Should I sell my pony or try and keep him?

[Greyhorses]

Hi everyone on the horsey side!

To cut a long story short we are struggling financially at the moment due to an unexpected forced house move amongst other things.

I have a lovely show pony who I have had for 3 years. He is now 11 years old. He is a rosette machine, turns his hoof to everything and is pretty much the perfect pony. He is native bred and costs less than your average TB to keep yet im still struggling.

I am worried sick about keeping him to the point at which I can't sleep at night! I feel very guilty about spending so much money on a non essential thing but I also don't want to part with him. He costs me in the region of £200pcm. We have less than £300pcm left over in the household bills for food/everything else/emergencies.

I already keep him out as much as possible, he hardly eats anything and I do not buy luxuries. He is on DIY livery.

I am thinking about taking his shoes off to save money but I'm not sure if this is a false economy as he has always been shod and I'm worried about him going lame. He has flat large feet that chip easily!

I also can't find grass livery in the area or I would happily chuck him out for the year- there are no yards that offer 24/7 turnout within a 20mile radius!

I also have tried desperately to find a part loaner/share however nobody seems interested at all. I wonder if it's due to the time of year and If I should hang on until spring If I can!

I am trying to think of ways I can keep him or should I bite the bullet and sell up?

It would break my heart as I have had him so long and I would never get another like him. He is also very settled here and took over a year to settle into his new home with me so a loan wouldn't be that great for him unless it was to stay here due to him taking so long to settle and bond with a new person. He has had a horrible past and I promised I would never put him through that stress again. His old owner would be devastated as I promised a home for life when I took him, although she couldn't take him back either! Also if I sell him I will have nothing left of 'me' and everything I love to do will be taken away!

He is worth in the region of £3000 due to his competing records and breeding so not small amounts of money. However, I would never afford another like him again.

Sorry there isn't much anyone can do to help but it feels better to talk to people who understand!

£300 pcm for food etc is probably not possible in the long term (assuming you have children) without going into debt. Do you think your circumstances will improve fairly quickly (3-6 months)? If they definitely will I would try to hold on, although I know some people would be horrified at the idea.

The other thing to keep in mind is that we're going into the slowest time of year for selling ponies and the chances of getting the asking price are limited so I would explore money saving options.

Huge sympathy, it's a really horrible situation.

Thanks a lot for your reply.

We do not have children at the moment, plans are on hold now!

We have no imminent payrises coming up until 12 months time however are hoping to improve the situation in a year or so once some debts are paid off, however this isn't set in stone!

I feel terrible as he is a lovely pony but really struggles with change hence I said I would keep him forever, I just didn't know things would be this tight!
I'm not sure if I would struggle to sell him due to this, once he settles he is the nicest pony but in that settling in period he is a nightmare. He would proberbly just be returned!

In the summer it's a little easier as he costs less but it's all the added extras that I am going to struggle with (worming, turnout when I do overtime etc)
I wish I could find a cheaper livery but there isn't one! I must be on one of the cheapest yards around.

Really feel for you as it is a horrible situation to be in. Also, your love for your horse really shines out from your posts. It must be incredibly hard, but if you can get by without your horse suffering in any way, I think in your position I think I would try and hold on to him as long as I possibly could (esp as you've obviously put a lot of work in to him.)

Not much to suggest but have you looked in to a field for renting instead of livery (sometimes cheaper) and then turn him out for 12 mths? You could also look in to the possiblity of sharing it with another horse owner/compatible horse.

Could you get together with owners/others at livery and bulk buy feed/wormers/services so that you can reduce costs?

Arrange with a few other DIY owners to take turns to look after one anothers horses while you are each working late etc?

Think trying to save on farrier is false economy.

Also, don't be tempted to skip insurance payments.

Good luck.

Also, could you make any money with him possibly? Lessons for keen teenager at weekends? Maybe 5 lessons a week could make up shortfall???

Good sharers are difficult to come by aren't they.....
It's a horrible situation to be in.
Have you tried advertising him for full loan but to stay at your yard ..?
Or maybe you could find a good experienced loan home who would take him for a year. Someone who understands that he will need time to settle etc.
is it in hand or workers type showing you do with him..?

Sorry, 5 lessons a month

Realistically you have only had him 3 years can you envisage paying for him for the next 20+ years ,if the answer is no then sell him now whilst he is young enough to find a good home . That said I wouldn't be too ambitious with your asking price in the current financial climate .

Taking shoes off will be fine, good time of year to do it as the ground is softening up.

One of mine is IDxTB and has a fairly flat foot which chips/cracks at times. She lives out and is absolutely fine unshod. I do up my trims to every 4 weeks in the summer if necessary if her feet are starting to chip as just rasping the bottom of the hoof wall seems to stop the majority, not strictly necessary and I think I probably do it for aesthetics if I am honest.

I would probably turn him out if I were you.

Ask around. I have 10 acres and would be happy for someone to keep their horse on my land for free if they could do one of the daily checks and help with things like keeping the water troughs clean, it doesn't have to cost a lot.

Obv you need somewhere with decent fencing and like minded owners for it to work.

