Seeking some advice regarding cost of horse ownership

[nac0889]

Hello,

I am unsure if this the correct sub-forum to post in, but here goes nothing…

I have owned my Arabian gelding for four years now. I got him in my last year of college as a graduation present. At the time, he was residing in Illinois. Due to personal reasons, I decided to move to NYC February of last year. I was determined to bring my guy from Illinois to a boarding barn in the tri-state area. However, boarding out here proved to be much more costly than what I was used to. I used to pay $500 for stall board in Illinois. Now, I keep him three hours away from me in Connecticut, where it costs $600 a month. My dad fortunately lives out there, so I am able to go home and see my horse once a week. Places closer to NYC cost anywhere from $1,200 to $2,500 a month.

Due to his lack of exercise, he has put on an unhealthy amount of weight. The vet ordered for his food intake to be cut down and be exercised 5 times a week. I now pay the barn manager an extra $200 a month to ride him 3 times a week. Including train transportation, I pay a total of $1,000 per month.

I am looking into graduate school options abroad and shipping him overseas would be astronomical in price. I’ve always been a firm believer in once you take on the responsibility of a horse that you love, you keep him/her for life. I had my old QH for 14 years, and I had to put him down last year at 26 y.o. I’ve oscillated between leasing my Arabian out or just biting the bullet and selling him. The current arrangement is not exactly working for himself or me. I was hoping someone could please give me some advice of what you think I should do.

Thank you.

[Sansena]

There are riding school programs that will offer for-use lease in exchange for free board. NCMT here in New Canaan CT used to do that and still may. Also, look into Pegasus. Just honestly represent your horse and you may find a perfect fit.

Obviously , I’m for the lease-out option. I prefer a well-run facility to an individual leaser situation for many reasons. How long will you be in grad school?

[nac0889]

Hi Sansena,

Thanks for the quick reply! I will be in grad school for two years. I am going to look into the for-use lease as a possibility. My only concern is my guy isn’t a suitable hunter jumper. However, he does love having a consistent job. Thank you very much.

[Revolver]

Is the biggest thing holding you back from selling a sense of obligation to him? Or is he the right horse for you just wrong time? If you think you will regret selling him because he is perfect for you, then I’d be in the lease-out camp. If it’s just because you feel like you have to keep him FOREVERRRRRRR because “that’s what good people do”, then I suggest selling him. Forever homes are ideal but not always realistic; horses are way too expensive unfortunately to keep out of obligation, and I think finding him the best home possible might be kinder than to have you start to resent being responsible for him.

[nac0889]

Hi Revolver,

Thanks for your response. That’s a legitimate question. I don’t think we are the best match rider/horse-wise in terms of respective abilities. He gets a little hot sometimes, and I don’t think I do the best job reeling him back in. However, I do feel a strong connection to him that my older horse failed to provide me. At times, I do feel that I keep him out of obligation because only I can control the care that he receives. It makes me quite distraught to imagine him with someone else and not knowing what will happen to him. To be completely honest, I have not known many honest horse people, so it’s made me pretty guarded when comes to trusting others.

Thanks.

[Revolver]

I definitely understand. I just sold a horse that I love but isn’t right for me, and has enough quirks that I was incredibly worried about where he’d land and how he’d be treated. Thankfully I found a GREAT home for him with an owner that seems like a super match and she keeps me up to date through Facebook.

Unfortunately a lease doesn’t offer much more protection for his care than a sale, especially if it’s an off-farm lease and even more so if a free lease. Best of luck with your decision, it is not an easy one.

[kdow]

Maybe it would help to actually put his value down on paper (for yourself) in terms of what you’d tell someone if you were trying to lease or sell him? If he has something going for him in terms of personality or talents, even if he does need the right rider/living situation (like wanting to have a job rather than just hanging out on pasture board all day) then as long as his needs aren’t extreme, it may make you see “oh, he probably does have a decent chance of selling to a good home” or “you know, I think I’d feel better leasing, he is a bit quirky and then I can keep an eye on things…”

I don’t think you need to keep every horse for the horse’s life - I think it depends a lot on the horse and what kind of landing they’re likely to have, and why you’re selling. Selling your old show horse because it’s really time it retired to a quiet pasture and you don’t want to foot the bill because it’ll mean you need to cut back on luxuries with the next one? Not cool. Selling because a marketable horse isn’t the best fit for you or it isn’t the right time in your life to have a horse? Not the end of the world if you do a reasonable job of looking for a good home before you sell. (Running through a low end auction in crummy condition? Does not count as looking for a good home. Nor does posting it free on craigslist.)

