To sell or not to sell

[Cfrk]

Recently at a loss for words on what to do. If anyone has input or suggestions I would really appreciate it. Thank you

SHORT VERSION: should I sell my heart horse who has been mystery lame and not ridden by me for two years, and buy new dressage horse who has been letting me progress as I want to.

a couple years ago I was leasing a horse who I had ended up buying. She was doing jumping and that’s what I was interested in at the time. Two years later she was having lameness issues and I haven’t been able to ride her since. Tens of thousands of dollars spent on taking her up to hospitals, injections, lameness tests you name it. We’ve had maybe a couple months of riding between this but it always comes back to her trying to throw me off at the canter. Our new trainer said she was tracking up at the trot and looked good but was still really unbalanced at the canter despite the muscle she had etc. I was starting to think maybe mentally she thought it was going to hurt or that she was undisciplined. I’ve never fallen off even through her biggest bucks and habits and I’ve always ridden her through it but something tells me that she’s not happy anymore and neither am I. I dread going to the barn and working with her. I used to have a great bond with her and everything has kind of broken down these past two years. I rode a trainers horse the other day who happens to be for sale. I fell in love immediately and he is sound, low maintenance and a superb dressage horse. but the only thing is that I’m only comfortable with owning one horse. So should I try to keep working with my current horse or should I sell her as a pasture pet and move forward with my career? I don’t want to feel like I’m giving up on her as she’s only ten but I’ve been stuck in my own progress and I feel like I could go much further with this new horse. I feel like I’m answering my own question but my trainer says that she looked good and I just need to be consistent with her work but that hasn’t worked in the past. I wish I could be more optimistic but we’ve spent over 20k on just trying to figure out what’s with her in the past two years and I’d like to be happy going out to the barn again. Me Andy horse have a really strong bond together and we love each other a lot which is why I think it’s hard for me to let her go.

[Justice_for_Horses]

Your chances of selling a horse with canter problems are slim.

Surely, with 20k worth of vet diagnostics there must have been something found. What tests were done? Did you get a nuclear scintigraphy? How about xray of the neck and back and stifle. What did you inject and where?

Has the mare been out of work for two years or just not ridden by you?

[DancingArabian]

Let’s be frank. What do you think is going to happen to a lame horse out in the real world? No one is going to tell you to sell her. Once she is sold, nothing ensures that she will get the care whatever her condition is needs. This is your “heart horse” but you’re willing to just cross your fingers she doesn’t end up in a kill pen?

After spending $20k, you need to have some answers. If she’s trying to throw you off at the canter, have you changed tack? Consulted a saddle fitter? Tried different saddles? Tried bare back? After spending that much money if the vet can’t find a single thing medically then it’s a training issue. In which case, what has the trainer tried? If she hasn’t been ridden in 2 years, she’s also going to be out of shape and might be a little sassy from not having been worked.

[Scribbler]

What did the horse move like as a jumper?

I say this because there are different ways to jump.

You can school a horse to lengthen and shorten stride, count strides, and go around a course with balance and self carriage.

Or you can take a green horse and start yahooing over jumps, letting speed do the job of balance.

Or you can slow the horse down so it is pushing up off the forehand at the jump.

These last 2 are obviously recipes for all kinds of soundness and behavior issues later on.

Also if horse had been out of work for two years she won’t be balanced at the canter under saddle. She’s out of shape.

But the good news is, canter is not that important in the first stages of dressage. So don’t canter. School walk trot in the basics, including starting lateral work in hand and at the walk, flexions, stretching to the bit. Balanced trot circles, voltes, etc. If you don’t know how to do these find a good dressage cosch to help you restart horse.

I am guessing from what you’ve described that the horse is substantially sound and you are dealing with longer lasting behavior and training issues. I agree, horse is not saleable as is. You might be able to give away to a problem solving trainer but don’t count on it. There isn’t much of a market for ruined horses.

Or send her away to a good kind trainer for a couple of months. It will cost. But much less than you’ve spent on vet bills.

[ladyj79]

Who will buy a lame horse? Maybe you can give her away, but I doubt you can sell her for more than meat price.

[CHT]

My WB gelding cost me $$ and years to diagnose and has similar issues. Eventually found he had broken his neck and as it calcified over time, it started to rub on his spinal cord, causing difficult to pinpoint hind end lameness and behavioural issues. I have a barn, so it isn’t costing me a tonne to retire him, but if I didn’t I would have put him down (he can be dangerous around other horses).

Could your mare have value as an embryo transfer mare? Is she ok on trails? Perhaps you could find someone to lease her until it is time to put her down?

[Magicboy]

Bad things happen to lame horses when they change hands. It’s usually a downward spiral.

[outerbanks77]

@Magicboy

Bad things happen to lame horses when they change hands. It’s usually a downward spiral.

Yep.

You don’t say if you can’t afford to maintain two horses, but I’d suggest looking into a retirement/pasture board situation for her. A year or two of turnout might even be the antidote for whatever is ailing her.

But from someone who wasted years on a horse that would never come sound, my advice would be to move on. I just suck it up and pay board on my permanently lame gelding and will have him euthanized whenever he no longer seems comfortable loafing around and being a 17H pet.

