Good places to find free leases/giveaways?

[Aubreyyy]

Other than here and craigslist?

I am not crazy picky- sound, and over 16h.

[NJRider]

equine.com has a free horse section. Some people place free horse ads on the other sites but have to list a price, so will list them for $1 or whatever. Just need to separate these from the people who with the very expensive horses that list them for $1 and think that by getting a hit on their $1 ad you are going to turn around and pay $100,000 for their horse....

[ddashaq]

My BO has a contact at the track and brought home three free TBs this winter. If there is a track near you, that might be a place to look into.

[Ambrey]

Try posting at local stables and contacting local trainers- my trainer actually found our part-leaser.

[Cruise Control]

I found both of my free leases and 2 giveaways right here on the coth giveaway forum. Two are fantastic jumpers that my son and i love. I also got a wonderful pony recently for my niece and we have a 3 year old baby hunter project. Check them out..mostly wonderful people to deal with

[DopyDgz]

I always cringe when I see someone looking for a free horse: why? If you want a free horse because you can't afford to pay to buy one, how will you afford to care for it?

Write down all the non-purchase expenses of leasing/owning a horse: feed, bedding, board, tack, vets bills, farriers, wormer, riding cloths etc, etch, etc.
Be realistic.Do your home work (ie: call some vets and see what annual vaccinations cost etc). Allow for the 'unforeseen' costs (ie: budget at least $500/yr for emergency vet visits).

With these estimates in hand, estimate how much, per month, keeping the horse will cost. Now BANK that for a few months and see if you can sustain that out-flow. This will (a) prove you can afford to keep a horse and (b) give you the $$ to BUY it!

[Aubreyyy]

^^^

I'm sorry you took the time out to post all of that... :lol:

Why assume something like that? Thats what I hate about BBs- every question will always be answered by someone trying to make someone else look bad.

I'm about to vet an OTTB but I want to keep my options open, and there are way too many free horses right now for me to even THINK about paying ANYTHING for an off track horse when there are plenty of well trained horses that need homes.

[JohnDeere]

Just cause you can doesnt mean you should.

Could mean a lot of things :yes: but I mean paying lots of $ for a horse. :D Save that $ for all the vet bills/blankets/boots/whatever!

It aint the price its the upkeep. Ive got 1 now that I could buy for a few $100. But its more than that to baord for a month.

[saultgirl]

Other than here and craigslist?

I am not crazy picky- sound, and over 16h.

Since it costs just as much to feed and care for a nice horse, my vote is to stay away from the freebies. I am a believer that you get what you pay for... and a sound, useful horse can always be sold in the future or part-boarded out to help with costs if needed.

I don't know, I think I would be too suspicious to ever take a free horse!

[saultgirl]

and there are way too many free horses right now for me to even THINK about paying ANYTHING for an off track horse when there are plenty of well trained horses that need homes.

I even have a really hard time believing this -- that there are lots of free, well-trained horses that need homes? Presumably riding horses? And over 16 hands?

I bet there are a few out there, and if you look hard enough you might be able to find something decent, but it's a bit much to say you wouldn't think of paying money for a horse because there are so many out there....

[Ambrey]

Free lease horses maybe, great horses being given away are less common.

[FredtheTB]

[QUOTE=saultgirl;3941088]I even have a really hard time believing this -- that there are lots of free, well-trained horses that need homes? Presumably riding horses? And over 16 hands?
/QUOTE]

I think in this economy, there really are quite a few free, well-trained horses out there looking for homes. I'm in SoCal and have personally heard of four nice, trained, sane and sound horses being given away in just the last month or so.

Heck, my new boy is an ex-jumper, working training/first level dressage, super sweet, sound *and* over 16 hands, and I got him for the princely sum of $1. I think I did pretty well... :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/91968364@N00/3211998566/

[Cherry]

Ask your vet, farrier, feed store folks and local tack shop folks if they know of anything. Also any horsey friends--try networking (asking friends of friends), 4-H leaders or Pony Club leaders or take out an ad in your local newspaper or horse publication asking for information about free lease/giveaway horses/ponies.... ;)

[Aubreyyy]

When I did the equine.com search, I got TWENTY pages of free horses in my area. Most are sound, ridable.

I would PREFER a free lease at this point- but most of the horses I'm seeing are true give-a-ways on Equine.com

Thanks for that tip!

