Getting rid of a horse

[IShotTheDeputyItWasMe]

I know nothing about horses/riding so excuse the ignorance.

Reading the spending thread and a few people are commenting about "trading up" their horse. Do people really treat horses like cars?

I know you might need a new horse as a child gets bigger or maybe skills improve but for an adult who is at their peak riding ability, do you really just swop a living creature?

I guess you might say, your personalities don't match but if I were to say, I didn't like my service dog, I'd still get grief for passing him on and getting a new one. And surely after having a horse for a while, you don't suddenly decide you aren't compatible?

I know a few horsey people and they claim to LOVE their horses, they LIVE for them! It’s a lifestyle!

but equally they exchange horses and “upgrade” or were hoodwinked into a did or any other excuse to get rid of their “beloved” —not at all loved— pet

You're anthropomorphising. Horses are working animals, not just pets. If you need a horse that can compete at X level, or be a schoolmaster to a young child, or be of a size and temperament that can be ridden by a ten year old and an adult, whatever, then it’s common to move a horse on, or keep it but have it out on longterm loan to someone it suits. Some horses will be happy as field ornaments, some not, but not everyone can afford to keep multiple horses.

Yes, I didn't realise how common getting rid of them to get a new one seems to be. I work with someone who seems to swop them about a lot but I didn't realise it was a thing.

Yeah to many owners they're 'stock' rather than pets.

Not anthropomorphising at all. It's a living animal that WILL have emotions and feelings.

My rescue greyhound is snoring (and farting) next to me. You could argue he was a working animal. He took a very long time to settle with us and I know if we passed him on because we decided we weren't compatible he would be traumatised.

I'm just trying to understand why it's OK for some animals but no others. I'm talking about your average, ride around a field horse.

I have horses. I’ve had to sell on a few ponies/horses when I was younger, but my horses have spent their whole lives with me.

Ive known a good few people that sold horses on because they wanted something “sportier”. Or people that sold on horses that they couldn’t handle/ride because they’d over estimated their riding talents. Occasionally I see an advert for an elderly horse for sale and it makes me sad. That horse, above all, deserves to live it’s old age out peacefully.

But on the flip side, horses are very expensive to keep, and it’s a hobby as well as a pet, so people do need to have a good relationship with the horse imo. Too many people do things without thinking it through properly nowadays. It’s all about them and what they want- and therein lies the problem…

The relationship between horse and rider is an intimate and complex one and it has to be a fit, whether you’re an Olympic dressage rider or a happy hacker. If it’s not it can result in injury and death. Sometimes it’s just not right for a variety of reasons. As most people can’t afford to keep multiple horses, hard decisions have to be made.

It's not imo. Especially when it is because they are getting a bit older and they will 'have a lovely home with x children doing less work' it's slopey shouldering the burden of caring for them for their entire lives. Horses can live for 20-30 years, if you aren't willing to care for them for their last 10/15 years of life when they are past their useful stage then you shouldn't get them imo. But then as most people don't have the space or funds to keep a couple retirees at anypoint then that Would mean they just couldn't have horses
When I have a dog I commit to caring for it for its entire life, its the equine equivalent of the people on here who ask if its OK to rehome their 10 year old, slightly grumpy and incontinent dog as they can't look after it any more, convinced that there will be someone out there dying to take it on and that it won't end up dying in a rescue kennels.

I wouldn’t keep my horse if we could no longer use him to his full ability or if we needed him to have different skills ( more jumping for example) people buy and sell horses all the time for loads of reasons. They are incredibly expensive pets if the relationship isn’t working out for whatever reason!

He’d get used to new owners who treated him well. Animals don’t think like humans. They don’t need them on the same way.

And yes, as a op said, the wrong horse is potentially dangerous. And very expensive, if you don’t have your own land.

I would never sell mine - they have homes for life. If something awful happened & I couldn't afford to keep them I think I would have them put to sleep rather than sold on.

I think most people feel the same about their horses & ponies - they are beloved pets first & foremost.

For a minority of horse owners the sport & competitive part is more important & the horses do seem to me more of a commodity.

You do have to be realistic with horses though as they are expensive to keep & live long lives (30+ years in some cases). They can also be dangerous if you don't have the appropriate skills/strength/time commitment for their individual needs.

I suppose, maybe, you start with a 'standard' model and then after a while you fit 'all season' hooves, then it's four leg drive and before you know it, you need a SUV cart horse type that is BIG and looks impressive dropping off the kids at school.

I have not sold any of my three on. Two are now retired (at 28 and 23) and after everything they have done for me they owe me nothing and will be with me until the end (sadly not looking like long now for the eldest). Whilst they are a hobby, mine are pets as well and I would not get rid of them in the same way I would not re-home my dog.

I took the time to research what I wanted in each case so have never felt the need to either upgrade to a sportier model or found myself over-horsed.

