Twilight-Years Horses, in a Taker's Market
Maybe it's because I never forgot the lessons of "Black Beauty," with its apt depiction of how a horse's fortunes tend to fall as he gets old and is passed farther and farther down the rungs of the horse market's ladder.Maybe it's because I always felt rebellious over a family creed that insisted any horse be sold well before it was out of its prime.
Maybe it's because there are simply a lot of good old horses (young ones, too) in need of homes these days.
Whatever the reason, I have a soft spot for the oldsters who'll still do their jobs when called upon to do them, and who just need a little TLC to stay comfortably useful in their twilight years. The spot is soft enough for me to have fetched three of them back to the ranch in just the last couple weeks.
I wrote or passed along checks for these horses, checks that ranged from $300 to $600. A couple of people have asked me why on earth I'd pay anything for an old horse, now that the horse world has a taker's market (horses free to anyone who'll take them) as the new level below a buyer's market.
Maybe it's because I'm just not ready to contribute to a newfound horse world in which our tried-and-trues have no more value than to be hauled off for nothing, like busted bikes and junked TVs.
Or, maybe I'm just from another era, same as these old horses.
posted by Juli Thorson @ 4:43 PM
15 comments
15 Comments:
Good for you!!!!! Both horses in my tiny herd qualify for our vet's "Senior Exam" special. Both are priceless to me.
Cherie
Thank you for those four and all the others that will be helped by your story and the warm feelings that doing the right thing by our horses. God bless you.
Jane&Jabber
i thank you also. it is very very distressing and heartbreaking that these old horses are abandoned. they should lead a nice quiet comfortable life. i wonder how they think when they are 17, 19, 22 and they are sent to an auction, or turned over to some other place for their downward spiral. how afraid are they? how confused are they? what if they are terribly abused and not fed? what do they know? what do they feel? it is too much to bear
God Bless your heart Hunny! I have a spot spot for the older horses too. Luckily I have been able to place a few, but it's only going to get harder to do that.
Like my Granny used to say " You are earning your place in Heaven".
I wonder - has anyone done a study on whether having older, "senior" horses around foals and their mothers helps or not?
I know in elephand herds, the "harvesting" (i.e., killing) of older females has a terribly adverse effect on the herd and its ability to raise healthy young.
If horses are the same, perhaps there is more use than we realize for older horses. Maybe they are not just "pasture pets", but a source of wisdom for us and for younger horses.
Just wondering.
Thanks for the post!
Kate,
I just wanted to comment on the matter of old horses and their influence on younger ones.
We raised three foals in recent years, and they all benefitted greatly from being out in the pasture with their "Uncle Tank," who will be 30 next year. He would gladly babysit for their dam when she needed a break, and he also taught them a great deal about their place in the herd, and how to mind their manners.
Priceless, really, and worth every bit of the expense of his upkeep.
Julie: I knew you would break down and take some home. I would too if they were not so far away. We had an old gelding that died at 31. He was the babysitter, taught all the new "kids" their manners
and anybody could ride him. His one fault was he loved perfume and if a woman came in with it on he would put his tail in her face and keep backing up until she would scratch him. My husband called him the Judas Horse because if a youngster would not load or stand or clip he would bring out the old guy and he would show them how. He had such a personality that when he got done training he would look at us like "these damn kids - now can I go back to the barn"
So many people do not realize how much more fun their horse back riding days could be on a gentle horse they did not have to be scared of.
I have heard every novice idea in the world about owning horses: they can grow up together that is why we bought a yearling for our 8 yr old that has never ridden. He was just so cheap and the broke ones were $200 more. He is soooo pretty!
God bless those senior citizens everyone should have one on their place for when the neighbors come over. Or, when no one is looking and you can jump on a go for a great ride and not admit you were scared of the young one. LOL
I think all flock animals benefit from having senior members, and my experience with dogs is that the presence of an older individual will greatly facilitate your work as a trainer. My barb mare Arwen is 7 and already considered old here in West Africa (where living conditions are tough and horses rarely pass the age of 10). I can already feel her back tensing up, but regardless of whether I can ride her for long or not, this wonderful creature is staying with me forever. It is my personal opinion that every hard-working animal deserves a good retirement and I cannot think of getting an animals unless it's a life-time commitment.
