As some of y'all may know, my horse Cliff has been retired. He's beautiful and talented and young, and unfortunately has too many health issues for me to ethically continue riding him, and even if I poured all of my money into keeping him comfortable enough to ride, he'd be limited in what he can do, so I just made the decision to retire him and he's been happy and comfortable ever since, so I know it's the right decision.

This rant isn't about that.

This rant is about the handful of people that have asked me what I'm going to do with Cliff now that he's retired.

What do you mean? Nothing. His life is going to look just like it did before he retired- he'll eat and he'll hang out in the pasture and I'll groom him and give him veterinary and farrier care when he needs it. He just won't get ridden anymore.

But there seems to be this assumption that since he's "useless", I should get rid of him. Send him to a rescue or sell him as a companion horse or something. And I'm flabbergasted that people actually think this way. This is a living breathing creature that I took the responsibility of when I bought him four years ago. For better or worse, he's mine. He's my responsibility and my pet and, yes, my problem.

And for the record, it is a very very very small handful of people that have asked me this. Most of the people around me are compassionate and knowledgable equestrians that already know the correct answer is the one I'm giving- to keep my horse and take care of him. But it's the small handful that think otherwise that I'm stuck on, because how on earth could somebody think that?

But it's like that everywhere. I see posts for companion horses being given away online ALL the time. Old horses that can't be ridden anymore, young horses like Cliff that aren't sound enough to be ridden. People saying they LOVE these horses but since they can't be ridden anymore, they're giving them away. To a good home only. If a good home is so important, then keep your horse. You used the horse. That horse gave you the best years of its life. It tried for you and worked for you, and now you owe it a good retirement. Yet not many people seem to understand this.

So I just... I don't know. I'm frustrated and sad about the people who aren't doing right by their horses. I'm not writing this as a way to give myself a pat on the back. I'm very aware I'm just doing the bare minimum for Cliff- giving him the basic necessities for him to have a happy and comfortable life. I just wish it was that way for more horses- that there wasn't this expectation of throwing them away when they're no longer useable.

I found myself in a sort of similar situation with my mare (not soundness, hadith checked but riding was just not working for her mentally). Unfortunately myself and many others cannot afford a horse that they cannot ride. Just giving a horse the bare minimum is expensive. In the case of my old mare she went to a lovely home as broodmare on a life time lease. It sucks and I cried a lot but sometimes circumstances force your hand. If I had a property of my own I probably would have just kept her. In my case I have since gotten out of horses entirely as I found the industry a touch soul destroying and very very expensive when things go wrong

Moral of my story lol is that sometimes the more responsible thing to do is rehome (especially with the agistment situation in some areas)

I can see both sides of the arguement here. Some people may not know that you are finacally able to keep a horse that can't be ridden. Others may know that you can keep a pasture pet and have another riding horse. Others who give away their horses that can't be riden anymore may not have the money to care for their old friend and if they are heavy into jumping, cross country, or dressage then having a pasture pet isn't optimal since those types of horses can be very expensive so sell one that can no longer be used makes sense.

I find people who don't want their horses after retirement to be kind of odd. my first lease mare was retired not long after my lease ended, and I still took the time to take care of her and spend time with her whenever I could. unfortunately her owners decided to board her at a retirement pasture, so I can't see her anymore, but she's happy there and thats all I care about.

I don't understand the conditional love of some riders though, I do think thats kind of messed up. I'm obviously not talking about if it isn't finacially possible for them to keep their horses comfterable if they have health issues though.

I'm glad your keeping cliff, and I hope he has a happy retirement and stops breaking himself lmao

I can somewhat see both sides; not everyone has the means to keep multiple horses, and if they are big into riding, competing, ect and wish to further themselves within their discipline(s), they may feel that they have no choice but to re-home their retired horses. That said, I feel that owners should have a plan in place for when that time comes.

Now, for those who view their horses as machines and nothing more? That would happily throw away their horses because they can't be used anymore? Full judgement there. I know some people like that.

In my case, I have the means to keep my retired horses. I have the pasture space and the ability to give them proper care, and if their quality of life deteriorates, they will be put to rest here. I just can't bring myself to re-home something that has been my partner for years. I retired my APHA gelding when he was around 15 or 16 years old, with full plans of keeping him as a pasture puff for many years. He wasn't sound to ride anymore due to severe pigeon toes that were not corrected when he was young (several years before I had him), and he developed severe arthritis / degenerative joint disease. With special farrier work and various supplements / at-home therapies, he was pasture sound. Sadly, I had to have him put down a couple years later due to a spinal injury that resulted in severe neurological problems. I never found out what happened.

I retired my ex rodeo bronc mare a year ago. She was in her early twenties, but her heaves had gotten worse and she developed cancer. Getting up and down was getting difficult, and her mental health seemed to be backtracking. I had her put down this past December. Losing those two hurt like hell, but I am thankful that I got to show those two love all the way until their last moments, rather than sitting around wondering where they are or if they are in good hands.

I currently have three mares, two are Quarter Horses I've had for 9 and 5 years, the third a Quarter-type pony I've had for 2 years. I hope that they all live long, sound lives - but if something happens, they're safe with me. I feel that it is a privilege that not every owner gets to have.

a few momths back i was in the same position with my mare. We got her kind of by accident (she was being horribly abused and mistreated and ridden by men far too big and strong annd agressive) at a small farm (if you could call that filthy flea bitten dungheap a farm). Then she had nowhere to go, we had a spare stable and space for them in our feild, so the next day she was at our house. At the time i also had a gelding who i rode (and still do), so they kept eachother company. She was being ridden before, but in a disgusting horrific way, being forced to jump off steep ledges and into dangerous rivers, and endlessly being whipped and spurred disgustingly. Somehow she didnt have too much trauma from it and would take the saddle and bridle somewhat hapily, as well as being sat on and walking a few paces. But as soon as i got on her i could feel that she was so unhappy, totally different to the amazing beautiful happy creature that she was when she was outside in the field frolicking about. I probably walked her about for 10 or 20 seconds then got off and declared that she was going to be retired. After this i got SO many people telling me "oh my god, such a wasted oppurtunity, she was only 10 years old, blabla shes so unhappy, no excersise." But if they ahd seen and felt how utterly pained and unhappy she was being ridden, im sure they would say otherwise. Now she's living her best life outside on a massive estate with a donkey and little pony too! i see her every day and about once a week i do some natural horsemanship with her just to practice, but only if she wants to.

Sometimes its best to let your horse be happy rather than be able to ride it.