Older horses again

[lizzy]

Hi

Perhaps I should have added on my last thread - older horses - what have you all done with horses when you think that it is time for them to retire?

[eml]

Mine continue to live as they were except are not ridden..they usually let you know when they are fed up/can't cope with ridden work. When they stop enjoying going out in the field with their friends then its time to put them down at home.

[Peace]

My old lesson horse, who just retired at 32, is a wonderful babysitter for the weanling foal. He's a calm, comforting presence for her, and she keeps him young by playing games with him. Well, she mostly runs in circles while he stands in the middle ;) , but I can tell he enjoys her by the way he encourages her to run with little head tosses and snorts.

He's also great for acclimating extremely nervous people to horses. Some people need to just get comfortable being around a horse before they're ready to ride one. This old fellow's great at that job - I've yet to meet the person who can manage to stay afraid of him for very long!:)