With regards to Craigslist, give-aways, etc.:
I feel strongly that a free lease is the way to go with older horses. That way you CAN retain control and thereby keep him out of a bad situation. Put right in your contract that if the care and use doesn’t meet your standards (and you can specify them), you get to yank him back. The worst case scenario in that case is you’d have to pay board on him for a couple of months until you can find him a new situation, or worst case euth. You will NOT have to toss and turn at night, worried about him riding a possum-belly rig to Richelieu.
NOW: There is a RIGHT way and a WRONG way to offer a horse for sale/lease.
Craigslist, IMO, is populated primarily by the ignorant and the knuckle-draggers.
These people should never have been horse owners to begin with, and YOU who are here on COTH can do a lot better. BUT you have to write up an ad someone will pursue. AT MINIMUM:
Intelligent description of the horse: Breed, age, size, sex, color, and what he’s done. Especially, what he’s capable of doing NOW. Able to be trail ridden lightly is a major step up from completely unrideable. BE SPECIFIC and BE ACCURATE.
Don’t make claims the horse can’t follow up on–like traffic safe, kid safe, broke to drive, etc. Don’t say it unless it’s really true; ditto the required “maintenance.”
Full disclosure is the order of the day. Give good contact information where people can actually reach you, and respond promptly and politely whether the answer is yes or no. Attach good pictures; head shot, well-composed confo. shot, and an action shot if you’ve got a good one–and RECENT, not 18 years ago. Hold the drama and don’t yawp about “forever home,” “heart horse,” or “the truck is coming.” Sound like a legitimate horseman seeking same!
Here’s a good SAMPLE ad (accompany with pictures):
16.1 hand chestnut WB gelding, age 18. Easy keeper, very friendly, great husband horse or confidence builder. Retiring from 3’ eventing, prefer trail or pleasure home with pasture turnout. Vet records available, should stay in front shoes. Free lease, with priority given to Pony Clubber or 4-H’er in the area. Call etc.
SHARE with feed store, all the vets in the area, your farrier and others you might know, the local trail association, Pony Club, 4-H Club, hunt club, etc. 90% of the GOOD deals happen by word of mouth, friends of friends of friends. The trick is to hook the horse up with the RIGHT rider–who just might be looking for him, in all the wrong places. Keep your deal negotiable and don’t expect to make a ton of money. Have a WRITTEN CONTRACT you are prepared to enforce.
Homes like that are out there. Euthanizing is the course of desperation, of last resort. Exhaust all other reasonable alternatives first. There are also low-cost retirement boarding situations to be had now in many parts of the country, that might enable you to keep your old guy happily while having another horse on full board to ride. My own business plan is predicated on that exact market. I’m on the high end, but I know a guy in Montana who happily boarded my filly for $30 a month on pasture with deluxe unlimited hay! :eek: They even taught her to load and did ground-work with her! “Spread your eyes” as my mother says, and see what’s out there.
At the VERY least, do your due diligence to see what the situation in your area actually IS, don’t just default to maximum drama and assume it’s the needle or the killer truck, OK? There’s an awful lot you can explore between!
