I’m just about priced out and I keep mine at home. I just spent $12,000 on vet bills. I am very thankful I have wonderful vets (several of them) and this is NOT a “price complaint” re: vet care. I stay awake nights waiting for the next shoe to drop. I have two older ones and a 12 yo with issues. We all know what options I have and I don’t want to think about that until forced to.
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Ok, but if the standard of horse ownership is, “you must be able to absorb the cost of whatever happens, no matter the expense,” then we are going to be left with no horses because only the ultra wealthy will be able to afford that expectation.
We need better options for horses of limited use.
I boarded at a barn where I saw a lot of what I considered to be “convenience euthanasia.” I found it disgusting. But I think that is far less common than the problem the majority of horse owners face where they have a horse who can’t be ridden regularly yet they have no good options for the animal. They can give the horse away or sell it very cheaply, but if it ends up in bad hands, they will be chastised plus have to deal with that guilt. They can find an affordable retirement board situation, but let’s face it, that’s an oxymoron. Unless you are paying for the knowledgeable care retirees require, you are probably going to find the horse emaciated and the world blaming you for it. Even if you are willing to pay premium boarding prices, we are losing access to boarding barns at a rapid rate. So what do you do? Continue hemorrhaging money into a pet that may live for 30 or more years? Above you compared the situation to cats and dogs, but it’s not the same.
I agree we shouldn’t just euthanize horses willy nilly because they aren’t working for one person’s riding goals. But the more common situation is people end up with horses who can’t be ridden period and it’s getting too expensive to keep them.
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Trying to figure out where I said that?
My horse was euthanized instead of me getting her colic surgery, because I couldn’t even remotely afford the cost of getting her through that. However after her suspensory I was prepared to keep her around, unrideable as she was, as long as I could afford to, because when I bought her I took on the responsibility of her life. I think we fundamentally agree lol I’m not talking about euthanizing due to being unable to afford medical care. I’m talking about people who apparently want to normalize putting a horse down who you can’t ride.
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Again I will state my unpopular opinion of - if your horse is crippled by a meandering 30 minute ride, they’re in more pain on a daily basis than you realize.
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That’s just simply not accurate lol there are lots of situations where horses can be fine in a pasture but can’t hold up to the daily wear and tear of riding…. Like do you think I should’ve put my mare down after her 6 month checkup where her tiny tiny tear in her high suspensory hadn’t quite healed yet?
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Thanks for clarifying. No, you didn’t say that’s outright, but that’s how I was interpreting your words.
I think I was interpreting it that way because every common anecdote someone shares, you push back with the idea that people want to euthanize horses strictly because of riding goals. Even when @CHT clarified, that’s not how I interpreted what was said.
I feel like most of the posters, including CHT, are talking about how expensive it becomes to maintain a horse with issues who can’t hold any job whatsoever. Those are the horses that hold people back.
I agree we fundamentally see this the same way.
I am really sorry about your horse. Such an awful way to lose a horse.
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Bringing back the post and bolding the part that I’m disagreeing with strongly. I don’t think we need to normalize this. Horses are living beings and they didn’t ask to “have a job” or be employed by humans. Most of us are in this sport because we have the opportunity to form a unique relationship with an amazing animal. If that’s not why you’re in it, maybe another sport that doesn’t involve a living animal would be better. Or, just lease or take lessons!
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my daughter had a horse slide to the ground with her trapping her right foot which broke nearly every bone in the right foot. The first hospital said amputation, hearing that we took her away from that place to a pediatric specialty hospital that had on staff a orthopedic foot specialist who saved her foot
When she was ready to ride again I made a deal with her very special horse that if he would take care of her I would take care of him, he did his job very well so I tried my best to take care of him
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Thanks for saying this! This is me, exactly. I just raised my board 50$. NO kickback whatsoever. however, it’s not enough. Then the other night I helped 2 customers with their rides, for free. I really get satisfaction doing that, however it puts me behind getting my chores done. everyone just left for the evening without offering to reciprocate the time I had spent helping. It left me feeling, what’s the point, if nobody values MY time?
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The problem with this line of thinking is that this horse came into existence to be “employed” by humans. If horses did not have a purpose then they would not exist. Breeders would cease breeding. Why do you think draft horses are not more common? They have limited purpose for riding which is what most horses are used for these days. Granted, horses are a status symbol to some and maybe they will eventually find themselves on the exotic animal list.
