When to sell the horse?

[Quitter]

How do you decide when to call it quits and find your horse a new home?

I’ve got a horse who I bought knowing specific maintenance was going to be needed, but the horse had a good track record competing above where I wanted to and I was willing to work with that. The maintenance hasn’t been enough it seems and the horse I loved so much when we did pre-purchase rides hasn’t been around since they came home from the trainer. I’ve been chasing saddle fit, many different vet appointments with different therapies, had a local trainer ride, etc and I feel like I’m chasing my tail. I haven’t enjoyed this horse in over a year at this point and I don’t feel any closer to knowing if it’s a NQR issue or my riding. Maybe it’s both. The vet suggested that a bone scan is the next step, but we’ve already done different injections, long term stall rest, a new farrier, etc… I don’t know what else we could find that would be manageable. It’s possible a new trainer or the bone scan would get us over the hump and I’d have the horse I tried back. The hope of thinking maybe this time we’ve figured it out over and over has really drained me though. I’ve dumped so much time and money into this and I think I’m ready to sell the horse to a very light riding home. I’m really afraid if I hold on and keep at it, I will be in the same place, but a year and a lot more money later. I haven’t gotten any closer to the goals I bought this horse to meet.

Has anyone else made this call? Horse people really are gluttons for punishment I think.

[OnAMission]

I start thinking pretty hard when I realize if someone walked up and offered to buy, at nearly any price, I’d go for it.

[sheltoneb]

It’s time to move the horse along when it stops being fun or the situation becomes dangerous. However if a suitable home can not be found, I personally would euthanize the horse than risk putting him in a bad situation.

However, it sounds like the horse could potentially find a home that would better fit his current capabilities.

[Foxglove]

For us the “line in the sand” is two years --it has only happened a few times in 55 years of horse ownership. If the horse isn’t fitting into what we want after two years, we move it on --find a place that it is better suited. One horse that jumped poorly (dirty stopper) flourished in a dressage home, a second became a companion horse to a lonely x-race horse. One horse that was doing well in upper level 3-D was sold to pay for kid’s law school education. (She knew she wouldn’t have time for him).

However, my most recent horse --is unsuitable for jumping, but I decided I was too at 70+ --so the horse and I changed disciplines (jumping to Mounted Archery) and are riding happily into the sunset.

[endlessclimb]

When it becomes not fun for an extended period of time. This is too expensive to not be having a decent amount of fun.

[Willesdon]

Horses are supposed to be enjoyable, a leisure activity. When the fun stops and the horse becomes an emotional and financial drain it is time to move on.

When the horse isn’t useable despite all the effort you have put into getting it right, selling it is just moving the problem onto someone else who might not be as kind and scrupulous as yourself.

[Obsidian_Fire]

@Quitter

hasn’t been around since they came home from the trainer.

Couple things come to mind: One, what’s the difference between what/how the horse was working when you tried him vs. what was going on at your trainers? Two, what maintenance was being done and how often by the previous owner vs yourself? Three, what’s the difference in living arrangements - turnout especially, and downtime?

[findeight]

@Quitter

manageable. It’s possible a new trainer or the bone scan would get us over the hump and I’d have the horse I tried back

Need more info to form a meaningful opinion.

1. was this horse in regular training and management program when you bought him?

2. Is he in one now or are you more DIY?

3. can you share some info on what maintenance you were expecting to do? What maintenance seller was doing? What were you told when you bought him?

4. Did you do a detailed PPE using your vet to confirm sellers claims?

No need to go into detailed specifics, but there could be several things contributing here.

You did mention trying a different trainer here too….has that thought been lurking?

[Quitter]

@sheltoneb

It’s time to move the horse along when it stops being fun or the situation becomes dangerous.

Thankfully the horse is not dangerous right now. There’s resistance to some asks that I wouldn’t expect to be a problem and didn’t experience during test rides.

@Obsidian_Fire

One, what’s the difference between what/how the horse was working when you tried him vs. what was going on at your trainers? Two, what maintenance was being done and how often by the previous owner vs yourself? Three, what’s the difference in living arrangements - turnout especially, and downtime?

@findeight

4. Did you do a detailed PPE using your vet to confirm sellers claims?

The POs had the horse in full time training, I sent them to a different trainer for a few months, and it’s been DIY since. The POs had turn out during the day, stalled at night. The trainer and myself have had full time turnout. I’ve been working 4-6 days a week instead of 3-4 at the sellers. POs were showing on the weekends and I have not been.

There was a lot of controlled exercise time when the horse came home from training due to a soft tissue injury. I’ve been chasing the NQR issues ever since. I know coming back into work after that is tough on them and I’ve tried to be patient. We’ve been cantering under saddle again for 6 months at this point. I planned to haul out for lessons once the horse was cleared because I don’t have a trainer for this discipline close enough to board there.

The previous owners were doing yearly joint injections and we’ve continued with that. There had been kissing spine concerns prior to my purchase. The PPE, and many vet appointments since, have not flagged that to be a current concern. The PPE was with a sports med vet in the seller’s state. They shared old images and we compared them to many new ones. I knew it was possible we’d have to change approach or intervals of their maintenance, but I didn’t expect a different problem to crop up. I would consider the PPE relatively in depth. We did not ultrasound anything.