Floral makes a very good point - think long term and then even longer. I have two retirees who will probably live for another ten years.

I can afford them easily enough but the time I spend looking after them means that I can't see myself actually getting something to ride until they are gone, or one of them at least.

I don't begrudge any of it, I have an incredible bond with one of them and we had some fantastic times but old age is a massive consideration.

I don't think you have any choice but to sell him, you are only just keeping your head above water as it is, but if something goes wrong you have no "freeboard" for emergencies.
Take your time and find him a lovely home for someone that can afford him, and look after him if something goes wrong.

I second flora's guidance about price, be flexible, as it is a buyers market, and given how you feel about him, a good home at a lower price, I would think, is more Important than holding out for what you think he is worth.

I agree with MrsL. I'd try and find a good, loving home for him, even if it means reducing your price. There are other ponies and it sounds like keeping him is a huge financial burden ATM. Horses will always be there for you when your personal circumstances improve and you know you'll find another pony to love .

Thanks so much everyone for your support.

Thought I would update this as I have spoken at length with dp as he really does not want to sell the pony and we have been trying to work things out.

My lovely YO has agreed he can stay out a bit longer, or at least until the weather really changes so hopefully this gives me a bit of time and saves some money on hay and straw costs for the time being. Luckily he is a very good doer so isn't as expensive as some.

We have worked out that after every single bill we have £300 for food/entertainment which may be pushing it but we are thinking of ways to make it work.

I am also going to hunt high and low for a part loan.

If this fails then I will sell him but I want to hang onto him if possible. He is my only real escape from life at the moment and I hope this is manageable.
I don't know how I will ever manage with children but I may have to just cross that bridge when I get there?!

Good luck with it all Greyhorses. Hope you manage to hang on to him!

How big is your SP? You say you've no children so who do you get to ride your SP? Wouldn't you be better off selling him and then buying something else when your circumstance change ie a horse for yourself to ride or a lead rein if you have children? It does sound an unnecessary expense in hard times. As has been mentioned though it's hard to see SPs at this time of year. We're keeping our 12.2 until after Royal Windsor and then will check the market.

Hi Butkin,
Sorry he isn't a SP I meant I show him (ie breed classes and working hunter)
He is a rather large 14.2hh native pony and I ride him myself :)

Is there any way you could boost your income a little to take some of the pressure off? When we had a pub we had lots of staff who could only manage one or two shifts a week due to other commitments so something like that could be doable, especially as your dp is supportive and you don't currently have to worry about childcare.
I do hope you manage to keep your dpony, he sounds lovely. I'd be tempted to try without shoes if it were me. I was always told my old pony wouldn't do well unshod but we took his shoes off when he had a leg injury and he did so well that when he recovered we never bothered putting them back on. He went barefoot for the rest of his life, so you never really know until you try. Obviously you'd have to expect some minor chipping etc to start with but that is usually surface and looks worse than it is.

"I also can't find grass livery in the area or I would happily chuck him out for the year- there are no yards that offer 24/7 turnout within a 20mile radius!"

Have you tried farms, Greyhorses?

In our area it is not at all unusual for some farmers, whose families perhaps have one or two of their own, to allow the odd pony to share their field cheaply, on a 'grazing only' basis. Certainly it means that you don't have the facilities of a yard, but there can be lots of advantages too.

If I were in your position I think I'd be driving round farming areas, looking for those with small numbers of ponies, and eyeing up the condition of the ponies, the land and the fences. If all looked okay, I'd be knocking on doors.

Also ask at your nearest agricultural market, maybe put a notice on their ads board, and phone the secretary of the nearest Young Farmers group, ask him/her to send out an email asking if any members have anywhere suitable.

Whereabouts are you? Maybe someone on here will know of suitable grass livery.

Thanks everyone again.

I have tried to search for a part time job however I'm finding it difficult as I work shifts ranging from 6am start to 9pm finish in a rota basis. I also work night shift from 5pm-8am every fourth week and 1 in every 5 weekends so this makes a second job hard to find! I'm still looking though!

I have not thought of farmers but will definatley try and search around! We are not in a very farm type area (more suburban) hence livery is common but more expensive due to not as much grazing as one areas and most don't offer 24/7 turnout. I think I know of two within 30 miles and both are very expensive!

I did manage to have a lovely gallop on him tonight which made me feel a little better and is would love to find a way to keep him (and my sanity!)
I have also placed a part loan ad.

I am in a villiage near to the sunderland area although travel for work!

Shame about awkward shifts, that does make things more difficult.

I agree that renting a field from a farmer usually works out cheaper. We've had a few nice places over the years and they often let you have a bit of space in a barn to store feed and hay too. If you do want to try that route then it's better to ask them to their face if they have any spare fields as they generally try to be helpful or suggest someone else who may be interested. I find most farmers like a good old natter even though they claim to be ultra-busy .

Would he be suitable for a child to share? Where have you advertised for a sharer? It's worth putting up notices in tack shops, feed stores, vets offices, asking your farrier if he is willing to stick a notice on his van and contacting the local PCs (or RCs if looking for an adult). Try also FB groups especially ones on showing.