[Cruise Control]

I have to kindly disagree with some of the discussion on this thread. i know the op asked for other forums/places to find a free lease/giveaway horse, and i missed that at first. As far as getting what you pay for, I agree, to a certain extent. I bought a beautiful level 4 oldenburg jumper 2 years ago and rode him for about 9 months when he got a career ending injury. I was looking for a project to play around with last winter and found a 16 hand sound, beautiful TB gelding on the giveaway forum. He was a college girl's who was entering clinical rounds for med school and could not afford him anymore. The project has turned into a very successful jumper for my 20 year old son. He was certainly worth more than free. I wanted to find another jumper for myself, but the funds were not there( Due to economics from our small businesses) for the level that I wanted and I answered another ad on the forum from Connecticut for an experienced jumper. He was listed because the barn owner's business has grown so fast in hunter/eq. and her barn is full to overflowing with client's horses. She had this jumper all of his life, not dumping him, and not doing jumpers anymore. I am glad to say that now I am. The last free lease came by the kindness of a coth member who put me in touch with a wonderful girl's school who was downsizing their show string of ponies to horses and I found the ideal first show/trail/best friend pony for my little niece to enjoy. I have a beautiful farm, the means to take excellent care of the horses and I have thoroughly enjoyed getting my horses this way after spend $$$$$$ on horses in the past. They are well suited to the purpose intended with no health issues or behavior issues or vices. Who could ask for more than that?????

[Aubreyyy]

They are well suited to the purpose intended with no health issues or behavior issues or vices. Who could ask for more than that?????

Amen!

I've been saving since Thanksgiving for all the necessary funds to purchase/ride/show a horse. If I can find what I'm looking for, and for free, what an awesome way to immediately have more in your "emergency fund"!

I shouldn't have said I wouldn't pay- I'm hopefully vetting a horse next week and will happily pay his asking price, b/c its pretty low and he's a prospect off the track. But if he doesn't work out, why WOULDN'T I look at horses for free? Its a plus on both sides- someone who may be having some bad luck will know their horse is going to a good home, and I save money and home a horse that may have otherwise gone to a bad place.

[RachaelP]

I think the tracks are a great place to find free horses. We currently know of at least ten horses at Mountaineer Race Track that are free to good homes.

Rachael

[medhorse]

Many rescue groups are having good sound young horses donated for many reasons including the economy. In fact I know of several young beautiful TBs which were donated because the owners could not afford to take them to the track. You should give the reputable rescue organizations a try also. You can vet the horse but be aware most will also vet you also.

[paohatch]

Maybe not free but damn close to being free. The auctions are selling at $40-$100 right now and recently at a NJ auction a wonderful fully trained healthy reining horse went for top dollar at the auction.. $400.00 :no:

[VAHorseGurl]

Was all that really necessary? :no:

I'm a 2 horse owner with 4 dogs and have 1 of my horses up for Free Lease. He's sound, 15.3Hs, can be a bit spooky, but for a confident intermediate to advanced rider, he'd be perfect. He just needs mileage.

I'm not looking to make a buck off him, I'll continue to provide for him, vetting, feed, supplement, farrier, board, etc. But I felt that having someone ride him when I couldn't would help us both out.

The market is ripe right now with folks giving up perfect healthy and sound horses because they can't afford to care for them. What on earth is wrong with looking to take on one of them? :sigh:

I always cringe when I see someone looking for a free horse: why? If you want a free horse because you can't afford to pay to buy one, how will you afford to care for it?

Write down all the non-purchase expenses of leasing/owning a horse: feed, bedding, board, tack, vets bills, farriers, wormer, riding cloths etc, etch, etc.
Be realistic.Do your home work (ie: call some vets and see what annual vaccinations cost etc). Allow for the 'unforeseen' costs (ie: budget at least $500/yr for emergency vet visits).

With these estimates in hand, estimate how much, per month, keeping the horse will cost. Now BANK that for a few months and see if you can sustain that out-flow. This will (a) prove you can afford to keep a horse and (b) give you the $$ to BUY it!

[Sansena]

...<snip>...Was all that really necessary? :no: <snip>...

I thought it might've been overboard too..

Then I cringed when I read the OP writing this: "been saving since Thanksgiving for all the necessary funds to purchase/ride/show a horse. If I can find what I'm looking for, and for free, what an awesome way to immediately have more in your "emergency fund"!"


If the OP thinks only funds saved since Thanksgiving will get her through horse ownership..
well..

**sigh**

[Parrotnutz]

Amen!

I've been saving since Thanksgiving for all the necessary funds to purchase/ride/show a horse. If I can find what I'm looking for, and for free, what an awesome way to immediately have more in your "emergency fund"!

