Free horses...

[fantasykiger]

Free horses abound, they seem to be everywhere and it is a small world in that not only have I received one in the past week but so have three of my riding friends.
While I got my horse from my farrier following his divorce. Another neighbor was given a young horse she once did some training with as the owner was impressed with training she did. I have a new friend that is having a young BLM gelding delivered to her home, with additional training thrown in for free as well, for providing a home for this horse. He is a part of herd that is being given' away. My last friend received a returned pony free that she had once sold.
While the saying is true 'no horse is free', the classifieds abound with free offers for horses. I was told by a friend, hoping to to sell some horses that were abandoned on her property at an auction, that they were not excepting horses no longer.

I don't want to say I am really complaining here. We could not be happier with the new horse we have. My daughter has been looking for 3 yrs for a horse like the one we were given' for free. She would not have been able to buy one of his caliber if the market was differant. Same goes for the majority of my friends and their free horses.
Still it is heartbreaking and sad to see so many horseowners in that situation where they are left with the only option but to give a horse away free to the first person that comes along. As a horse owner it is one of my fears.

[Leesa]

How very sad. I can't image having to this but I guess some people have no choice. When you loose your job its tough enough without having to feed your horses too. Hopefully when this does happen they go to good homes. Obviously now is the time to pick up quality horses for far lower than they are really worth or in some cases for free as you have mentioned. I have seen a number that I would love to have (including the free 11 year old stallion on this site) but we really can't put anymore horses on our land. It would tax it too much. I keep praying that things will get better.

[fantasykiger]

me too Leesa, I keep trying to view the the cup as half full and keep my chin up as they say. Things have been bad before and got better, things are bound to look up soon or later

[desperatehorsewife]

I'm feeling very fortunate to have placed Joe this weekend!

Dh has contract talks in February, and that's always a precarious time when you've got horsey mouths to feed even when things were good with the horse economy. But now?

[dmr]

I get emails every week asking if I know anyone who wants a horse. Hard enough to find homes for good ones, we just confiscated 3 that were starving. One died before we could get her to release all of them. After that, she was much more willing. eerrrgggg!
On a very positive note: one of the horses I knew from boarding it before. It did not belong to her, just dumped there. An AQHA mare out of great cutting and barrel racing stock. I was finally able to track down it's last registered owner through its double brands. I contacted them and they are very willing to take her back. They had sold her about 4 years ago but retained her papers. She was in the worse shape besides the one that died.
It took about a month to track them down and they are the nicest people and have offered to pay for any rehab costs until they can make arrangements to pick her up. On top of it all, coincidently, they are moving just 30 minutes away from me this winter so I can check on her all I want.

[desperatehorsewife]

Anyone subscribe online to the horse.com? They had an article in there today (yesterday?) about a rescue offering $25 euthanasia.

[mustangdara]

its really sad that there are so many unwanted horses out there. I for one am hopeing to find the perfect free horse for my riding needs! i am not in a big hurry but would really like to be doing some riding soon!
I went and looked at a free morgan a few weeks ago, he was big like my husband wants and was a good looking horse...but the lady had bought him for her dautgter and she hadent done hardly anything with him in a year and she thought he was 15. well when i first saw him i knew he was alot older than that i looked at his teeth and he was more like 25!! he was very nicely gaited but all he wanted was to go to the arena door and stand there, he was also VERY dead in the mouth it was hard to stop him when i wanted him to stop.
so i passed on him he was a nice boy just not for me, i will find one soon i am sure.

[Michelle Clarke]

Things seem to be getting better around here in Central Texas....now anything under $1000 is really really crap...don't see many for free anymore. I am seeing more horses that are actually trained for something going for $5-7,000 - and these are not any type of special breeds, mostly QH, Thoroughbreds and crosses.

On CNN the other day a financial advisor said that the recession would be short lived and most likely over by mid 2009. So let's all hang in there!

[fantasykiger]

;D hanging in there Michelle.
My daughter is now selling her cheap find ( a trail mare that had some issues) that she bought earlier this year so she would have a horse to ride over the summer. We fixed all the mares ground issues and she is good for a beginner, so we have had lots of interest. Now it is just a matter of finding the right match. My daughter is being particular about the new owner and the horses next job. She is not asking anymore then what she paid for her which was $600 but with the state of things we were surprised at just how many calls we got on the mare that we have.

[nrly]

it is a scary time for all of us, but it is getting better, the worst part right now the price of hay..880 for a squeeze 80 bales per squeeze...

[mustangdara]

is that $ 880.00 DOLLARS!!!! How big are the bales ..i hope one ton bales

[fantasykiger]

She is getting 80 bales for $880 so that comes out to $11.00 a bale. Still pretty expensive depending on the weight of the bale I guess. I recieve on average 25 bales =ton for $200 which is $8.00 a bale.

[mustangdara]

OH ... Thanks,yet another thing i suck at math...LOL...I GET IT NOW I WAS CONFUSED!