I called a vet whom I didn’t know in South Carolina to find a boarding barn, and they enthusiastically recommended the place I went with. I wouldn’t have heard about it otherwise. I was happy with the care my elderly pony got.
Rebecca
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While I’m not usually the summarizer in the room, I see three questions.
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How might he adjust to retirement board far from where you will be, too far to even visit?
To me, this is a no-brainer. This is only an option if answers to the other two questions are unacceptable. -
What’s the consensus on moving horses from warmish climates to coldish ones?
My, albeit limited, personal experience w/ moving horses north in the US is that footing is a bigger problem than temperature. During decades in Maine, the majority of my friends’ horses’ age-related euthanasias resulted from the seniors either struggling with ice or my friends’ worry about them struggling with ice.
My mare, 25 when I moved her from Maine to NM and 26 when we moved again to CA, never struggled in Maine’s frequent icy conditions because she was barefoot and clever. Borium traction on shoes is an option in freezing conditions, and also an expense. -
What’s the best way to trailer a senior horse?
This is the trickiest question. While a big air-ride box stall is the best option when the horse is moving from one relatively large metropolitan area to another, even the best companies can take long detours to pick up and drop other clients’ horses and your horse is unlikely to get off the truck. Some horses, especially if they don’t trailer regularly, don’t really rest, even when the truck takes its mandatory every-24-hour stop for four hours. I’ve also known horses to get stuck at a one of the big shipping hubs for longer than promised. It all worked out, but made for a week of owner-anxiety.
Other shippers, and I know of at least one that’s also DOT certified and insured, use box stalls and stop every night to unload the horses. This method, again depending on the horse, allows for some real rest – they often lie down and do their best drinking overnight. The obvious downside to this is that stopping every night can mean exposure to other horses for however many times the shipper needs to layover. Some companies do concierge trips. Your horse would be the only one on the truck and his needs would be catered to 100 percent.
Unless you get confirmation of the route, and the big wheels are not always forthcoming with that information, it might be hard to make this call.
If you can take the time to settle these and what ever other questions you have, vets, the new location’s boarding stables, etc., I say take him. From the outside, leaving him behind is by far the saddest and probably unnecessary.
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Definitely depends on the vet. Vet techs can be chatty, though. 
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in my experience extreme heat and bugs are far harder on the old guys than extreme winter - we get both here in Manitoba. Use a good professional shipper with a box stall, climate control and air ride suspension and he’ll travel fine.
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Don’t forget to account for climate change. The last major snow we had was pre-pandemic 
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Thank you for the replies thus far everyone! I would absolutely invest in shipping him air ride in a box stall. Cost is really not a limitation when it comes to this horse. He is definitely family, and he is treated as such. In regard to where I might be moving—I cannot say for sure. I am able to offer input on locations but where I ultimately end up is not up to me. I, unfortunately, will not know where this will be until later this year.
Part of why he needs to move regardless is that currently I am spending 4-5 hours a day taking care of him. As @WNT pointed out, he doesn’t eat hay. He has teeth, and the dentist says they are fine, but the horse says otherwise. Even with chopped hay, he won’t finish it all. I personally go out in the afternoon to give him timothy cubes and in the evening to give him alfalfa cubes. I don’t trust where he is to make sure the cubes are adequately soaked before giving it to him. I won’t be able to do that daily come summer, which is partially why he needs to be at a more senior appropriate facility.
It seems like my most likely location, aside from where I am now, might be Boston. I really, really worry about how he would do on ice. He is extremely mobile now. I ride him almost daily. He gets up and lays down easily. It is good to hear that there are specific shoes that help with ice. If anyone has insight about potential places there, let me know. Like I said, cost isn’t much of an issue when it comes to this horse. He is family. Again, I don’t know what will happen or how things will shake out. I’m trying to be proactive and predict the future a bit.