People sell their horses on for a variety of reasons, they've turned out too much for them to manage safely, they've 'over horsed' themselves and honestly it's far better for that horse to be with someone who can deal with it properly, sometimes horses are doped or worked really hard before someone tries them so they appear calmer and more suitable for the new owner and then it all unravels within weeks and the horse, new owner and everyone around them are miserable and in danger. Unfortunately some also think they're more competent than they are and buy something they can't 'sit 2 sides to' to coin a horsey phrase with the same result.
The other end of the scale is the horse isn't capable of doing what the rider wants them to do and if the rider doesn't want to compromise then again, it's probably better for the horse to go to someone who is happy with the horses level rather than being hammered to perform in ways it doesn't want want to or physically can't.
Then there's those who don't want to be left with an old horse they can't ride, or an injured one (but who can still be gently ridden) and again, these horses are better off with people who are happy with the level they can do. Especially if they can't afford 2.

Also 'not getting along' is bloody miserable for the horse as well as the owner, they have personalities, working with horses in the past and being on yards with my own, I've seen many partnerships over the years that just didn't work, and because of their size and strength it can be dangerous for both as well. Again, better for the horse to not be in that situation.

Then of course financial reasons. Because horses aren't cheap.

Didn't matter to me when my horse had to start taking it easy at 14 due to an injury and then retire completely at 15, and since losing him 2 years ago I have considered taking on an older horse just to care for and love, but other than the fact I can't afford it now, I don't think I could lose another one. It was far worse than I imagined losing him and my whole life changed. I'm not sure I could go through it again!

Riding is the main thing for some people, and if the horse can't or won't do what they want then they will look for something that can.

Don't service dogs retire at some point? Or if the dog has an injury or becomes unable to be of service, do they move on to be pets? I genuinely don't know about service dogs, I know police dogs do. As do police horses as well.

‘Get rid of’ is a loaded judgmental term.

I love my Dc to bits but I am not getting rid of them when I race them off to Uni, or the next stage of adult life.

People keep horses to ride, which the horses enjoy, and people do love their horses. But if there is a reason they are not suitable to ride any more (outgrown, looking for something sportier, owner is pregnant, going to Uni…) then they will find another suitable caring owner who will also love the horse.

You acquired your greyhound in order for it to lie around snoring. If it suddenly needed a 10 mile run every day and you developed a mobility issue you would probably think hat the kindest thing was to re-home your dog with someone who could run 10 miles a day with it. Would that be ‘getting rid’ of your dog? Or passing him to a more suitable loving owner?

I don't know what thread you're talking about but I wouldn't say it's common to 'trade up' at all. People do buy and sell horses more than you would a dog or cat but that's because they're not just pets, they're big, lively, dangerous working animals, you need to be able to handle them safely, and most need a job to do and regular exercise and routine to stay healthy and happy, and various life events can get in the way of that. Also bear in mind while welfare is of course very important horses don't bond with people anywhere near as much as dogs do, they do know and recognise familiar people but most aren't that bothered about those people changing (much more unsettling to them IMO is moving yards/fields and losing their herd/horsey friends but people do move their horses around different yards for various reasons without selling them and no-one tends to really think of that as a serious welfare problem).

So for instance a outgrown child's pony is often better off going on to a new home to teach another child than being stuck in a field doing nothing for 10 years or more. And I have known several instances of people accidentally buying an overly powerful / sensitive warmblood or sports horse thinking they want to be jumping round badminton when really they are more of a casual hack round the block type, and it can end quite dangerously and in a vicious circle of the horse going more and more stir crazy for want of proper riding/exercise and the rider more and more scared to even get on. In that scenario it's much better the horse goes to a proper competition home and the rider buys a quieter, calmer horse. But adults who are mainly leisure riders, simply wanting a 'better' horse, I've heard of it happening but wouldn't say it's at all the norm. I mean if I won the lottery I'd buy myself a stableful of beautiful horses but I wouldn't sell my current boy, he's with me for life for sure...

Probably because dogs live in your house and become part of the family, horses live in a field/ stable so the relationship obviously isn’t the same. We treat different animals differently in other circumstances too, for example most people wouldn’t eat a dog but many would eat a pig and some would eat a horse.

