Sale/Loan? Keep? What? Head vrs Heart!

[calekio]

So with a few changes to our charity/business i'm looking at what ponies i have.. and trying to cut the numbers down a bit as to who i 'need' to keep (and what is best for said ponies..)... one pony though i having a hard time deciding what is best for him...

Magic... a homebred little boy who will be 3 next year.
He's had a bit of a run of bad luck... by sheer fluke (or what ever you want to call it!) he survived being born to a sick mother who wouldn't break the bag open and he couldn't break it himself (yard owner got a 'feeling' to check the mares in the middle of eating her tea.. or else high chance he'd of suffocated in the bag)
As a foal was uneventful... sold to a family.. who 2 months later decided they didn't want horses any more so returned him to me... he came back and manage to find something in his stable to rip part of his bottom eye margin off.. (and then rip the stitches out as they do! lol)... all settled down and he found a loan home... who 2 weeks later gave me that phone call we all dread saying the fence was cut, magic was gone.. he'd be stolen!
Very long 10 days for me but we recovered him... a shell of his former self taking about a year to fully recover both physically (they were riding him at 10 months old! so leg problems) and mentally.. he is still funny with front legs where they hobbled him but all in all a very loving and social little pony who is keen to please..

We have used him as a therapy pony and with a bit of time, patience and experience he does have the prospect of doing that role.. especially when with some quiet friends to show him the ropes.. he is a lovely little pony and craves attention.. perhaps not getting as much as he wants right now due to the numbers in my field and lack of time etc... He has been through so much when he was stolen and recovered so well...

My head says that on the whole he is 'surplus to requirements' to put it nicely... he is such a nice boy he'd make a wonderful family pony and a child's best friend.. we still hope given a few more years that he could maybe ride/drive (would of course get a full check up from vet & back lady before even thinking about it due to previous leg/back problems from being ridden as a foal... plus mentally we'd see how he went.. but not ruling it out quite yet)

My heart says however that this little boy has been through so much and i went through so much heartache when he was stolen (welling up just thinking of it..), he deserves to be given the home with me for the rest of his life (or to the best of my abilities) like his brother, locket (born with deformities) has here, and the pair of them are very very close as well (magic more so with Locket.. if i move locket to another field.. magic escapes to get with his best friend..)

I just don't know what to listen to.. head or heart...

Would it help to have one less number in the field, him have a home where he would hopefully get more attention that he does now... yes..

Does it 'break the bank' to keep him..... not in the slightest, budget wise i can keep him, whilst i know a home where he'd get more attention would do him well... i also know he could end up in the wrong home...

Don't know what to do or think....

[specialsparkle3]

8-)Now I'm sorry if this sounds offensive but the key word here to me is "Home Bred ".

IMHO when we take it upon ourselves to purposely put a mare in foal the result of that covering is our responsibility. Now I apologise if the mare came to you in foal and you didn't know but in the end this little boy is still your responsibility.

You say the mother "didn't break the bag " and it was by chance that the YO found her foaling --------------Mares do NOT break the bag, the foal does as it is delivered , and if it doesn't by the time the mare is strong enough to get up it is often too late. That is why the owner should ALWAYS BE THERE to break the bag if necessary. A lesson to all potential breeders on here.

I believe that bearing in mind that he also had to endure the horror of being stolen, you owe it to him to make sure he has a secure and happy life. So, if he is not suitable to sold to a knowledgeable home to be a child's pony, where he will be as loved and protected as you can make him because of what has happened to him in the past, then yes you should keep him at least until he is. The plain facts of the matter is that at the moment, as a rising 3 year old with his problems he is pretty unsaleable anyway. Not many people want to buy youngsters unless they are top quality and with his problems -------------------


I'm not sure why you are asking this question because you already know the answer.

[calekio]

I don't know... maybe i needed someone to reassure me that the right decision for me.. is the best decision for him.... he is a lovely little boy and i know he'd be a perfect little family pony in the right home.

Oh i know the foals normally break the bags, but this one didn't as the bag was thicker than normal, i do normally camp down watching my mares but she sprung this one on me.... wasn't even bagged up till after she foaled! I do think an important lesson to anyone putting a mare in foal is to do all you can to be there when they foal... but there is always the mare that catches you out! lol

[specialsparkle3]

Exactly, maybe when he is rising five or six, and he is riding nicely, and if the market improves, it will be a different matter, but right now ----------------- ?

[calekio]

Thanks. Sometimes its just nice for someone to say you are making the right decision...

Couple of years we'll look to break him to ride... and his (not so little) brother... (again.. vet checked to make sure he is able... quite bad undershot jaw so have to be bitless.. but everything else about him is normal! lol)
If he is anything like his parents (who both i still have, dad gelded) he'll even be a spead freak (like mum) or the perfect first pony (like dad.. who gets fought over! lol)

Thankyou SS3

[june]

If he were mine I'd be keeping him. Fate seems to have brought him back to you several times so someone is trying to tell you something!

[HolsBols]

i agree keep... he sounds so special xx

[Caroline]

It's a jungle out there for horses, particularly at the moment. We can get romantic ideas about the horses going to good homes and being better off, but the reality is that a lot of them end up in bad homes and at the abertoire.

If you can possibly afford to keep him, that would be the best thing for him I think. (I am obviously assuming you are a good owner! But hopefully that is a good guess for most people on here ) Don't worry about not doing enough with him. Horses are completely happy living a natural horsey life in a field with other horses.

If you get to a point where you really must rehome him, do consider loaning him with a view to loaner buying. But even then, you lose control of his future safety at the point of sale and anything can happen after that.

Another option would be maybe to look for a part-loaner who will come and spend time with him and maybe eventually ride him, but he would always stay with you.

[2 bays & a grey:D]

I would be tempted to keep him if its possible. As Caroline said advertise for a part loan- if you don't need help with the finances I am sure someone would love to come and spend time with him & fuss him, killing two birds with one stone .

[merryberry]

I agree, the Part Loan idea sounds good. There maybe someone that is looking for a Project Pony, but doesn't have the finances to back it up. This would be a good solution for you both. Perhaps there is someone in the IH circuit?

Good Luck with your decision, it's not always easy.

[Deleted]

I'd say keep him. He's had an awful start to life and I think at the very least you need to keep him until he's backed and ridden away to make sure he's not traumatised any more - that's going to be an extremely stressful time in his life. Personally I think he deserves a home for life after his experiences.