A sensitive question

orbvalley

orbvalley

Well-Known Member
Jan 15, 2008
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So many NR peeps are in love with their horse/s but I also read quite a few threads about buying and selling and I was wondering how the two marry up:confused: I've never owned my own horse so can only relate it to my dogs which surely can't be right:confused:
 
orbvalley said:
So many NR peeps are in love with their horse/s but I also read quite a few threads about buying and selling and I was wondering how the two marry up:confused: I've never owned my own horse so can only relate it to my dogs which surely can't be right:confused:
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hiya, im a dog owner too - and its not the same.

I am in love with my horse, but if he wasnt right for me then I wouldnt be... does that make sense? A horse is a mighty expensive pet to keep if things arent working out, and one that can also be a risk to your safety.

Dog - 20kg

Horse -500kg ;)
 
BW is right.

I love Tyler to bits, but if he was dangerous he would have to go. I dont intend getting thrown off a bronking dog, but a horse is a possiblity. Sometimes people also dont 'mactch' with horses. The horse may be very well mannered, but if you don't click, the partnership won't work.

However, fortune would have it that Tyler isn't going any where as he *IS* the best horse :p:p:p:D lol
 
Hmmn, not so sure I agree with the above. My first horse was completely unsuitable and put me in hospital a couple of times. I persevered and kept her until she died.

Arnie is not what I would have picked in a horse (I like them bigger) but, he is now officially one of the family and will stay that way until he pops his little clogs.

Torchy and Bianco were aquired over the years and are completely useless (a shettie and a secA - I have no kids:)) but will be with me for the rest of their lives.

I could get rid of all 3 of them and have one big horse to compete etc on BUT I could just as easily get rid of my dogs or cats or husband (actually, not always joking about hubby:)).

Maybe I'm just a sucker.

Oh, and I did, once sell a horse - I was asked to take a mare for grazing who had been bought at Appleby and turned out to be in foal. She was in really poor condition. I played with her all summer and got her confidence up and her strength back. The owner then turned up expecting to take her to Stirling Sales and put her and the foal through the market.

That was just not going to happen. I bought her and the foal there and then. A few months later I was asked if she could go on loan along with her foal. After 6 months or so, the loaners asked if they could buy her and I sold her for what I had paid, despite having spent a fortune on supplements, farriers etc.

They went to a little girl with Cerebral Palsy so there was a happy ending there. I still cried my heart out and felt I had let her down.
 
Having sold my daughters first lead rein pony from experience I can tell you it is not an easy thing to do. :( But to watch that pony sat in a field with no affection from my daughter or being ridden then I knew that it was time to find her a home where she would be cuddled, kissed and adored by children. This was her job and she enjoys it. I still keep in contact and I remind then at every visit that I still want first refusal to buy her back. ;)
 
There are also those out there that despite their love for the horse put the horses needs first and realise that they (the owner) are not the best thing for their horse so they swallow their pain and sell :(
 
Sadly sometimes if you really do you love your horse, you have to part ways.

I cried for a week after selling my pony, it tore me up inside. But if I had kept him then I wouldn't have been a very good owner at all, it was in mine and his best interest to go our separate ways.
 
But it's also sometimes a business decsision etc, for example, I took Millie back knowing she'd be too small for me so brought her on for sale, it was hard to sell her but it was the best thing for both of us as I now have a horse I will be small enough to ride and she's in a fantastic family home
 
Sometimes, like with people, you just don't get on and horses are to expensive to keep one just for the sake of it. I sold my first horse and it was awful and I didn't really like him that much.
 
orbvalley said:
So many NR peeps are in love with their horse/s but I also read quite a few threads about buying and selling and I was wondering how the two marry up:confused: I've never owned my own horse so can only relate it to my dogs which surely can't be right:confused:
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I definately don't love any of my horses in the same way I love all 4 of my dogs. Much as I love all the horses..albeit in different ways if it came to the crunch and either the horses had to go or the dogs had to go..it would be bye bye horses without doubt.
 
Ive sold horses which I believed would have a better quality of life without me. I was proved right, each are very happy in their new homes.

Im divorced/remarried as well. I loved the ex once. How Ill never know! LOL
 
Mmh, yes dog owner too and it's not the same thing.