No, my horse doesn’t give her life to me. I am the one giving part of my life to her. I’m the one who works, saves, and stresses over her needs and comforts. My horse would be the first to toss me for the bear to eat while she runs off! Her allegiance will be to whomever brings the food. This isn’t Black Beauty folks. My mare never wants for food - clean, good quality hay. She has the luxury of pasture turn out. A large paddock. Shelter from elements. Ample fresh water always available. More new shoes in her lifetime than I can dream of. At minimum, twice yearly vet visits. Regular deworming and fecal counts. An owner who turns herself inside out trying minimize the sensitive mare’s discomfort during fly season (try doing that next to a herd of cows). Expensive training with someone who knows what they’re doing. Well fitted tack and gear. The multiple jobs said owner takes in order to maintain Miss Maresy. In exchange, she’s asked to cruise through the forest carrying my butt for few hours a week. She’s most definitely not giving her life to me. And no, she would not survive in the wild. That’s not on me; try more recent breeding practices that tend to deny the " no foot, no horse".
Yes, all this investment does create an emotional attachment to my mare. However, I also know the resources are not endless. There has to be some reciprocity in this relationship. What that is can be very nuanced especially when circumstances can vary so widely.
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That’s a really sad and unfortunate way to look at a relationship with an animal that you went out of your way to obtain. I don’t agree with that stance at all.
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Not surprisingly, I don’t find it sad at all. I’m not fooling myself or trying to convince anyone of how noble I am for not euthanizing…
I’ve seen way too many times owners running themselves, their families into huge debt and upset trying to keep retirees going. Or more commonly, owners prolonging, for years, suffering animals because he’s bright and eats. All the while congratulating themselves on how wonderful they are. So, by keeping the horse going they feel as if they are earning brownie points for funding the retirement. I’ll skip on that type of transaction. I’ll own what I do, not fool myself into thinking I’m on moral high ground.
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A very large majority of the things you list here are bare minimum care requirements for a horse lol. You’re not owed anything just for taking correct care of the animal that again YOU went out of your way to acquire.
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I’m not sure about that. I have a gelding who shattered the mediocarpal bone of his left knee. A few years later, the vet hospital called to ask if I would be interested in having them use him in a drug trial, so I brought him in for an evaluation. The vet had never attended to this horse, and having only seen the xrays, was fairly astonished at how sound he was moving. He in fact was not lame enough to qualify for the trial, and they advised me to go home and ride him (this is a well-respected sports/lameness vet). However, I’d had that thought in the past when he was going almost perfectly on the lunge, but pulled him up after about five trot steps because he was abjectly lame under the weight of a rider.
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I am not sure why people have to be ‘priced out.’ There is soooooo much education available online. There is a lot things horse related that will improve anyone as a rider or horseman. And that can only lead to a greater access to horses and riding.
This is exactly why I go to my barn as often as I can to help do chores. I KNOW that I have an amazing deal at my barn, even with last year’s raise of $100 a month. So most Saturdays and Sundays I’m there at 8 AM to help pick paddocks and clean stalls. On days that I ride after work (teaching), if I don’t have to get right home, I help with the evening chores. When my barn owner has an appointment, goes to a show, or takes an extremely rare day of vacation, I am the first to volunteer to cover chores. I feel so blessed to have my horse at this barn, and I show my appreciation. If and when I have to look for somewhere else to be I probably will be priced out of the hobby.
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I have my own farm, am a farrier and a vet tech, I used to breed and buy and sell but have stopped and as my old horses pass on they will not be replaced, my last youngster is 5. The cost to keep them has gone up astronomically even with my advantages, the cost and paper work hoops to show even at the local level has sucked the fun out of it, and the gas to just trailer out to go trail riding is scary. I find every time I find a way to economise something else goes up and absorbs the savings. So I intend to gracefully fade out of the horse world as me and the horses age out.
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Horses are considerably more expensive than dogs or cats — particularly if you can’t keep them at home. Also — please consider — that one’s “riding goals” may just be riding at all if your horses are no longer rideable, and that financial situations can change over the 20+ years that a horse typically lives.
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I think that will go right over the heads of those that have not really given all of this a deep thought yet, that have lived in kind of sheltered situations, reality restricted to being inflexible working.
Life is not like that, not for long, has a way to teach us to be a little more kind to others in situations where the best is still … imperfect.
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I’m afraid it will:(
I was a die hard trail rider until I couldn’t ride anymore so my most serious goals were to not go off one of my horses while swimming across a river.
I am down to my last two horses ages 27 & almost 29. They cost me more in today’s world than all four of mine did ten years ago.
In 2019 ACTH for one horse was $74. Last week it was $114. That includes some form of express mail to get the blood sample to the university, in a timely fashion, for interpretation.
I am thankful my horses are home - as has already been commented, $700 is the new $500 boarding fee in many areas. In my area $450 for full care + turnout is the new $350. I’m retired, I could not afford $900/month board for two horses, but I understand why the good facilities have to increase rates — everything has gone up — cost of ingredients for feed & supplements, cost of baling twine, cost of fertilizer, on and on and on.
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