Juli, those horses are lucky to have you giving them a second chance!
Greetings from West Africa,
Esther
We have a soft spot for the "Seasoned Citizens" as well Juli. Had we more room, I KNOW there would be a few of them around here!
My last oldster? Died at the age of 40. We had been together just shy of 20 years. I miss that horse so much it still hurts, everyday.
Please give your old timers a big rub from me... Thanks ;)
Good for you, Juli, and for the others who have posted here! Yes, the seniors are wonderful and to "get rid" of them because they are aged is a shame, especially when a little extra TLC keeps them comfortable and productive members of the herd.
Except... everyone here seems to be from the club of owning their horse(s) and keeping them at home... what about those of us who have good, senior horses who for one reason or other, can no longer be ridden, and we must board them? What about the people who try, really try, to keep them but financially cannot keep more than one horse (board is not cheap where I live, and there aren't many alternatives)? Are they to keep their senior, possibly for years, without being able to ride? In this season and in this economy, when young riding horses are being given away because their owners cannot or do not want to invest financially in them, where does that leave the seniors? Just a thought...
I agree - older horses are so devalued in today's and yesterdays market for that matter.
I have to ask - is it the competitive part of our industry doing this? Putting all the money into the young horse events? Causing tons broke down older horses who can't compete? The ones that can compete are devalued unless they are winning at World levels because they aren't young enough to be in the money classes.
I can't count how many times I hear someone commenting that a horse they have is getting old so they need to sell it. Why? I don't get it.
Is it that hard to care for those who have faithfully packed us around for years on end?
I am so glad you brought a couple home with you. I wish everyone could open their eyes again to the value of an older horse. It breaks my heart - the above overheard comment almost actually got me in a fight at a bar here in Deer Park. I heard it and just could let it go - I argued but this gal was dead set against the idea of having a horse die at her place... the mare was only 17 - 17! She could live till she was 30 if treated right. She could work most of that time if treated right. Why dump her?
Grrrr.....
Hey, Steph--
I think the subject of old horses is one that involves a cultural/generational clash.
Some people, including myself, were brought up in a time, and in an agricultural-type setting, where ONLY prime animals were kept. Didn't matter if it was mother cows, brood sows, or horses: At a certain age, they "went down the road," and you replaced them with younger models.
Where horses are concerned, that is a value system that's being eclipsed by another one. The changeover is accelerating now that the "agricultural-salvage value" of horses, being processed for meat/bone/hide, is gasping its last as an accepted practice.
Frankly, the number of horses deliberately produced, and then started/trained for the show market, is small compared to the total numbers of horses born each year. So I wouldn't call this old-horse issue a show-world-attitude problem. It's way more widespread than that.
Just consider: The horses that are TODAY'S oldsters were foaled in the horse-producing heyday that existed prior to 1986, when the Tax Code was changed to disallow passive-investor losses from horses. They are the ones that resulted from comparatively giant foal-crop years of the late 70s and early-to-mid 80s.
I think it's great you bought the older horses. What a great gift to your grandchildren. Older horses are so much better with children.
That makes since, its just an issue I have a hard time wrapping my mind around can't figure out "why?".
While I agree the number of horses produced by the "show market" are small compared to the market as a whole, I was also wondering if it was producing, errr.. propagating an attitude that devalues older horses among those involved with the industry? And I guess I could've included not just the "show market" but the "competitive equine market" as a whole - including the racing industry.
The generational difference you mention is something i tend to not consider, as I was not of that generation - and you are right of course part of devaluing older horses is coming from that mind set as well... I sometimes just need some one to kick me in the ass and say "hey - we didn't all grow up in the 80's!" to expand my mind a bit.
If the world made any sense at all, a 20 year old would cost far more than a three year old.
I loved seeing you took a few of those guys in Juli.
I tell folks I am the biggest old horse fan in the world, they are worth their weight in gold for sheer enjoyability. I have 5 right now...aged 15, 16,16,19, and 25.
Am in the process of buying a 25 year old crippled stallion who has made MAJOR contributions to his breed, but is now being cast off like yesterday's garbage. He doesn't know it yet, but he has a home waiting for him on sale day!
Post a Comment
<< Home