All animals develop a bond to us. They learn to trust us. They learn our expectations. They learn out ways of communicating. All guardians communicate a little differently, all do things differently, all have different expectations. This is why changing homes is so hard for animals. This is why they need grace, patience, and time to settle.
Animals are family. Imagine having to move into a new family? How hard would that be?
Its expected when someone gets a dog, cat, bird, etc.. it’s a forever home. Thankfully, many homes are fully committed and keep their pets forever, through illness, old age, relocation, etc… However it doesn’t always work out that way and society views rehoming a pet as a moral failure. At least for dogs and cats.
But what about horses? They are rehomed and sold all the time and it is acceptable. Yes, horses cost more to keep. Yes, horses are competitive partners that have a job to do and sometimes they can’t or don’t want to do the job anymore. I agree they shoul\d not be forced.
But even so, the standards society holds horses to is entirely different than our other domestic pets. That’s not going to change anytime soon. However, it is important to remember how incredibly hard it is on your horse when it moves to a new home, with new rider(s). Horses are expected to be their best way too quickly. They are expected to be well behaved immediately. It’s too much to ask of them. It takes a horse A FULL YEAR to settle in. Read that again, ONE FULL YEAR in a new home, new rider, new people, etc.
Horses on average change homes 7-10 times in their lifetime. Heartbreaking.
And when they get old, there are less horses than dogs and cats that spend their retirement with their humans. Once they aren’t useful anymore many view them as a burden and try to rehome them, auction them, or get rid of them in some way, instead of offering end of life peaceful care until their last day. Retiring a horse is not cheap. However, they deserve it. They work their entire lives for their human. They should not be thrown away when they can’t work anymore.
The industry isn’t going to change anytime soon, but as horse guardians we can do better. We can commit. We can find ways.
Most horses have it hard. Not because their guardian is the problem, but because they will have to change homes and have their heart broken 7-10 times in their lifetime. With no warning. Theyll trustingly follow a human onto a trailer, and walk off into a whole new place, whole new life, and all new faces time after time after time.