Retiring a beloved horse

[Edwy]

Hi!
I'm new to all this, but I really wanted your advice! There is a wonderful, half quarter horse, half thoroughbred, chestnut gelding named Chief. He is a lesson horse at the barn where I board my own Dutch Warmblood mare, Rhapsody. Chief was the horse that I rode before I owned a horse. I rode him in lessons and then I half leased him, and then I leased him. I almost bought him. He and I had a wonderful relationship and he taught me most of what I know about riding. I feel as if I owe him a great deal. Chief is now coming to the end of his actual ability to perform as a lesson horse. I believe he is about 19 years old, but he is in good health. I have this idea that I would love to buy him and give him a really nice place to retire and enjoy his last years. I have a friend who has a good sized pasture and a barn. He has other horses and one of them is about Chief's age. He says he would be glad to have Chief for a very reasonable fee and I know that he would take good care of him. He is not too far away and I could go out and visit Chief frequently. The down side is that Chief is pretty unhappy about things like Vets and trailers and that part of it would be difficult for all of us. Also, I admit that I am already finding it hard to get time to even ride my own horse as much as I want to and this would add to my time demands. Anyway, it's something I'm really thinking about. What do you all think? Should I try to do this? I'd really appreciate your thoughts on the subject! Thanks!

 

[L.S.B]

I've sympathy for you. My lad retired after years of on/off/on/off lameness. He’s 11 and a tb of the whimpiest calibre ; needs hard feed, night stabling + good hay. Also joint supplements. In other words he’s a costly companion!
That’s without the £1000's on xrays, trips to horsepital, scans, nerve blocks, meds and every supplement in existence over the years .
All this, and at purchase he passed a thorough vetting with a very good equine vet.

Horse buying is risky (my lad being a prime example), but some purchases are more risky than others. Best we can do is be sensible and minimise the risk through vettings, getting insurance etc etc. I'm sure you're aware of this already, so . . .

Bottom Line - Assess his health and any probable future problems and consider how you'd accomodate these changes in his lifestyle.
There's no need to go OTT and start thinking about every possible disaster which could arise , but be realistic - eg. stabling (or decent shelter) is likely for an aging horse, as are insurance premiums and their conditions. Will he be happy being retired (not all are)? Is his available field likely to be unavailable in the future? ect ect ect
Weigh it all up and see if it's something you can physically and financially manage. Try (try try try!) to let head rule, not heart (easier said than done I know).

Hope that helps.

xxx