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When I moved from PA to CA, I left my retired mare behind. I’m not sure that this would have been possible had I not known and loved the absolutely wonderful barn owner where she stayed. I had already been boarding there for several years, and knew that I would not have to stress about her care from the other side of the country.
I think that she would have been okay with the shipping, but in the end I just could not imagine taking her from a beautiful 10 acre pasture with her friends in PA to live in a dry lot in CA. Anything resembling real “pasture” in CA would be several hours from where I was living, and seasonably green at best.
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My fields really ice up in the early spring. My horse now has shoes so he’ll have cleats in for the ice. But when he wasn’t shod, I had hoof boots with cleats that he’d wear during icy times, and he did well. All the horses that have come through my place quickly learn to walk slowly and carefully on ice (even the crazy TB). I’ve also learned that dirty shavings are great traction so stalls get mucked out onto icy patches.
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Aww. Take your baby with you! You are his momma. If you can find good care at your new location, I wouldn’t hesitate to move him. My boy is turning 29 this month and I would do whatever I could to move him with me. That being said I think he’d struggle with moving to a hotter climate. The heat is hard on him. I’d choose the appropriate time of year to move him based on that. Age is not a reason to leave him behind. His health is the only reason - if he couldn’t make the move, but it sounds like that isn’t the situation. I feel like given your bond, he needs to be with you. The flip side is that leaving him behind might actually be harder on him than the move.
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The Boston area is really expensive, but there are some good options within a hour of the city, depending on what you want. 24/7 turnout is harder unless you get lucky, or go a little further out. If not 24/7, know what your horse’s absolute minimum turnout time is, and be sure the barn can accommodate that. Many that say “all day turnout” are more like 6 to 7 hours.
Ice is an issue, but there are shoeing and booting options that help. The summers are a bit warm and definitely buggy. Fly gear is essential.
If you are coming to Boston, figure out where you will be living, and work from there. E.g. I live 25 miles north of Boston, so South Shore or South Coast boarding would be a long drive – but usually less expensive.
My 25 YO retired mare is doing great about half an hour away from me, with 24/7 turnout in a dry lot and some grass in the summer. Very low 4 figures per month, but would be a bit more expensive if she could not eat hay (though the cost of hay would be deducted from board). This is a very nice private barn, but it only has 3 boarding spots and is full with a waitlist. I had the option to bring her home if I was willing to sink some money into facilities, and sometimes regret not doing so, even though she’s in a good place now.
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I live and board south of Boston, we have a few places down here that offer 24/7 turnout, with stalls as needed for bad weather. Our horses who are shod get snow shoes for the winter, the barefoot horses figure out how to carefully handle the ice. Most barns I know will throw down sand/shavings/something if there is a really bad ice storm. We have a a retiree at my barn who can no longer eat hay, so he’s on 4 soaked feedings a day. We have a wait list. If you do end up in Boston I recommend finding a barn early as a lot in the area do have wait lists, especially the smaller, non-show barns with good care.
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@quietann @TooManyTBs Thank you for the insight. I pay close to $2000 a month now, so NE boarding costs don’t faze me. I won’t know until Spring, and I would be moving shortly after. I could leave him behind temporarily, but it does sound like it will be a bit of a challenge finding a place for him if that is where I end up going. I will have to reach out to you both for recommendations once I know for sure where I am ending up.
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Ok, great! Biggest issue here with boarding close to the city is land costs.
I know some young adults who left senior horses at retirement farms near their homes as they moved on to pursue careers. The horses did just fine. However, they were in places equipped to care for their retirement and older horse needs. Your current place is not, so I would try to move him with you so you can be on top of his transition and care. Cold and ice with the ringbone may take some managing as far as mobility and safety, but there are options.
I shipped one across the country, same age!
Box stall, Hubbard, great drivers. They looked after my horse really well because they were worried about his age.
Vet oiled the horse and gave antibiotics. He arrived tired, but ok.
Take him and get a good shipper. No stopping and swapping to another shipper!
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