30/12/2023
Thank you South Coast Equine Vets/Natalie McGoldrick Equine
Communication is the key between the carer, owner and vet.
I keep a limited number of residents at The Graze, so I know each one individually and am able to spot any concerns quickly. They can still catch me out even with the amount of checks I carry out!
If I am not physically with them, I have CCTV in stables and fields. I'm a little obsessed.
Over the years of caring for horses, I still maintain that quality of life is foremost and undoubtedly the hardest part of life with horses is the end of theirs.
END OF LIFE - WHEN? HOW? WHAT NEXT?
I have posted this mini series before, but having been asked again last week for the link, I thought I’d post it again. Parts two and three to follow.
An incredibly difficult topic to write about, but having now been asked a few times, I thought I ought to try and write something. Losing our beloved four-legged friends is something that none of us ever want to think about. However, it is going to happen at some point. For me, it is still by far the hardest part of my job, and hasn't got any easier with the increasing numbers I have done over the years. I will post this in three parts. Part one will look at when to make the decision; part two is how we do it; part three on what happens afterwards. It is not a pleasant topic to either write about, nor read about, so any negative comments will be immediately deleted.
Here goes....
All of us wish that our old horses would simply find a nice spot in their field, and go to sleep. Unfortunately, reality means we are the ones often left to make that decision. As horse (and animal) owners, it is our responsibility to care for our animals to the best of our ability, but to also make that hard decision when the time comes. Personally, I also feel it is imperative that, however hard it may be for the owner, we are there with them until the very end. But that will come in part two.
Sometimes, the decision on when to put our horses to sleep is made for us; a broken leg; a surgical colic that we don't want to send for surgery; a horse that can't get up. These are by far my easiest euthanasias, as there is absolutely nothing I can do for that horse as his/her vet, and absolutely nothing the owner of the horse can do. I think it is barbaric that humans are left to die of horrific diseases, in agony, whilst we can help our horses go with dignity. That is the thought I hold onto when I am putting horses to sleep - we do not have to let them suffer for any longer than is necessary.
So, presuming our horse doesn't have a condition that is incurable, when is the right time to say goodbye to either our elderly horses, or ones with career ending injuries? This is an incredibly hard decision. It is also a personal decision. For example, I would go without food if I had to, to allow any of my horses to retire happily in a field if they couldn't be ridden again, rather than put them to sleep. Some people will disagree with me here (again, if you are thinking of posting a negative comment with regards to this, please just leave my page!). I believe that if a horse has allowed you to compete, or even spend time out hacking, then he has provided you with a service. Any one of my horses would be given thanks for that by spending their retirements well fed and well rugged. They didn't ask for us to compete them. They didn't ask for us to ride them. They willingly let us do both, so I believe that just because a horse sustains an injury that means he can't be competed again, or even can't be ridden again, does not mean he needs putting to sleep. It is however an expensive business to keep a horse, so I do have my one exception to that rule, and that is money. If an owner really can't afford to keep that horse, or can't afford to buy or keep another horse to ride, then I completely agree with putting the injured/older horse to sleep rather than either passing them on to an unsuitable home, or getting into debt. It is the responsible thing to do, rather than giving the horse away.
Onto our oldies....and an extremely difficult group of horses. When is it right to keep an arthritic pony going? How long should you box rest an elderly horse for without it being unfair? Is it ok to keep an elderly horse/pony on long term bute? Again, this is a personal decision. My thoughts are as follows: if the horse is sound in walk, or happy pottering about in the field, is eating and drinking, and looks bright and happy, then he should be allowed his retirement. Look at most people over 50 and see how many of them are sound, and arthritis free....should we be putting all of them out of their misery?! (Don't answer that actually). Just because an old horse is a bit stiff and pottery, does not mean he is in severe amounts of pain, BUT will need some pain relief to keep him comfy. Clearly, if he can barely walk from one end of the field to the other, the time is right, but not if he's just a bit stiff. However, if your horse/pony starts really struggling to get up after a roll/sleep, then it is time to start thinking about the decision. In this case, it is better done a day too early than a day too late, when he/she may not be able to get up. I would always advise my clients to try good old "bute" for any stiff old horses first, as most will happily live on low dose bute for years. Again, it's just the same as people taking low dose painkillers for arthritis.
So what if your 20 year old horse/pony sustains an injury/gets laminitis, and needs box rest? I don't think there is any harm in managing these conditions with box rest, but not for months. Personally (again, many will disagree) I don't think it is fair to put older horses/ponies through months and months of box rest if no improvement is being seen. I very rarely put any tendon injuries on box rest anyway, but I will draw the line as far as laminitis in older horses goes. I don't think it is fair to keep them cooped up in a stable for months with very little improvement, only to then have to manage their calorie intake for their remaining years. In this case, I will discuss a time limit with my clients. If we have decided that enough is enough, I will give them a few days on high doses of pain relief, to eat grass and treats until they can eat no more! Maybe I'm too soft!
So, to summarise.....if a horse is bright, happy, and can easily wander around his paddock, then I don't believe there is any justifiable reason to end their life, OTHER THAN GENUINE LACK OF FUNDS. All horses are happy in retirement....However, if an older horse has a condition that is going to require months and months of box rest, with no noticeable improvement in his condition, then I don't think putting him to sleep would be the wrong decision to make.
I hope this has been of some help. This decision is always very personal, and these are my views. As all of my clients know, I won't say something to them just because it's what they want to hear. I will be supportive of any decision they make, as it is never an easy one, but I won't say that I agree with that decision unless I genuinely do!
I will try and get the other parts of this "series" posted in the next few days.....
The photo is my amazing old man, Harry, who is now rising 24! He was a phenomenal event horse, graded Advanced when he suffered a career ending injury (80% rupture of a tendon in his front leg). Many people made it very clear that they thought I should put him to sleep....but this was him 4 years later (2015)!
Feel free to share.
