Your longtime equine friend has always been there for you. He patiently taught you what you needed to know, and carried you through the ribbons. But times have changed. You have to move on and leave Old Faithful behind. What options do you have for retiring your horse?

Where and how you retire your horse depend a lot upon individual circumstances; health and soundness of the horse; marketability of the horse; your economic, boarding, or pasture situation; foresight; and commitment.

Still Useful

Many "old" campaigners still have a lot of life and usefulness left in them, especially if they come from sports dominated by futurities or young horses. Often, these horses can go into a new career. If they’re healthy and serviceably sound for some sort of work-in other words, marketable–you have several options