Keep your old horse

Is there anything more heartbreaking than an ad for a 16, 18 or 20+ year old horse, for sale at a ridiculously low price, or "free to a good home”? Accompanied by a picture of a sad-looking horse with comments such as “great with kids,” “bomb-proof,” “the kids outgrew him,” “it’s a difficult decision but I must care for my other horses,” or “he needs to be retired now and I don’t have the room to keep him.” 

Sometimes, those old horses are for sale because of tragic circumstances faced by their owners, whether personal or financial. In those cases, no judgement should be passed: compassion is the only appropriate reaction, especially since anyone could find themselves in such a situation.  

However, other owners just want to get rid of their old horse, because he has medical issues that are becoming too expensive to deal with, because he’s a hard-keeper, because the children have left home, because they want to buy a new horse… Because they want to ride but their horse has become unrideable, due to age or injury. 

As horses age, they become more expensive to care for. Some can live for over 30 years. In a way, many horses are “old” for a longer period of time than they’re fit and rideable: some will have to be retired at 15 but will live another 15 years. And there are owners who just do not realise this when they buy their horse and are almost surprised when they find themselves “burdened” with a “useless” animal. Some will contact a rescue and ask them to take their horse on. Others will just put up an ad on the internet. 

There are many excuses to get rid of an old horse. People will say that they have the horse’s best interest at heart. That they want him to have a happy retirement. That they want him to go to someone who’ll take good care of him. Social pressure is also not to be underestimated: there will always be people saying it’s a waste to keep a useless mouth to feed, that a “pasture pet” is worthless, that you should invest in a younger horse because you have so much potential as a rider, or whatever. Passing horses around is a thing. Look at the ponies, going from family to family as successions of kids outgrow them. Only, ponies aren’t second hand clothes. They aren’t objects that need to be recycled. 

There are always reasons for giving away an old horse. But… would you do the same thing if your dog, and not your horse, was concerned? Yes, some people would still do the same. Some people have no scruples and no heart. Yet, I believe that a good number of those who have no hesitation in getting rid of their horse would not do the same for their other pets. 

Of course, a horse is more expensive than most pets. And a horse does not usually live inside your home, so the relationship you have with him is not necessarily the same as the one you have with your dog or cat –though this is debatable. Moreover, a horse is not always perceived or treated as a pet, but rather as livestock. Still, that does not make it right to get rid of a horse because he’s too old or because he’s injured and has to be retired. 

The worse is maybe the fact that the people who give away their elderly, sometimes sick horse to a rescue or to an individual, are discharging themselves of a financial and emotional burden onto someone else. They used the horse, they had fun with him, they enjoyed him in his happy, healthy years. But it is not them who will be there for him when his health fails, when he has difficulties moving, when he has to be given special feed. It is not them who will feel heartbroken and maybe guilty when, after a few years, the horse has to be put to sleep due to old age or medical issues. It will be someone else. Someone who felt pity when they saw the ad. Someone who wanted to do a good deed and give an old horse a good home. 

But what does the horse think about that? About being abandoned? 

I decided to write this article after I learnt of the death of a horse I knew vaguely. He was 18 or 19, or maybe even 20 years old. His owner had had him since the day he was born. She had tried to sell him when he was young, but had never found anyone interested in him so kept him. He was ridden a bit but not much: he was a high-strung, and even unstable horse who could become dangerous on occasions. The owner decided about one year ago that she wanted to get rid of him, I guess to make room for other horses. This person has almost a dozen of her own and plans to buy more. So she gave him away to someone who needed a companion for her horse. Six months later, the horse was dead, of unknown reasons. Colic was mentioned as a possibility. 

This horse had been taken away from lifelong friends, from his home, from all he had ever known. He had never ever travelled before. He had known only one owner. As I’ve said before, he was sensitive and unstable. Can you imagine the effect this change had on him, especially at his age? The owner has an easy conscience: she had given him away to a good home, after all. And she was sad at his death. But it was the new owner, the one who had taken him on, who had to bear the full trauma of it. 

This is just one example. Some stories have a happier ending, where those old horses who are given away are able to enjoy a happy retirement. But that does not make it right. 

If you have the means to do so, please keep your old horse. He’s not a bicycle, he’s a living being, he’s your companion. He has let you ride him, he has let you use him. Do not give him away because you want to buy a younger horse. Do not discard him because you cannot deal with giving him medication or buying him special food. 

Do not flood rescues, do not thrust your old horse in their care if you have the means to keep him. There are horses whose lives are in real danger and who need actual rescuing. There are people who have no choice but to separate themselves from their horses. Do not take the place that could be theirs. 

Do not forget that your horse has feelings. Take care of him as he has taken care of you all those years during which you used him. Be there for him as he was there for you. Think again, before you decide it is a good idea to give your horse away. Even if you believe it will be for the best, you have no guarantee he will be taken good care of. You have no idea how it will end. So if you have the choice, do not post that ad.