I shouldn't have said I wouldn't pay- I'm hopefully vetting a horse next week and will happily pay his asking price, b/c its pretty low and he's a prospect off the track. But if he doesn't work out, why WOULDN'T I look at horses for free? Its a plus on both sides- someone who may be having some bad luck will know their horse is going to a good home, and I save money and home a horse that may have otherwise gone to a bad place.

I "talked" with Aubrey about free leasing my mare, but it was where I keep her. I don't blame her for wanting her own horse versus sharing mine...even though mine is awesome ;)

And in this economy there are many free or near free horses to look at. I know someone who went to the auction before bidding time <you can go in afternoon> and she got 2 perfectly sound horses because of what is going on today and for a lot less then market value. she got a WB for "meat" price.

[VAHorseGurl]

Then I cringed when I read the OP writing this: "been saving since Thanksgiving for all the necessary funds to purchase/ride/show a horse. If I can find what I'm looking for, and for free, what an awesome way to immediately have more in your "emergency fund"!"


If the OP thinks only funds saved since Thanksgiving will get her through horse ownership..
well..

**sigh**

Oh my, I would agree. :sigh:

Even if I had managed to save any monies from Thanksgiving till now; it would certianly not have covered Pete's first Vetting and Floating w/teeth removal. :no:

[Ambrey]

Well, one person's "savings" and anothers are not the same ;)

I try not to say anything, but I also inwardly cringe when people look for free horses. Why? Well, I am an adult who has done budgets and such for quite some time, and I thought I knew about how much it was going to cost to get a horse- and I was wrong by approximately 100%. That's right, it is about double my expectations.

And my horse has never gone lame, had a severe colic (the one mild colic ended up costing over $600), or any other emergency.

I don't mean I cringe in that I think badly of those looking, or that I think they shouldn't do it. I just wonder whether they are really ready for the financial commitment, and what's going to happen to the horse if it turns out to be a bigger step than they expected.

[wateryglen]

I'm using virginiaequestrian.com for one of mine up for lease. And how about some yahoo groups. Virginia has a horse group. Almost all the horses for sale sites have leases/giveaways too.

[rhymeswithfizz]

I'm a bargain shopper too. I found my freebie on craigslist - a fantastic horse, 16.2 experienced eventer/jumper, he had a superficial knee injury that his college-student owner just didn't have the time to rehab. (It was an hour commute for her each way to the barn - it just got to be too much.) I always keep an eye on craigslist for just that reason, and there are a TON of free leases and bargain horses (econo-nags!) right now.

My horse's owner thoroughly checked my references and came out to visit my property first. She got lots of emails from the crazies just looking for a free horse. Like, the people who wanted her (quite hot and pushy) OTTB for the first horse for their 6 year old girl, or on their trail ride string. When I first contacted her, I included my own resume, references, and photos of my property where he would be living, so I stood out a bit against the barrage of emails she got.

Anyways my freebie horse is sound (that knee only took a couple of months) and fabulous, and I still keep in touch with his previous owner.

[Ambrey]

A freebie that needs rehab, or is very green and needs saddle time, etc. etc., is a far cry from the trained, well-bred freebies people seem to think abound.

Now, I'm not saying they don't exist- and I certainly can see a situation in which a person would give a horse to a trusted, known entity rather than sell him and not know where he goes, but that's a lot different than putting up a craigslist or equine.com ad for a free horse.

So I'm curious to see what the OP actually finds.

[olympicprincess]

The Alex Brown Racing Forum always has some looking for homes. They are not all OTTBs. All types on there.
www.alexbrownracing.com (http://www.alexbrownracing.com)
or http://forums.delphiforums.com/alexbrown/messages

[Mrs. Cowboy]

Here in Northern CA, I've had good luck with getting horses through the Bay Area Equestrian Network's Rescue/Rehome board. http://members.boardhost.com/rehome/

Joe at TB Friends always has prospects available, some off track, some feedlot rescues, LOTS of show horses being given up due to owners change in situation. www.tbfriends.com

I've gotten an OTTB directly from a racing barn (by telling friends what I was looking for).

And my forever free lease Pony was by word of mouth on a local chat board.

Only horse I paid for is my mare, and I still had her free leased for a year before deciding to make it a permanent arrangement.

If you're willing to put in the time, a free horse isn't a bad option. Now of course none of these came to me show ready. But I'd rather pay in sweat than cash anyway. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my SuffolkxTB gelding, and he was a PMU boy adopted with donated funds, and given away for just the promise of gelding him. He's home trained, sweet and sensible and going out with the hunt for the first time next week!