Horsey person here and I still have my childhood pony who is nearly 23 years old and I will keep him until his final day on this Earth.
I can still occasionally ride him as I haven’t grown much since I was 10 but I know a lot of people do sell them on when they are no longer suitable. I couldn’t do this as I get attached, but I totally understand as he costs me 600quid a month (I know it can be done cheaper) and horses tend to live for 30years. so it’s a hell of a lot of money to spend on an animal you can’t do anything with especially if they are still in their prime and are just left bored in a field.
I do feel very sad for horses that are sold on when they are older as it isn’t fair on them at that point in their life

Never understood this. I grew up with horses. My sister and I kept our childhood ponies until their deaths into their 40s. We also kept our horses until they died in their 30s. We loved them more than anything and their deaths were devastating for the whole family. How could you give up something you love, not knowing where it is or if it is being treated well 😢😢

Just to illustrate what I'd say the difference between horses and dogs is (with caveats about the dangers of anthropomorphising), I have both:

Dogs look on their owners like a member of their family, everything they do, they do in relation to the family (barking at the postman to protect their home, chasing squirrels to catch food to feed the family etc etc). If they were to be rehomed it would be a fairly big deal as it would mean a loss of both home and family. It's not the same as how a human would feel in the same circumstances, I maybe take issue with the word traumatising, my dogs get left for a week or two with family every so often if we're going away and can't take them, and they settle within a few hours or days at max to their 'new home' and routine, they've got no way of knowing I'm ever coming back for them, yes they're pleased to see me when I do come back but I'm not sentimental enough to think they wouldn't forget about me fairly quickly...

My horse on the other hand I'm pretty sure does not think of me as one of his family at all. I'm more of a co-worker to him, or perhaps more like a manager since he (mostly) looks to me for leadership and follows my instructions. He mostly thinks I'm pretty nice, finds me sometimes tedious, sometimes he ignores me entirely but he loves his job and he enjoys working with me on it, particularly his favourite bits (like galloping across the countryside). And he knows that I look after him and bring him food and so on. But at the end of the day if he has a family at all it's his horse friends he goes home to at night and I go off to my own home. If I didn't come back one morning and he had a new owner/manager he might be confused and maybe even a bit sad but he'd get used to it pretty quickly.

Some horses are far more into their jobs than others (just like people), some would be pretty happy to never work and some would go stir-crazy, mine's definitely towards the latter end, that's how I got him in the first place, his owners were teenagers off to uni and jobs and didn't have time for him, they really didn't want to sell and gave him a shot at retiring to a field and his horse friends but he was obviously unsettled and unhappy - he's much better being ridden regularly so (unexpected catastrophic act of god aside) I will keep him going as long as he's physically well and able, then we'll see if he'll accept retirement then but if not he'll get a dignified ending.

Because you can’t afford hundreds of pounds a month, regardless of how you feel about them? Circumstances change.

I have often thought of how this must seem to non horsey people. You wouldn’t just sell a dog at 8 years old, or a cat for example. The problem is that for most people, horses are just too expensive to keep if they don’t have a job to do. If they are outgrown or not suitable for any reason for the rider, they often have to be sold in order to pay for the next one. And the costs to keep a horse are astronomical, so most people can only afford the ongoing costs of one. A bit like a car, if you decided to upgrade your car because you needed a better one, you wouldn’t keep the old one sitting on the drive when you could sell it to help pay for the new one. Actually that’s not the best example because at least a car wouldn’t keep costing you money if it was just sitting on the drive!

It’s not just money either, horses take up a hell of a lot of time just to provide their basic care, and that’s before you think about exercising them, and most people have jobs/families and a finite amount of time they can spend with their horse/s.

It's mainly competition people who need a more advanced horse to progress. To them it's a sport, current horse can't jump any higher or whatever so they need the next one.

Most people I know keep their horses until the end, which can often mean an expensive 10 year retirement so the owner can't ride unless they can afford 2.

Its also worth noting horses aren't like dogs, they don't see their human as part of the family, they're much more attatched to their field mates than the owner.

It's complicated. Like most areas where money gets involved, big ethical problems can happen in the horsey world, when someone's livelihood or professional identity depends on maintaining a certain profile of performance. Ethical ideals can quickly take a back seat to economic necessity. This is true in most areas, but for horses, it's really obvious. As for the amateur owner, I'm sure that people that "trade up" do exist, but I don't know any, personally. I do know an awful lot of people that will stand on their heads to make sure their oldies or injured horses have a good retirement, and will sacrifice a lot to make sure they are looked after properly. I do know people that make potentially poor financial decisions in an attempt to do right by their retired horses and at the same time be able to pursue their personal horsey goals, and sometimes, this goes tits up, financially speaking, at fairly short notice. That's tragic for all involved, and one hopes that a compassionate community rallies round to help sort the situation.

While you absolutely can have a bond with a horse, it's more often a working relationship.

Horses aren't like dogs, they are happier left in the field being horse with other horses. You have little to offer a horse that he can't get from outside, providing you offer good husbandry eg plenty of grazing and companions.

While horses can experience stress when changing yards etc they tend to adapt very quickly. I had one of my ponies (too small for me to ride) sent to a friends yard where there were children riders. I went to visit him after two monthly and he didn't recognise me! Keep in mind I took this horse as a foal off the mountain side and raised him from 7 months old, backed him myself etc.