Making the decision to retire your beloved horse is not always an easy one, and there is a lot you need to consider when doing so. Often, people don't always take into consideration what is best for their horse when looking to retire them; they'll look for a nice field to put them in and the decision is made, or they'll look for the most affordable option, even if it's nothing close to the best one.
I realized that my horse needed to be retired when he was only 16 years old. With an old tendon injury, a clubbed foot, and some nasty sidebone, my horse was permanently lame and his career was over. For awhile, my family and I didn't really want to fully believe that he couldn't do anything under saddle anymore and tried to avoid full retirement, but as we got more opinions from vets and farriers, we realized that there really was no way to completely fix him and make him 100 percent sound again.
When some people learn that their horse can no longer be ridden, they might look to sell them as a companion or find a way to just get them off their hands and quickly find a new horse to call their own. Others keep their retired horse and find a place that provides at least decent care and reasonable boarding prices. Being that my horse is truly a once in a lifetime animal, I couldn't imagine giving him up. While my family searched for retirement options, we made the decision to take care of him ourselves. Overall, this was a pretty good decision. We kept him healthy and as comfortable as possible. However, it is incredibly overwhelming at times to take care of your own horse all day, every day. Yes, having a horse will always be overwhelming, both on your body and on your wallet, but when you're not paying a stable to do almost everything for you, it's a very different story. We ultimately knew that we would have to send him to an actual retirement facility to be cared for.
So the search began, and we had some choices to make: do we keep him close to home, or do we move him six hours upstate to be closer to me at school? We searched endlessly for the perfect place for him, a place that would give him the proper care, feed him the correct diet, ensure that he's comfortable, is under professional farrier care that will give his feet the appropriate attention they need, that is cost effective, but most of all, a place that will make him happy. After a handful of barn visits and extensive research, we chose a barn that was only 15 minutes away from where I go to school that has mostly retired horses on acres of beautiful land. Of course, when we first moved him in, we were worried that maybe it was too good to be true and no one could possibly care for him the way we did, but we were quickly proven wrong.
They kept him on our diet, and even notified me when my horse decided that wasn't the grain he wanted to eat anymore and that they would be trying a different one with him. They hand walk him when the weather is too gross to be turned out to ensure that he still gets out of his stall. They give him love and attention, and have even gotten him over some of his ridiculous fears. He gets his own turn out with more grass than he knows what to do with, and plenty of hay to snack on. They monitor his feet when I'm gone and treat it accordingly. They are friendly, understanding, knowledgeable, approachable, and do their best to make their barn feel like home. They have truly made my horse the happiest he has ever been. Yes, of course, he was happy when he was under my family's care, but for the first time in his life, he was just chilling out in a field, still getting to come into a stall at night, and just be a horse. He has never seen so much open space, and couldn't feel better about it.
The barn he is at does offer lessons and regular boarding; in fact, they even include free lessons in with their board (which I don't even take advantage of). But that wasn't what was important to me. Sure, extra (and free) ride time is always ideal, but looking for a retirement home for my horse was not about me and what would work best for me -- it was 100 percent about my horse and what would make his life easier and even more comfortable. Seeing how happy and comfortable my horse is now makes me just as happy. He trots and even tries to canter around his paddock (limping and all), which he hasn't tried to do in years. He also never wants to come in from turn out. I swear, he is the happiest I have ever seen him.
So please, when it comes time to retire your horse, consider the option that is the best fit for them, not you. I promise you'll be making the right decision.
I mean, c'mon, look at him -- he's smiling for me!