Just put my mare to her new home :(

[lucky L]

I know in the grand scheme of things this is not really a big deal but i just had to put my horse to her new home. I know its the best thing to to do as with LO on the way I
A)cant afford to keep her
B)bump was starting to make it impossible to ride her/muck out
C)I'm just not gonna have the time or energy to care for her in the next few months.
But I really miss her (i'm not really a gym person so she was my way of excersing/relaxing) and i'm really struggling with not knowing everyday that she's been fed/looked after (I think they will, as the new owners seem really nice/experienced and i spent MONTHS looking for the ideal home for her)
my oh doesnt get it as he's not "Horsey minded" (it would be a different story if we'd had to rehome the dog)
just wondering how anyone else has dealt with their horse companions through pregnancy?
XX

 

[alibaba24]

Hey i have a mare too and currently stuck between selling her, loaning her, forking out for full livery or struggling myself i just keep thinking im not going to be able to manage with a big bump. shes at an age where she needs ridden (just turnd 5) and dont say it is a big deal it must have been really hard for you to give her up. I admire your ability to be able to do the right thing at the moment im still clinging on. a few people want to buy her as they know she had potiental but i just do not want to give her up. Plus i want a hobby for once LO is here and driving me up the wall lol!!

xxx

 

[lisa35]

My mare will be living out until 14th november however i still have to skip field out and do water which i'm finding easy to do with only two horses in that field. I do have a girl who comes to ride her now/again and i lunge her when i get the chance. I'm on two minds wether to loan her out as she is getting a bit chubby with not geting the excersize she needs... decisions... desicions! I'm sure the new loaners will look after your mare the best they can, can you go down and check on her when you wish too?

 

[Welshcob]

My mare is turned out till spring. I am not sure what to do after that either. I hoped FOB would be around and help me support bubs, but hes not and so I have a horrible feeling that my horse will have to go. Did you loan your mare? Because I feel more comfortable doing this than selling mine. Just not sure how feasable it is? Really really feel for you!

 

[MissRhead]

I sold both my horses just before i fell pregnant, and i miss the everyday, i even went to the extream of phoning the woman up to ask her if i could buy them back, she said no ! lol! It was for the best tho id never have had time for them and know i wonder how i ever had the money to keep them, their being well looked after, i just try not to think about them all the time now, its so hard tho. Big hugs hun xxxx

 

[priddy]

My boy has been sold and even my daughters pony has gone as we decided winter would be a huge struggle and also finances at the moment arent great. Must admit dont know what to do with all my spare time now though!!!

 

[hopesanddream]

I feel for you gals, we have 7 horses right now, and could not imagine having to part with any of them. We are lucky we have our own pasture and hay for the winter and hubby is a horse/animal lover as well, 4 of the horses are his and we could never part with them.

 

[hondagirl]

Hija, i sold my gelding about 2 months before I got pg, we had been trying for years so it was quite a surprise when we sold him and .... bingo! I was so worried about how I was going to manage both financially and physically and it was a huge relief to sell him. We didnt have the most positive relationship and he started to walk all over me ( literally) so i knew the time had come for some serious action, i sent him away for re schooling and sold him a couple of months later. I had numerous requests for loaning him out but at the end of the day if i had done that and half through winter his loan people decided he wanst for them i would have been totally up the creek, it wasnt worth the risk. As i said he wasnt the easiest horse and I did have a run of really bad luck so i wasnt heart broken to see him go.

 

[anothersquish]

I have 12 at the moment. I am loaning/selling a few but that has nothing to do with pregnancy, just to do with only having 7 acres of land! I have done pregnancies before whilst keeping horses and didnt find it taxing emotionally or physically but my horses are something I couldnt and wouldnt live without! Some people find it more difficult than others to manage horses when pregnant and with a new baby.

 

[catty_smith]

I know I'm incredibly fortunate. My husband is a farmer and so we live on a farm and I've still got mine. I have 2 horses and a shetland (who will be for my baby girl once they're both ready to go as she's just 18 months and he's only 2!)

My only trouble with pregnancy and the horses has been keeping their weight down as they can live off fresh air. My gelding is worse than my mare (he's a Highland so merely looks at grass and balloons!) They're very good at going back into work after not being ridden for a while (they've done it twice now!).

If I kept them on livery I'd just not be able to justify the cost I don't think so can understand why people have to get rid. I definitely wouldn't have 3 of them, that's for sure. It would break my heart if I ever had to sell them as I do believe in giving them a home for life, but sometimes hard decisions have to be made and you need to prioritise and do what's for the best.

However they really do keep me sane and it's the one thing in life that I really don't think I could be without (apart from the kids!!)

Hopefully though those of you who have had to make the hard decision to sell won't be without for long. At least when you come back to it in a few years then you'll have all the excitement to look forward to!

 

[hudz26]

hiya, i sold my gelding when i was 15 weeks with my first, i really regret it even now (7 years on) but he was such a Pratt lol for want of a better word which is how i like my horses but i was finding it difficult to ride him and no one else i knew was brave enough, he wouldn't be lunged so he had to go i worked as a riding instructor as well which i also gave up and miss dearly.
i have promised my self when LO is born i will be getting another
xxxx

 

[lucky L]

thanks gals, reassuring to hear other similar stories.
For those that are able to keep your horses you are very lucky!!

