I don't understand "retirement" farms...

[cgray0983]

My horse is on semi-retirement/rehab. In California turnout and prices make it hard to keep boarding at training/show facilities if you dont own your own place. (When I lived in New Hampshire that was a different story, the old guys stayed with us until the end - but we had our own land and acres of turnout).

My guy can go out to pasture 8hrs a day and come in at night. With my busy work schedule I am still able to make the 30 minute drive to see him every other day to give him love and pick his feet. He is in no way abandoned - and if he makes a recovery from his injury it is a great place for that - if not, well it will be his forever home. A lot of people in California do it - more out of necessity for land and price.

My guy frolicking in link below in his new found freedom as a semi-retiree.

[onthebit]

I thought I would post this video of two horses who are clearly unhappy in retirement and upset that they are not seeing their owners on a regular basis (that was typed with sarcasm!). At about 30 seconds you can see a nice hack class and at about 2:52 you can see a good gallop. I see scenes like this every day, carefree horses having fun. I also see lots of grazing and napping. With a proper transition I have yet to meet any horse that does not enjoy retirement. There ARE retirement facilities out there where the horses receive excellent care on a daily basis.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cLKi2g_mDg (sorry the color is not great, the sun was setting and my camera wasn’t happy with so little light)

[WorthTheWait95]

[QUOTE=onthebit;4547490]
I thought I would post this video of two horses who are clearly unhappy in retirement and upset that they are not seeing their owners on a regular basis (that was typed with sarcasm!). At about 30 seconds you can see a nice hack class and at about 2:52 you can see a good gallop. I see scenes like this every day, carefree horses having fun. I also see lots of grazing and napping. With a proper transition I have yet to meet any horse that does not enjoy retirement. There ARE retirement facilities out there where the horses receive excellent care on a daily basis.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cLKi2g_mDg (sorry the color is not great, the sun was setting and my camera wasn’t happy with so little light)[/QUOTE]

Those horses are clearly severely neglected and pining for their owners. Why are you so heartless?!

[BuddyRoo]

Honestly…if there were a way for me to delete a post, I would. I was not nearly clear enough w/ my original post and many haven’t read the whole thread, so it seems people think that I’m attacking. I’m not. This post is OLD and was a spin off of somethnig else but not an attack on those whose horses are happily in retirement somewhere.

[bizbachfan]

buddyroo good post gone off the tracks, not your fault at all

[NYCGIRL]

I sent my horse to a retirement farm down south for many reason. One being that he was career ending injury and was only 10. I did not want to give him away too good of a horse and who knows what would happen to him. He had spent as long as I had him all his winters in fl and did not want to keep him north all winter, not to mention it is about 3,500 a month to bored where I keep my horses. I found a great place and new many other people who had sent horse to the same place with no complaints. Also, at my barn horses don’t turn out all day and in the winter when it snows and when it is to wet out they don’t turn out at all. This works for my showing horses but I want my retired one to be a horse and at the place he is at now he can live out all year and only has to come in when there is bad weather. So yes it is sad that I don’t get to see him but I get pictures frequently. So ultimately i did what I feel was right for my horse.

[philosoraptor]

@BuddyRoo;4389067

I’m not in a position to need this right now, so this is purely a knowledge seeking endeavor…

I don’t get “retirement farms”.

.

It’s a way to keep your horse cared for and happy.

I believe it serves two purposes:

One, it’s alot more affordable. Many people board. Would you be able to pay $500/month or more for the next 10 years while the horse enjoyed his retirement years? And if you have several horses who need retired, it may be impossible, even for the pretty well off horse owner. The alternative is either to give the horse away and wonder whatever happened to him… or euthanize him even know he’s not suffering. Because the retirement farm is often in more rural areas and doesn’t have the fancy indoor, boarding prices are usually much cheaper.

It also serves the purpose of being a specialized barn. They don’t have areas or an fancy indoor usually. But they should have people really experienced in dealing with older horses. They should have ideal feed for seniors and special needs animals. They might have experience with joint supplements, pain management, older-horse dental care, and other issues relating to the older horse. And hopefully if their barn is full of old fogeys, their vet & farrier should be well versed in the special needs of the older horse.

[Oldenburg_Mom]

@BuddyRoo;4547608

Honestly…if there were a way for me to delete a post, I would.

Oh, please, don’t say that. I think a lot of good has come out of this thread! Personally, it made me really think about the horses I have retired … I mean really consider what I am doing.

Anything that makes us stop, and really reflect on our behavior or choices … well, that can’t possibly be a bad thing.

Well done, BuddyRoo. Very well done.

[Bighazz]

I look at this from 2 different perspectives. First as a horse owner with a horse currently on a retirement farm. Second as a licensed Veterinary Technician.

As an owner, we first started looking for a retirement farm for my mother’s Tennessee Walker about 10 years ago. He was diagnosed with EPM was stage 3 neurologic deficit. After successful treatment of the disease he gained some of his neurologic function back but was no longer able to be ridden. It was recommended during treatment that we find a stable with more level pasture. Unfortunately all the reasonably priced stables around us are riddled with steep hills. We lucked out and found the Selby Horse retirement farm about 2 hours away from us. This was a way for him to live out the rest of his days in comfort and he lived to be 33 years old.

As a vet tech, this allows a way for people to affordably care for their older/special needs horse. When you have someone whom you can trust to take care of your horses, the distance is not a factor. Do I get to see my every weekend? No. I would love to have him here with me but at 26 years old, he deserves the retirement farm he’s on.

And Doug if you read this, thanks so much for for the care you have given our boys!

[snowrider]

Most competition barns have limited turnout, especially on the West Coast. So everyone sends youngsters and retirees away to live out on pasture. They are happier and healthier. Yes, things can happen but things can happen anywhere and most horses do fine at the retirement facilities for years. My friends GP barn retires all their horses to a huge cattle ranch that their farriers family owns. They get to basically be totally feral except for daily checks, foot trims and feeding. They have a system for introducing them to pasture and being part of a herd and the horses love it, only one horse came back as he couldn’t adapt in the 20 years they’ve been sending horses there.