If worse came to worse and you had to find a new home for the equines in your life, could you?
The question floated through my head this past weekend while Eeyore was being…well….Eeyore and I briefly debated trading him in for a level headed, non opinionated OTTB with a heart of gold and a work ethic. I’m not going to do that because the Big Orange Butthead is teaching me to be a much better, more assertive and braver rider and I still like riding him, but the thought was intriguing.
After thinking for a while I decided the following:
Gem – She would by far be the easiest for me to re home through my connections in both the endurance and ride and tie world. She is currently retired because I changed disciplines and while she is out of shape, she has a natural athleticism and soundness that makes me very confident she could easily do a 50 mile ride at a middle of the pack pace without much conditioning required. She for sure has more 100 milers in her and really loved the trail, camping and ride experience.
Gem is also super sweet with kiddos, easy to handle on the ground, is sound as can be, gets fat on air and thrives living outside but also does equally well in a princess stall. She stands ground tied for the farrier and you can draw blood on her out in the pasture without a halter on. I wouldn’t say she is beginner friendly or kid safe off the lead, but for anyone with a good seat, light hands and a brave spirit she would be suitable. I’ve had Wyatt win a lead lie class in a busy show with her and taken him on a trail ride with creeks and bridges no issue.
Pete – He would be the next on my list for ease of finding a good home. His biggest draw back is his age. At 30 years old many people would have no interest. However, finding him a companion home wouldn’t be too hard. He has all his teeth and gets fat on pasture. He requires no supplements, medications or maintenance. He is barefoot and stands well for the farrier and vet. Wyatt can lead him in and out of the pasture safely. he is sound and gets along well with everyone.
He loaded on the trailer the last time we needed him to without a fuss and in general is a great old man horse to have around. Companion horses are harder to find homes for, but he is the easiest old man horse to have so with some good connections and digging I think I could find him a great soft landing spot without too much issue.
Eeyore – Honestly, I think my only riding horse would be the hardest to relocate. Eeyore is an acquired taste and I doubt many would find him as amusing as I do. His ground manners are getting better all the time but he still pushes his limits, likes to invade your space and is extremely mouthy. He cribs which would turn off 75% of potential homes right from the start and good luck hanging anything near his reach as he throws things around.
Personally, I find his penchant for mischief endearing, like the time he grabbed an entire mouthful of water, walked over to me and dropped it down my back. I’m not sure many would agree with that.
His positives include the fact that after a year my farrier no longer wants to kill him, he behaves well for the vet, he is healthy and currently sound and well…he is now an official event horse. I do think I would eventually find my big lovable orange Frat Boy a good home, but I also know his short comings and I think it would take longer than the other two.
How about you all? Would your horses be easy to rehome if the need arose?
The Roaming Rider 
It is good to consider that. Carmen is definitely sellable- either as a dressage prospect or a breeding mare (she’s very well bred). She is not suitable for beginners but she would do well in the right hands. Irish is not sellable. In fact, I have left directions in my will that he’s to be humanely put down. Irish is sweet and easy but he has so many neuro issues that I would worry about what would happen to him.
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Carmen would be easy to find a good place for. You have done great things with her. I understand about Irish. If Pete were old and had any issues I’d do the same thing
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I went through this with June. She was tricky at the time. I record and a history of bucking me off. At the mounting block. But good movement, good bloodlines, she’s young and malleable… plus sound. I priced her high and got interest. Never pulled the trigger. I think now she is much more sellable. But she’s definitely one,like Eeyore, who’d have to go to the right home.. Hopefully I won’t have to think about this, and things will continue trucking along..
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More training makes horses easier to move along for sure though sometimes I think that can also back fire if it means few people could ride the horse. Fingers crossed things with June lead to a wonderful long partnership
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first of all – the grass is always gonna be greener on the other side I think. I frequently wonder if I should have gotten a grade paint (or appy!!) instead of spicy…
as far as if he’s sellable… I don’t think he is. But if I list his good qualities on paper (athletic, good mover, sound, barefoot, trail rides bareback in a halter) he looks marketable. I’d just have to feign deafness if anyone asked if he was sane…
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I had someone tell me once to think real hard before selling and buying a new horse because all horses have issues. At least you know the ones you are dealing with!
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I’d argue Eeyore is more sellable than you give him credit for. He’s not dangerous, he can jump, he’s sound, I think if push came to shove and you were in that place, there are plenty of tough but solid kids or Pony Clubbers who would do just fine with him. He’s that kind of horse who won’t make it easy on you, but sure as hell is going to make sure you learn along the way.
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That’s very true and while some days I’d like an easier ride I’m much better off having him as my teacher as we learn this sport together.
