Everyone knows that caring for a horse is hard work, but there’s something even harder: knowing when it’s time to sell him. Granted, you’ve become best friends, but that doesn’t mean the friendship has to end. The reality is, you can’t always keep a horse forever and there may be reasons you’ve ignored – because they’re tough to admit – that it’s time to move on and acquire a different horse.
He’s too much to handle
We’re not talking about the workload here, we’re talking about training needed to make him more manageable. What could be better for the horse is to allow a skilled trainer to work with him to make him more controllable. Doing so may make you less frustrated, but more importantly, the horse happier. Who knows, it may only need to be temporary.
He’s a little scary to ride
There are situations where even trained horses can still be a bit intimidating to ride. The fact is, sometimes they frighten us or have behaviors that scare us. You don’t want fear to overwhelm your love of horses and riding, so consider this when thinking about your current horse.
You’ve physically outgrown him
This is especially important if you’re a teenager or child. We all know children grow rapidly, and the rapid change in a short period of time may mean they’re not a physical fit for one another. Height also plays a factor in a horse’s performance. If you’re an adult rider this usually isn’t a factor, but it’s something to think about.
Your riding has outgrown him
If your riding abilities and activity in competition levels has increased but your horse hasn’t kept up, then it may be time to move on. The possibility certainly exists that you need a younger horse if your focus is on competition. So if you want to take your riding game to a new level, give this angle thoughtful consideration.
You’re simply not a match
People make mistakes, and there’s no shame in admitting you make the wrong purchase. If personalities aren’t a match, that doesn’t mean horsing isn’t for you, it may only mean that you need to find a different horse. If this sounds like a similar issue in your human-only world, it’s really not, because making that decision to part ways isn’t a mutual one – this one’s all on you.