I have a bodyworker out monthly and the farrier is out on a 5/6 week schedule. I had one vet clear for full work after the soft tissue injury and when I sought a second opinion few months later, we continued with injections and maybe a bone scan after.

[Obsidian_Fire]

@Quitter

the horse came home from training due to a soft tissue injury.

@Quitter

There’s resistance to some asks that I wouldn’t expect to be a problem and didn’t experience during test rides.

I think you have at least part of your answer. You purchased a horse who’s maintenance was yearly injections - which in the greater scheme of things is nothing - sent it to your trainer, brought it home because it got injured.
What exactly was the injury? How much ‘stall rest’ and ‘controlled exercise’ time was there? Several months? Weeks? How old is this horse?
It may be that the injury is not as healed as you’d think. It might be that something underlying was brewing before you bought the horse, but was not an issue - yet. Downtime/rehab can sometimes cause those to pop up. The reverse can be true also, keeping a horse in a steady program can prevent something brewing from actually becoming an issue.

[Quitter]

It was 6 months of stall rest moving from daily hand walking, tack walking, up to trot/canter exercises under saddle. The horse is only 12.

The vet believes the issue was sustained prior to my purchase and noticed after because of the increased work load. The PPE only showed slight positives to flexions on the hinds, which wasn’t alarming given the known maintenance. Ultrasounds and exams were done every two months. The 2nd opinion didn’t suggest that was still the source of our issues. In a way, I wouldn’t mind if it was because at least I’d have a diagnosis and prognosis.

[candyappy]

@Willesdon

Horses are supposed to be enjoyable, a leisure activity. When the fun stops and the horse becomes an emotional and financial drain it is time to move on.

When the horse isn’t useable despite all the effort you have put into getting it right, selling it is just moving the problem onto someone else who might not be as kind and scrupulous as yourself.

This is my thinking as well. People hate the E word but there is no shame in choosing that route when you have tried so many avenues and nothing is working. This is supposed to be enjoyable.

[McGurk]

What is the horse like, now, with a pro on him?

It sounds like the biggest difference between the horse you bought and the horse you have now is professional involvement.

If the problem doesn’t resolve with some pro rides, consider that the horse may no longer be suitable for your purposes, and needs to take another step down.

Coming back from 6 months stall rest is really, really tough.

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

@Quitter

I’ve dumped so much time and money into this and I think I’m ready to sell the horse to a very light riding home.

From what you’ve described, I don’t think there is any shame in being “done” chasing diagnostic rabbit holes–the next question is, though, is if the horse is sellable (ethically) given current soundness/ maintenance levels? What would be the next step?

How was the horse sold to you–I mean, as a prospect, made horse, jumper/hunter, or what was the expectation of what the horse could do but can’t?

[Quitter]

@McGurk

What is the horse like, now, with a pro on him?

I talked to a friend yesterday, who isn’t a pro, but probably could have gone that route and we’re going to test that out a little. They think my horse has my number and have ridden them a few times when I was unable during the stall rest.

I think I’ll talk to the vet about a bute trial too. That is one thing we haven’t tried yet.

@Impractical_Horsewoman

if the horse is sellable (ethically) given current soundness/ maintenance levels? What would be the next step?

How was the horse sold to you–I mean, as a prospect, made horse, jumper/hunter, or what was the expectation of what the horse could do but can’t?

I discussed this with my vet at our last appointment and they thought it would be fair to the horse to hack and lightly flat. My only fear is that a new owner sees all the potential and tries to push them past their limits.

I bought the horse as an accomplished show horse, although they hadn’t shown as heavily in recent years. The PO had moved them to a new discipline after the horse had a lot of down time, but I planned to bring them back to their original one. The horse was successful in both

[findeight]

Was your trainer involved in finding the horse and it’s purchase? If so, what are their thoughts?

And…was the 6 months off for suspensory or soft tissue issues? If so, 6 months layup and recovery is a little light compared to many. Perhaps its too soon?

Was this a new issue (as far as you know)? Were you able to verify claims of show records looking also for long gaps with no results?

Often, vetting the seller and their claims is more revealing then vetting the horse.Especially buying out of your local area.

[Quitter]

The aforementioned friend offered their opinions during the purchase and boards where I do, so they’ve seen the horse throughout and compete in the same discipline. They think it is behavioral or strength related. The trainer used post purchase was thrilled with the horse.

There are long gaps in the record, which was a known risk. The sale from the original home where most of the results were from was as sound. There’s some videos from that time period online and records are confirmed.

The horse had been back to showing in a new discipline for less than a year after initial KS concerns. I really don’t think the seller was aware of any issues, but that isn’t to say that they didn’t exist. One vet thought KS was a misdiagnosis and the POs were likely chasing what we rehabbed. Without getting too specific, it wasn’t suspensory.

I put a lot of stock in the PPE results and recent show records, assuming the KS explained a lot of downtime. That was obviously a mistake and I wouldn’t do that again regardless of how this ends. Live and learn…