[Scribbler]

@Cfrk

Recently at a loss for words on what to do. If anyone has input or suggestions I would really appreciate it. Thank you

SHORT VERSION: should I sell my heart horse who has been mystery lame and not ridden by me for two years, and buy new dressage horse who has been letting me progress as I want to.

a couple years ago I was leasing a horse who I had ended up buying. She was doing jumping and that’s what I was interested in at the time. Two years later she was having lameness issues and I haven’t been able to ride her since. Tens of thousands of dollars spent on taking her up to hospitals, injections, lameness tests you name it. We’ve had maybe a couple months of riding between this but it always comes back to her trying to throw me off at the canter. Our new trainer said she was tracking up at the trot and looked good but was still really unbalanced at the canter despite the muscle she had etc. I was starting to think maybe mentally she thought it was going to hurt or that she was undisciplined. I’ve never fallen off even through her biggest bucks and habits and I’ve always ridden her through it but something tells me that she’s not happy anymore and neither am I. I dread going to the barn and working with her. I used to have a great bond with her and everything has kind of broken down these past two years. I rode a trainers horse the other day who happens to be for sale. I fell in love immediately and he is sound, low maintenance and a superb dressage horse. but the only thing is that I’m only comfortable with owning one horse. So should I try to keep working with my current horse or should I sell her as a pasture pet and move forward with my career? I don’t want to feel like I’m giving up on her as she’s only ten but I’ve been stuck in my own progress and I feel like I could go much further with this new horse. I feel like I’m answering my own question but my trainer says that she looked good and I just need to be consistent with her work but that hasn’t worked in the past. I wish I could be more optimistic but we’ve spent over 20k on just trying to figure out what’s with her in the past two years and I’d like to be happy going out to the barn again. Me Andy horse have a really strong bond together and we love each other a lot which is why I think it’s hard for me to let her go.

I’m not quite sure from this 1) if the horse is still lame 2) what the lameness presented as and 3) if the current problem is lameness per SE or bucking?

[Cfrk]

Okay to clear up some questions; while she was out of work I was schooling third and showing at second level dressage on a lease horse. The tests that were done included radiographs, x rays, blood work done. X rays of hocks and back. I should have included that nothing significant was found in all but she was given injections in her si to maybe help alleviate possible pain in there. The lameness is presented as an imbalanced gaits which yes I believe can be improved through training which we have tried by putting her in training, but we always seem to fall back on the bucking despite our efforts of improved muscle tone and supplements plus the injections. I do understand that she cannot be “sold”. I’m aware that in the horse world no one would buy a horse that cannot be ridden but I am looking to rehome her as a pasture pet, or to maybe just keep her at a retirement place. As far as the questions of jumping; her previous owners had jumped her at about ages 4-7 and she was doing the 1.3 meter jumping. I can believe that this may have some impact on her soundness. My current plan is to just stick it out for another couple months with consistent training and see where that gets us. Thanks everyone for your input.

[Scribbler]

Try schooling her at walk and trot, focusing on flexions and lateral work to build balance. Don’t canter her under saddle at all.

Let her have turnout in a space big enough to run and buck. Chase her a bit an observe her canter. How does she hold herself cantering at liberty? That’s a big clue as to whether the problem is physical or training.

Let her buck a lot in turnout if she wants. I find that is very helpful!

I would suggest no longing, it would exacerbate any physical problems. But let her burn off steam in turnout/ free longing.

[khall]

No neck rads? That is where I would go next. OCD or injury can certainly cause these symptoms. I agree it is not worth it to continue to ride her. I would not give her away, ALWAYS keep control over her even if you find her a pasture home.

[soloudinhere]

@khall

No neck rads? That is where I would go next. OCD or injury can certainly cause these symptoms. I agree it is not worth it to continue to ride her. I would not give her away, ALWAYS keep control over her even if you find her a pasture home.

This attitude ticks me off.

You want me to pay her bills and house her but you want total control over her, as long as you don’t have to pay for her? Pound sand.

Someone giving her a home is doing YOU a favor. You certainly aren’t doing them one by giving away a 10 year old horse who is going to need to eat, need trims, teeth, and shots for 10 more years or even longer. The number of people who can afford to keep companion horses - apparently that number does not include the OP - is ever dwindling. If the OP wants to give her away, then she should give her away, not assume that there is someone out there just begging to assume the costs of this unrideable horse but also make sure OP gets total sayso in what happens to the horse.

[khall]

Solo, do you know how many horses who are “given away” to a “good home” end up in a bad way? IMO it would be better to euth the horse than to give them away and not know how they end up.

[Blkarab]

OP—first of all. Hugs. I know this is a hard decision and not an easy one to come to. I just had to make this same decision for my older guy that was not quite right after 2 years of diagnosis. We couldn’t pinpoint the exact issue either…and while he was sound for light riding, he was never going to do much more than training level work.

He was my confidence builder and while I owed him so much…we were at a point where paying board on him was no longer an option and the enjoyment I once had with him was no more. I ended up leasing him to a fantastic lady that also needed a confidence builder and for 6 months she leased him and he gave her what she needed. Turns out, the lady who leased him helped me find him the perfect semi-retirement home. So, it can be done. Not every case of letting a horse go ends badly. I know a lot of people who love a low-level horse that they can just ride and enjoy.

I also know the frustration of not being able to find what is wrong, and it just becomes too much to pour more money into a horse that you no longer enjoy. Sometimes, it’s just better to cut your losses and move on. Especially if you are finding that you are enjoying riding other horses much more than your own.

Is she sound enough for light work? Does she have the temperament to be a nice low-level schooling horse? Beginner safe? Would she do well in a lesson program, teaching beginner riders? Sometimes that is a good option.