You can also talk to people in your area about this and see if anyone has ideas - sometimes word of mouth works wonders in getting the right horse and rider pair together and then it makes things easier than if you’re faced with having to sift through responses to ads on dream horse or what have you.

[poltroon]

I don’t think you should feel guilty about selling him. If you keep him, you will be an absentee owner due to the circumstances of your life. If you sell him, you may find the perfect person to love on him and care for him on a daily basis.

If no one ever sold a horse, how would you be able to buy one?

Be picky about where he goes, and you can tell the buyer you’ll take him back if it doesn’t work out. And good luck to you both.

[Kwill]

Selling your old show horse because it’s really time it retired to a quiet pasture and you don’t want to foot the bill because it’ll mean you need to cut back on luxuries with the next one?

Why is this wrong in every circumstance? A boarder at my barn has owned an aged ex-show horse for years now who was sold as a retiree. He has a good home, owner has a new show horse that was sold because of an injury which she rehabbed, horse is competitive again.

There can be happy endings in selling horses, even in difficult circumstances.

I suggest you sell responsibly and ask for first right of refusal, as others have said.

[RockinHorse]

@poltroon;8157218

If no one ever sold a horse, how would you be able to buy one?

^ This!

[IronwoodFarm]

Possibly the best thing you can do for this horse is find him an owner who is a better fit for his needs. I would not look at it as a negative for you or the horse.

[SMF11]

Sell or lease, you might list him on the New York/Upper Connecticut Pony Club email list. (It’s on Yahoogroups.com – you have to sign up, but it is free (NYUCRegion@yahoogroups.com). I leased my horse through the group (and had several really great homes) and my trainer has placed horses after listing them.

[kdow]

[QUOTE=Kwill;8157384]
Why is this wrong in every circumstance? A boarder at my barn has owned an aged ex-show horse for years now who was sold as a retiree. He has a good home, owner has a new show horse that was sold because of an injury which she rehabbed, horse is competitive again.

There can be happy endings in selling horses, even in difficult circumstances.

I suggest you sell responsibly and ask for first right of refusal, as others have said.[/QUOTE]

I’m talking about the folks who want to be able to basically ‘use up’ a horse and then dump it, even though they can quite sensibly afford to pay for basic retirement board somewhere decent. If the horse is actually still marketable as a retiree for some reason - maybe it only needs to retire from the upper levels, not retire entirely - then selling it on to a home that is appropriate is not a problem. Likewise, if you happen upon someone who is willing to take your pasture-pet retiree as a companion for a horse they own, that’s worked out well for you.

But selling as a way of getting rid of a horse with limited value because you’ve benefited from all the value the horse had is pretty scummy in my book. It’s far too easy for horses with no value (pasture sound only, etc.) to fall through the cracks and right of first refusal is not really the greatest safety mechanism because it’s not always that enforceable and only works if you find out the horse was or is going to be sold on, if you aren’t informed. With the market as it is, the number of horses who will end up in good situations is just not that high - no one should be counting on that as a reliable retirement option for a horse that needs full retirement.

I don’t think people should be dumping horses and assuming someone will want their cast offs no matter what and clean up after them - if that means you have to cut back on luxuries while you show for retirement board because you’re only prepared to spend so much on equestrian stuff, well, having to clean your own tack now and then or stay at a not quite as nice hotel is probably not going to kill you or ruin your chances of being competitive. When you have money the way some people competitive at high levels do, I have pretty limited sympathy for a failure to allow for retirement board when the horse who has taken you around all the big shows is done with being ridden.

[Appsolute]

Well, I am not a staunch believer in the “forever home” thing -like you, I board, in expensive areas, and “forever” just isn’t always feasible - I know there have been times in my life when it would have been financially IMPOSSIBLE to keep a horse - the time right after I graduated college was the #1 time that owning a horse would have been a no go.

