It's a tough decision to make, if your horse needs ongoing medical care or due to job and family life changes, you can no longer give your horse the attention and daily care he requires to remain emotionally and physically healthy - you're going to have to consider finding him a new home.

Make a rescue your last resort and screen potential new owners as carefully as you'd screen someone sitting for your children. Your horse will require acclimation time to the new owners and may even need to be retrained to respect and listen to their commands.

If you find someone that is willing to potentially give your horse a good home, ask some very pointed questions:

*Do they have adequate housing for the horse?
*Can they afford the vaccinations and medical care necessary?
*Do they know the what constitutes proper feeding for the horse?
*Will they be able to spend time with the horse?

You will have your own list but those are just the basics. Do not sell your horse to a dealer or someone that says they will broker your horse to a good home, most of those horses wind up on a dinner plate in France and Japan where horse meat for human consumption is in high demand.

Last but not least, if you can't keep your horse and you are unable to find a reliable home, contact a horse rescue in your area and make arrangements to have your horse placed. It is a good idea to make donation to the rescue in exchange for placing your horse.