Who Owns a Horse or willing to own one(or few)

I have a "pet" horse, i've had to put him out on lease due to time constraints having young kids & having to agist due to not owning an acerage. I think you need to devote a lot of time, like basically your life revolves around your horses needs being met especially when you agist, unless you have $$$ to pay someone else to feed, rug & muck stalls/yards, hold for vet, dentist, farrier etc..
Also don't fall for the black beauty bonds with horses they show on tv, most horses will do as you ask but then want to be left alone, they generally don't like "love" & won't "love" you back. They want a leader to respect, somewhere to run & food & water and that's about it.
Cowboys, musterers & general work horses are the ones that have tight bonds with their owners as they spend a lot of time together & have to work with each other.

Also a mare on heat or a stubborn gelding will basically tell you to F off if they don't feel like doing anything.. you always have to be showing them whose boss in subtle ways (being a leader) or they devolop bad habits. Also horses are very accident prone & because they're a prey animal there's always something to freak out at, most are scared of the wind haha seriously! It can be quite rewarding if you just love love being around them but it is a lot of money, responsibilty & hard work.

On the cruelty aspect, I think most trainers do the right thing but there are just too many being bred & they come off the track in race mode & shape & generally take time to turn them into riding horses, which people just don't have the time , knowledge or space to give these ex race horses an opportunity, it's sad.
Horses are tough animals, so I don't think the whip actually hurts them, if you watch an alpha mare teach young ones & other herd members manners, it's pretty brutal, it doesn't "hurt" them but lets them know, hey your doing the wrong thing. So a whip from a human isn't going to cause an injury. It's more the over breeding I don't agree with.

 

Saw Phar Lap and both parts of The Man from Smowy River.....

Come.on @DaveM , listen to @Simon Hampel and thriw some light on your adventure plz

 

I own horses, somehow they seem to end up accumulating.

I also run a horse rescue charity here in Adelaide, where we deal with cleaning up the ugly side of racing (gallops and harness/trot/pace) from discarded, abused, abandoned, emaciated horses. Most come from an ex racing background and found themselves in a bad situation once the reality of owning a former race horse (and all its baggage), or when the grandiose dreams of backyard breeding the next Winx proves to be a failure.

We work with the RSPCA to take horses they seize pending prosecution for the really bad ones (think walking skeletons), or on protective welfare hold. Rehab, retrain, rehome.

Horses really are a hole in the paddock you pour money into.

But I wouldn't give it up for anything.

 

What a transformation

Big heart.... well done

 

Amazing work! You're spot on - people either usually underestimate the skill required to retrain an ex racehorse or they overestimate the skills they possess! Recipe for disaster. So glad you're helping out some of the ones who have fallen by the wayside

 

And it's people like you DaveM that do make a difference. I know how hard it is just to help one horse
I bought mine from a ex racing rescue here in Adelaide too.

 

I went the yearling route and had some mixed success - a Stakes placed horse and one absolute freak of nature that unfortunately had a heart attack and died in her first race.. also had some slow ones, but I was fortunate enough to offload most of them at the price I bought into them at. My mates cannot believe how lucky I’ve been getting out of slow horses for my entry price.

I’ve since changed my approach and I only buy into tried horses now... so far I’ve only bought into one and I have a Stakes winner from the first run after I bought in.... looking forward to seeing her race in the Autumn if all goes well!

 

Definitely lease a horse before you buy. Start with a part lease if you can, then you’re paying for a few rides a week and the owner pays for upkeep. See if it’s for you. Horses are mega expensive to run, do stupid things to hurt themselves and are a heck load of responsibility. I part leased for about a year but work and family meant I couldn’t anymore, and it was good to be able to walk away. Look on gumtree. But get lessons first.

 

This is scarily true and correct

 

I sell drawings of horses if anyone is interested

 

100 years ago everyone owned a horse and only the rich had cars. Today everyone has a car and only the rich have horses; Oh how the stables have turned.

 

I've had a few messages from people asking about my art. Drawings are $10 each including registered mail within Australia. Yes all drawings are signed by me and are my interpretation of the subject as images which look real can be replaced by photography. I also do drawings of cats. If you want the drawing coloured in it's an extra $5

 

Dont support this cruelty, it breaks my heart....... do you love your dog, your cat ? Your pets please dont support this industry...

Animal welfare in horse racing

 

All the horse lovers or who likes movies, guve it a go to Dream Horse on amazone orime

I so want a horse !!

 

RSPCA... have you seen the statistics for how many perfectly healthy dogs and cats the RSPCA put down every year?

 

Horses would make really good dog food but unfortunately I think most of the ones that get shot end up in a hole somewhere. A bit like roos.

 

more use than a horse

 

People treat them bad too. Hell, people treat people bad !