There's a huge commitment of time and money in a horse - it's a hell of an expensive pet if they can't do the work you want or you can't work the way they need. (Does that make sense:confused:) Having said that I recently made the decision with the boy that I loved him too much to sell and if I was too busy (career stuff:mad:) he's such a left brainer he probably would enjoy being a big pet in a field.

As it turned out I've ebayed my children and still have time for the horse!:p

Just kidding - I didn't get any bidders for the kids so I sold them down the cattle auction:p
 
i can honestly say i would die for any of my animals if i had to, i have 3 dogs and 4 horses and my love for all 7 in unconditional,

i have 3 shetties and a section A, soon to buy a 5th as im wanting to get back to riding and driving but ide sell my OH rather than any of my animals :D

although my OH loves my animals n supports me with them all if 1 had to go then bye bye dave :p we will miss you so yea skippys mum you aint a sucker its just unconditional love
 
Tre said:
i can honestly say i would die for any of my animals if i had to, i have 3 dogs and 4 horses and my love for all 7 in unconditional,

i have 3 shetties and a section A, soon to buy a 5th as im wanting to get back to riding and driving but ide sell my OH rather than any of my animals :D

although my OH loves my animals n supports me with them all if 1 had to go then bye bye dave :p we will miss you so yea skippys mum you aint a sucker its just unconditional love
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-it's not as simple as that for everyone Im afraid. Plenty of horse owners love their horses unconditionally, and it's often that 'love' that leads them to see what is best for the horse; which may be choosing to sell them to someone else. Not everyone can affored to keep 5 horses either.
 
It's also worth noting that the dog market and the horse market are completly different - Far more dogs are abandoned/bred/around even than horses, you can walk into an RSPCA centre in any part of the country and find at least a dozen needing good homes. You can't do that with a horse, whilst a few are in rescue centres or similar, they're rarely suitable for a first time owner and so you rely on other people selling in order to buy one. Hence why the horse market is like it is at the minute - Lots of people selling and not many buying!

I think of it as if I don't get along with a horse, then it's better to let them go rather than hogging them all for myself trying to make something work that isn't going to work. That horse can go on to make someone else very happy, and equally I can go on and find another horse that doesn't work with someone but does with me.
 
My OH summed this up for me after Boomer's death (his opinion, obviously not mine): dogs are part of the family-we're Mummy and Daddy-and live with you in the house, so are always present. They depend on you more for their basic welfare-food etc. Horses can live out for weeks at a time and don't show affection as readily or as obviously as a dog. I completely disagree, of course. I was Boomer's Mummy and he relied on me for feed, exercise, being turned out, being rugged up and warm and clean, plus he was super affectionate. I doubt I could ever sell unless I'd made a horrible mistake. However, as other people have said, if it came to a choice-horse or dogs, I would give up the horse. Currently, it's horse or husband and I'm not thick, I chose husband! He's one in a million: there are loads of potential horses out there.
 
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Wow, I'm really shocked how some people don't see they're horses as part of the family nor on an equal level with their dogs.

I think it would break my heart if I had to sell a horse; I would exhaust myself trying to make it work - if it didn't I think I'd put him/her into retirement or on a share/loan very close by.

x
 
When i sold my 1st pony it was the hardest decision i had to make but it was for her best intrest. I had owned her for 7 yrs and out grown her and it would have been been selfish of me to keep her as a field ornament as she was a great competitive showjumper so i sold her on to a girl to do just that. I then bought a horse for myself. I couldnt of afforded to keep both.

Ive owned several horses and sold several. I used to buy young or problem horses work on them and sell them on as great riding horses and make some money :D i got attatched to many of them but selling them on to new people ment the horse could fulfill itself as with me i wouldnt have time or money to keep and compete them all and they would be wasted!

I have one horse now who i cant ever see myself selling as she is perfect for me and i have the time and money to dedicate myself to her. I dont think i would ever sell her as she is a great broodmare prospect due to her breeding so when we are done competing thats what i will do with her and then be a pampered field ornament!
 
Iv always said this, and would never turn my back on it: I will never sell dougie, even tho if things got really tough im going to keep him forever, hes had a hard life and he deserves better, i dont want to risk selling him because of all the awful people out there :(
 
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