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Expert
Posts: 1477
  
Location: In the land of peanuts and cotton | I bought my mare as a 4yr old and she's currently 15. Ever since she was about 8 or 9 she has had to have the normal maintenance for arthritis and a spur in her coffin joint. But in the last few years that doesn't work for her anymore and to keep her running sound she had to have her coffin injected every 8 weeks and stifle every 4 months. She's really slowed down the last year and The first barrel race of the season she just didn't seem like her self. I have others so I decided to retire her. But now seeing her in the pasture running and playing I'm wondering if I made the right decision. When we left for a barrel race last weekend I opened her stall to let her out since she was by her self and she just kept standing there at the door to her stall looking at me like I was suppose to come get her. When we left she chased us down the drive way. |
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 Saint Stacey
 
| I learned the hard way that when you retire them completely, they tend to go downhill pretty fast. That doesn't mean you need to keep her in great shape. Just ride her every now and then, haul her on occasion and slow lope an exhibition. A lot of them are happy just going, even if they don't run. |
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 Veteran
Posts: 231
Location: On My Horse! | SKM - 2017-04-16 8:44 AM
I learned the hard way that when you retire them completely, they tend to go downhill pretty fast. That doesn't mean you need to keep her in great shape. Just ride her every now and then, haul her on occasion and slow lope an exhibition. A lot of them are happy just going, even if they don't run.
This!!^^^ I had one that I ran for years. He was my only horse. He got injured and I had to retire him. I got another horse and started riding again..My old horse would run up to the arena and stand there and watch me riding my new horse. It was awful. I started to bring him along. He was sound to ride, so I would pony my other horse off of him..BUT, my old horse would try and take cheap shots at my new horse..Trying to bite him and kick him. I had to be careful lol.
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 Take a Picture
Posts: 12841
| I have one that is 19 this year. I guess I retired him about4 years ago because of kissing spines and chips in his knee. I was afraid he would fall with me. He can out run anyone in the pasture, bucks like crazy, and loves being in charge. He colicked in January and the vet could not believe he was 19. Not all of them go downhill. |
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Finally made the decision but was it the right one?