(ren) as soon as they're old enough!

[Pixel]

Drat, just did a post and it didn't work. Will try again.

I lost my 28 year old pony in Nov after 23 years together but he was never grumpy, even when he went blind. He would come flying down the field yelling his head off and I would have to shout frantically at him so he would know where I was!

I agree with Leggymamba, you will miss it like mad. I've volunteered to look after a friend's shetland just so I can go out in the freezing cold and pick poop!

Anyway, my time and effort saving tip is to have a big roll of hay in one of those metal hoop things. (ours was put in field by farmer, I did't even have to be there). It makes life so much easier when you don't have to fiddle about with haynets when your fingers are frozen. Also, if you need to turn up at a different time you don't worry about your horse being hungry and cold. A roll lasted 2 horses about 3 weeks and was much better than having to cart hay about everyday. I don't know if your horse is stabled but I moved mine from a yard with a stable to a field with a good hedge and a shelter when he was 25. I worried at first but he absolutely thrived. It was simple to run round with a wheelbarrow and gloves while he ate his feed and apart from picking hooves and checking rugs that was it most of the time.
Hopefully I will have another pony when I find one that I can afford and which is quiet enough!

[watchingnemo]

I know i will miss her ..I have 3 friends who all had their childhood horses/ponies mine is the last left.I have watched their pain and it is horrible. It is part of your life.she has been everywhere with me and I have had lots of horses and she is the one I have always kept.(mainly becasue she was very difficult to ride and bad in traffic) we have a good relationship I just wish she showed a bit of gratitude once in a while!!! She hates rugs which is mainly what makes her grumpy and doesnt like being rushed so roll on summer. Strangely my 2 year old hates her coat and being rushed...weird eh?

[teddyedwards]

is she stabled or living out? Iknow lots of people think thoroughbreds should be stabled, and yours is very old, but if you aclimatise them slowly then they do fine outside. Rugs may be a problem but the money you save on stabling could go on a really decent ,comfortable rug that she may not mind. I only say this because i have a 17hh ex racehorse aged 12 (not old i know) who is so much happier out than in. He has lived out for the last 3 winters . Could you not find someone who wants a companion horse for their own horse and would do the daily checks and hay but you could still visit whenever you want. My friend had a thoroughbred horse who lived out until he was 31. i am hoping mine will do the same. Also do you have to pay for shoes if she is not being ridden. Why not just get her feet trimmed, so much cheaper. Have you got room at your grazing for a third horse? could that person relieve you 2 or 3 days a week in return for you helping them out on the other days?

[Hillary]

Hi there,

I had 5 horses then became pregnant, i had a really bad time and spent most of the pregnancy in hospital bleeding. two of my horses i raised from foals, i now have my second baby, i had to give four of my horses away as i couldn't work and couldn't afford them anymore - it was the hardest thing in the world, i kept my irish boy its that bond he's 14 now and i'v had him since he was 4 months old (bottle fed). The guy that trimmed our hedge was a gypsy and he said i could put my horse in his field until i sorted myself out! My boy loved it he had 26 acres to roam with 6 friends! He's at a college now on loan, i go see him when i can.

Its so hard the horse world and the baby world are two totally different places, my friends think i'm strange when i come out with things like, oh look at that grass - or what lovely hay!
Once its in your blood it doesnt leave it.

I undertand what your going through with your vetran its so difficult, grass livery's not an option for her she would fret if she couldn't come in and a horse of that age needs a refuge from the elements, you could put her on loan as a companion but you don't really want to seperate her from her mate - got to agree its a tricky one! I think you are doing well its hard getting up in the cold wind and rain fingers so numb you have no grip but its brilliant and i'd give anything to do it again (just for a couple of days though) its funny how quick you can get used to not doing it.

Give her a kiss in the morning from me (smile)

[pedilia]

I can sympathise with this one, i have two children and three horses and am pregnant with DC3!

I am going to have to put my youngster out on loan (17hh 6 year old TB) and the shetland is going to a friends yard so that just leaves my older boy who will go nowhere, he will just be turned away until I am fit again.

As you say your mare is grumpy is she still happy with life? Is she physically ok?