Ideally i would'v put my mare on full livery over winter and found someone to ride her but financially that was a no go.
then toyed with the idea of wintering her out (she normally comes in about nov) but she's quite old n didnt know if she'd manage that, also felt that altho i would get to keep her it wasnt the bast option for her so decided to put her out on loan and the LOOOOONG stressful search began, OH said i was being to fussy but unless i was very sure she was going to a good home i wouldnt be able to see her go.
Couldnt sell her as i want to be able to know that she's ok and at some point get back into riding.
Again sounds silly but she's a real gem and has kept me sane thru some tough times, i thought she'd be with me till her last day so feel like i'm owe it to her to make sure she's being well looked after.
ANYWAY she's gone to a ladies home, which is lovely. The lady seems really keen on her and said when i'm ready (hopefully Jan/Feb) i can ride/see to her for an afternoon every week, which is ideal for me. Surely mummy will be able for some me time by then! So i know i shouldnt complain but i really really miss her.
Fingers crossed it works out.
thanks again.
x

 

[weimar]

I sold my gelding when I was 8 months pregnant It was the right thing to do (we were also moving house so I had nowhere to keep him) but still upsetting. So you have my sympathy.

 

[Oushka]

Aw I can really relate to how youre feeling.

We still have 4 at home, one out on loan and 4 others with a friend.

The 4 at home are wintering out, Im hoping they will manage one winter rugged up to the eyeballs with big piles of haylage... If they dont settle I dont know what Ill do.
The one on loan went due to the pregnancy and the 4 with friend are my babies, I couldnt ever sell them but they need to be in work and just arnt safe enough for me to handle now.

I miss them like mad they are only 20 miles away but I cant bring myself to visit... Of the 4 at home, 3 are easy but one is a bit of a nightmare and I would like to sell him but have noone nearby to ride him... such a quandry as I dont want to let him go for peanuts just to relieve any pressure on me & OH...

We were farmers, but have sold the farm and live in suburbs now - we've never not had horses around and cant imagine life without them now.
I guess Im lucky they are next door but we dont have any facilities anymore so we're not looking forward to when winter sets in.

 

[LankyDoodle]

I am from first tri.

I think I am really lucky because although I have two horses, my husband is a horse rider as well and we share the horses (although one is about to be labelled Loss of Use possibly, so won't be being ridden) and the chores. He does things like poo-picking, lifting heavy stuff, and I fill the hay bars and the water trugs and do all the grooming. I am still riding at the moment, though. I won't be selling mine, but we can keep them really cheaply if needs be, and the LOU horse will be unshod.

 

[anothersquish]

Those wondering if horses will cope living out...they will!! I have a 34 yr old, 21yr old and foal/yearlings living out 24/7/365 and they are not all natives (arab xappy, BRP who is 50%tb amugst others) some wear rugs, most dont. They have ad-lib hayalge and a good wuality vitamin and mineral supplement and they look fab all year round. As long as they have nutrients and plenty of forage they wont keel over through not being cooped up in a 12x12 box for hours on end.
Oh and I am still teaching...my only minor problem with the spd is picking up poles off the ground if Im doing jumping and a horse knocks a fence...I am now making sure there is a helper on hand to drag out fences and put them back up. I also have the habit of walking round and round and round and ROUND in circles in the centre of the school as I teach and thats having to stop else by the end of a half hour lesson I cant move....!

Happy to talk feed, balancers, haylage, rugs etc with anyone if you ae new to wintering horses out...been doing it now for over 20 years so seem to have the knack of keeping them fit and healthy even in the worst weather!

 

[eque_price]

Oh I feel for you all. I have recently sold my husbands horse but refuse to sell my guy and so for a companion and cause she is really cute when my daughter rides her my miniature horse remains as well. My guy is 8 yrs old and he never gets ridden anymore. He has the potential to go high in the show ring but he is my best friend and so no matter what I can not sell him. I did have agirl riding him but I live out in the boonies and so that seems to be a hard thing to keep up on. I feel terrible but I just can not sell him. I would never find another one like him.

We went from the occasional rescue on top of our 4 horses down to 1 horse and 1 miniature horse. The chores are great now but still its hard to see him sitting idle. Once I am on maternity leave again I will have time again. It is when I return back to work that I am worried.

Good luck with your difficult decisions :s

 

[polly78]

I am struggling along with my mare at the moment, i luckily have a sharer for her to do 3 days a week but the other few days its a nightmare the bump gets in the way and i really struggle to muck out easily even though i've still got 16 weeks to go - not sure how i am going to cope. Didn't think it would be this hard and in a way regret not putting her out on loan for a while now.

The girls at the yard have offered to help out when it gets too much but i also feel guilty to ask esp with it coming into winter, and we have nowhere where we can just winter them out or i'd have done that.
I stopped riding last week as it was getting uncomfortable and a bit unbalanced, so now i just seem to do a lot of work and other people get to enjoy the hard work i have put in, which annoys me a bit but i really need her ridden quite regularly, and she loves to get out.

 

[polly654]

I have two horses, one only 10 but retired due to lameness and a 6yo mare whom I am hoping to keep ticking over the next couple of months, have been trying to pursuade a friend to ride her a bit over next few months but not sure this will really work over the winter! Very difficult to know what is the best thing to do because mine are at home I am hoping to manage with help from husband nearer the time, good to hear others have managed this - couldnt bear to sell the mare and dont think anyone would want the other one