Personally, from what you have said here, I would recommend selling him. This sounds sh!tty - but it was a godsend that my horse had a freak accident and had to be put down when I was a Jr. in college.

I wouldn’t have been able to afford a horse those first years out of school -no way, no how. Not to mention being tied down by a horse would have meant I didn’t have the mobility I did - to take jobs in new areas etc - a horse would have been a serious burden, and would have limited my opportunities.

If he is sound and healthy - sell him to someone who has time for him - keeping him when you don’t have time for him isn’t fair to him, and its not fair to you.

Don’t limit your opportunities in life for a horse. Perhaps that,s cold to say, but its a rational way to deal with it.

[Kwill]

I actually don’t know of any of those people, I am happy to say – but then I don’t show or anything, and the people I board with have modest incomes.

I should specify the “retiree” I spoke of is still ridden 3-4 days a week by his new owner, he just doesn’t compete at high levels any more. He’s 22 this year. So that wasn’t even a case in point for your example.

Anyway, there are happy endings and good homes for all kinds of horses. There are also nightmare stories, certainly, so it’s best to do your due diligence and use common sense when selling.

Edit: Appsolute is correct, don’t tie yourself down because you feel guilty about selling a horse that doesn’t fit your lifestyle right now.

[WildandWickedWarmblo]

It costs $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ to own a horse. Farrier, vet, feed, hay, everything costs a lot. If you board, it costs even more.
So be prepared to pay out a lot of money. Lots more than with a dog or cat. Vet expenses at a vet hospital or vet school can be very expensive. So insure your horse if you can. It’s like having a child, expense wise.

Is it worth it? Oh heck yes! Worth every dollar.

[joiedevie99]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with selling a horse who can be useful to someone else. I personally only apply the “forever” mentality to horses that don’t have any useful skills left - i.e. they aren’t sound enough to do their jobs, quiet enough to be teachers, or needed somewhere as companions.

List him honestly, and find him a new owner whose goals he is capable of fulfilling given his current training/soudness/age/temperament and everyone will end up better off.

[Kwill]

[QUOTE=WildandWickedWarmbloods;8158327]
It costs $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ to own a horse. Farrier, vet, feed, hay, everything costs a lot. If you board, it costs even more.
So be prepared to pay out a lot of money. Lots more than with a dog or cat. Vet expenses at a vet hospital or vet school can be very expensive. So insure your horse if you can. It’s like having a child, expense wise.

Is it worth it? Oh heck yes! Worth every dollar.[/QUOTE]

She wants to sell, not buy.

[kdow]

[QUOTE=joiedevie99;8158331]
There is absolutely nothing wrong with selling a horse who can be useful to someone else. I personally only apply the “forever” mentality to horses that don’t have any useful skills left - i.e. they aren’t sound enough to do their jobs, quiet enough to be teachers, or needed somewhere as companions.

List him honestly, and find him a new owner whose goals he is capable of fulfilling given his current training/soudness/age/temperament and everyone will end up better off.[/QUOTE]

This, exactly.

If you have a horse that really isn’t marketable at all, then either you have to suck it up and pay to keep it until the end, or you make the hard decision to have the end come a little sooner, depending on your situation. (I am one of those pragmatic types who would rather a horse have a great week and then a peaceful end than a miserable spiral into a bad situation because no one can afford proper upkeep, etc. Quantity of life isn’t everything.) But if you have a horse that has a good chance at finding a home, and it just isn’t the right horse/time/situation for you? Go ahead and look for a new home. Just make sure you leave yourself time to check people out so you don’t feel rushed into taking the first offer you get.

(To be clear - in this situation it does not sound like euthanasia would be appropriate at all. The horse sounds like it is in good health and likely to find a good quality new owner. However, if it were a 28 year old pasture sound only retiree, and there was concern about being able to keep up the cost of care when going off to grad school or the like, then I would not consider someone the worst person in the world for having humane euthanasia on the list of things to consider.)

[CHT]

How old is your horse?

I would consider offering him for sale or lease. I would worry about a lease if you are planning to go overseas though, unless you have someone who will be local to keep an eye on him and intervene if needed.