Hello everyone,
I want to thank each of you for taking the time to respond to my post. A couple of things to clarify, my horse is completely sound and has a nice temperament. However, he does have a minor case of COPD, which at this point in time is only seasonal. He will be turning 15 next week.
Because I am so emotionally attached to him, it has limited my ability to commit to the possibility of other alternatives for him. I used to have him partially leased out on the property in Illinois. That boarder took full liberties with him and did not care about overworking/over-jumping him. He’s only 14.3 hands, and they had him repeatedly going over 4 foot fences, no tendon boots or special measures taken. My reservations of having others ride him/care for him are based on personal experience and have made me very cautious to even put my full trust in the barn manager of where he is currently living.
I agree with some of the posters that said that the right thing to do is to give an older horse a comfortable retirement, especially after that horse gave its best years to you. I believe that my horse would easily make someone else very happy to have him as he’s such a lovable boy and truly tries his hardest to please you. With that said, he has many more years to do that for someone else. I really wish that I could be that person. I’m lucky to know him. Sorry, this is getting emotional for me.
Again, thank you for the invaluable insight of this great community, and I think that I know what I need to do.