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aww haha poor E can’t get no respect!! 😉 honestly i think you’ve got a pretty good herd. no horse is perfect but i’m always a big fan of safe kind horses that can go places and do all the things. and, turns out, that’s a big part of what makes a horse sellable too!
i think charlie would be pretty sellable for exactly those reasons, but there are limitations bc of his physical condition etc. like, he’d never sell for big bucks no matter his training or experience bc he wouldn’t pass the PPE for a big career. so if he had to find a new home for whatever reason, i’d be extremely picky. tho he’d probably make an excellent fox hunter ❤
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I love my little herd and have no plans on losing any of them. Soundness is a major limiting factor especially in today’s hyper PPE environment.
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This is a good post! I think it’s actually good to consistently think about this, to help your horse be as good a citizen as they can. And poor Eeyore! But I can totally see where others would not appreciate his humor lolol.
I am also laughing at myself because my first thought is “Amber is soooo sellable!” and then reality kicked in and I realized no one would ever buy her lol Especially with how many things wrong with her there are and she’s only 9. Personality and manners-wise she’d knock it out of the park, but all the arthritis and laminitis would sooooo not go over well lol.
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He definitely has his own personality and I worry others may not get him.
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Dante would be the easiest horse to rehome since his Breeder’s would like him back in the event anything happened. Selling him should also be easier than it was selling Ramone but if we’re just talking straight giving away then Ramone would have been pretty easy to give away.
Carlos was a bit of a menace and I could see him getting in a bad situation due to his personality and if I had the choice of giving him away or putting him down I’d put him down to save him from any undue suffering in the future – which is you know moot since he is already dead.
From a me perspective (no offense meant by this next statement) I wouldn’t take either Gem or Pete since I want a riding horse, but you could definitely give me Eeyore! I know of several homes who would gladly take him lol
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No offense taken! Gem would really only be marketable to the endurance crowd. She could easily go back to competing with someone who wanted to do that. Pete would have to go to a companion home and that’s not always easy to find.
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Well… every time I see what other people are selling horses like May for… I quickly click off before my husband sees. I always think she *wouldn’t* be super marketable due to size, type, gender, buuuuuut she’s barefoot, honest, clean jumper, has a decent record, and is comfortable up to 3′. Apparently, this sells for decent money for people looking for something smaller, non thoroughbred, and yellow.
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I can tell you from when I was looking, horses like May are extremely hard to find and when you do they either go fast or re extremely high priced.
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I think about this all the time – I plan on keeping Francis for life, but I want to make sure that he’d have a soft landing even if something were to happen to me. I do think his personality and health naturally lend him to being pretty versatile and sellable, and I like trying new things to make sure that he wouldn’t be too pigeon-holed. I’m obviously biased and think everyone needs a Frankie, but it’s something I very consciously work on to make sure his future is as certain as I can make it.
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I think it’s our responsibility as horse owners to make it easy to rehome if the need arises. It’s why I still do ground work with my retirees. They can’t be half feral or nobody would take them.
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I think about this topic all the time! My mom an I were talking about her horses the other day and what to do with them if something happened to her suddenly. It’s definitely a good thought to have just in case
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It’s nice to have thought of it before you have to
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I think every horse is sellable unless dangerous. Remus I think is sellable but would he be worth a fortune? No I doubt it. But I do think I would have no problem placing him if I had to sell him. About ten moms would be fighting over him at just about every barn he has been at 🙂
It is an interesting topic. I mean what would Mark do with him if something happened to me?? Emily I had better give you Mark’s contact info just in case 😉
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An unsound horse is harder to find a home for just like one that doesn’t have good manners. It also really depends on the age right? Like at 30, finding Pete a retirement home wouldn’t really rely on his soundness level but for Eeyore it definitely would be a lot easier if he is sound versus lame.
Everyone adores Remus though so I’m sure you could easily find a lesson barn home at a minimum to take him. Could you send him back to his owner?
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My horse, Uno, would be sellable now, although in another year or two he’d be even better. I like thinking about them as having a resume – and building that resume for future sellability.
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That’s a good way to put it!
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Now that B has returned to soundness and saneness I would say he is decently sellable. He hasn’t competed much or gone out recently so he wouldn’t be worth alot but he is lovely to ride, good movement, good feet and easy to handle (as long as he’s off the spring grass).
Pepper being just broken in easily brings her price up and she has wonderful breeding for both performance or as a broodmare because her TB lines are performance and not racing and also not common. We’ve had about as many people enquire about her dam being for sale (no) as her brother (yes).
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And he must stay that way now that you got him back there!
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Exactly. He has managed to finangle himself this week off but that’s probably more my fault than his (he’s fine, we just had a gear malfunction haha)
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I’ll admit I cackled at Eeyore’s description in this post.
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