To have wanted to put my horse to sleep before she became a “welfare case”

[blinkybell]

This happened a couple of months ago now, but it made an awful time so much harder than it needed to be.

I had an elderly horse with arthritis. She retired about 4 years ago now. We managed her pain with regular pain relief and supplements and the odd top up if she’d been titting about. She had slowly declined over the last year and found this winter hard going so I’d kind of made up my mind that I’d let her have a last spring and then think about PTS before the ground got too hard/heat/flies in summer.

A few weeks ago she was really uncomfortable and we struggled to get her field sound again. We’d had periods before where she was uncomfortable and after a couple of days on extra pain relief she was fine. I’d never got any sense from her before that she’d had enough. This time I did so I made the appointment.

The vet arrived, she checked my old girl over and asks me if perhaps we could try some different pain relief, some different supplements and that my horse wasn’t “a welfare case” yet.

The whole conversation was horrible - I pointed out that I wanted to give her a calm, peaceful and dignified end, before the pain became too much to bear, and most certainly before she became a welfare case. I’d always had a bit of a fear that I’d find her down in her field, unable to get up and it would be stressful and chaotic. She’d been the most amazing horse, and that I owed it to her to give her the best end I could and not just keep her going for the sake of it. We’d tried so many different supplements and pain relief over the years and I didn’t think anything would magically cure her arthritis.

I ended up feeling like I was arguing with the vet about killing my horse and, (this is probably going to sound mad) but it upset me that this whole conversation was in front of her.

Deep down, I made the right decision, I gave her the ending she deserved but, rightly or wrongly, the whole time I felt like I was being judged.

Falling and being unable to get up would have been awful and likely to happen. You made the right call.

You don't have to justify yourself to the vet, who doesn't know your animal and is just thinking in terms of treating a symptom rather than looking at things from a holistic view.

Contact another vet if necessary and tell them it's time and can they help you or not. Make it clear it's not up for negotiation because you have valid concerns and you're not prepared to keeping delaying the inevitable.

Oh sorry, I've just read that the vet did go through with it.

Don't worry, you did the right thing. I'm sorry about your horse. It's horrible seeing them in pain though and they're reliant on us to make the right decision.

Sorry for the loss of your horse. I'd have done the same. Being unable to get up would have been horrible.

As someone who has seen the scenario that you feared happen my mantra has been always better a day too soon than a day too late.

You did the right thing, not that you need random strangers telling you that

You did the right thing for your horse and should be proud that you fought for her to have the dignified ending she deserved. 💐

With animals it's always better a day too soon than a day too late. I know very little about horses but I've seen people keep sick cats and dogs alive for their own selfish needs. The poor animals suffering for no reason. Its cruel and I feel that the most responsible thing a pet owner can do is to make the call that it's time to say goodbye

You know your horse better than the vet .
While it is always a good idea to change / try different meds to find something that works their is a time to say enough is enough .
I have seen far to many horses ( and other pets ) kept alive for to long and though I don't know you or your horse it sounds like you are a very caring owner and I believe you would of done the best thing for your old girl .

You have my sympathy.

You may want to ask mnhq yo move your post to the tack room so uou get more horse people replying ( to do this report your post )

I had the exact same situation with my dog at the start of the year. Instead of a struggling dog being put down peacefully I was lectured by a vet just out of college. My dog ended up destressed and I was in floods of tears. I feel as if there was no thought of the animal suffering needlessly just a need to keep the money rolling in.

You knew your animal better than anyone and you made the right decision for her.

Well done for making the right call for your beloved horse.

I took my cat to the emergency vets on a Sunday to be PTS he had cancer and had disappeared for 24 hours then fortunately came home but wouldn't eat anything. We had that- we could put him on a drip blah de blah. I wasn't there on a Sunday at 3 times the rate to buy him time. I didn't want him to suffer 💔

I wonder if that vet wasn't a very experienced farm / large animal vet. You can't cuddle up on a sofa or carry an arthritic old horse to your bed like you can a dog or a cat. Putting an older horse to sleep is legitimate in many circumstances including finanical.There are dreadful things happening in horse welfare these days and being humanely put to slept before the horses well being has reached a critical point isn't one of them. You sound like a fantastic horse owner.

The vet was wrong. It is a huge animal welfare issue to let them suffer to the end. You should not wait until the horse is really bad before putting her down. The horse doesn’t know what is going on so it makes no difference to her. You were there and ready and the horse was not going to get any better. Vets are fee earners so their priority is to keep the animal on medication for longer rather than put down. No vets suggest putting down anymore. As an owner you have to be really firm to advocate for the animal. I am sorry you have to go through this at what should have been a calm time to say a proper goodbye to your horse.

That must have been heartbreaking for you. My very elderly cat with possible kidney problems went downhill quickly one weekend and I took her to the vets. The vet did say we could do blood tests and look at some medication but I told her I am not an advocate of keeping elderly animals going with expensive drugs, I wanted her to pass away peacefully. The vet abided by my wishes and my lovely cat went peacefully over the rainbow bridge ❤

Thank you!

The vet was from our normal practice, although I think she’s quite new with them - we’ve been with them years so they knew my horse pretty well, and the vet would have access to her (extensive) notes and all the different things we’d tried before hand.

I didn’t want to buy her time. What was the point? The arthritis wasn’t going anywhere and it would have been selfish to keep her going.

People always told me that she’d let me know when she’d had enough. I never really believed it to be honest, but they were right.

She just made me feel like shit. I was, and still am, happy with my decision, it was just unnecessary.

You absolutely made the right decision and I'm sorry that you will remember the end this way.

I had to do the same recently with my very old horse. He physically looked great but had bilateral coffin joint arthritis and terrible feet that kept getting recurrent abscesses. In the end I had him pts with a lovely vet who agreed his quality of life wasn't good enough.

Well done for being able to do it. It's so hard

I'm so sorry your vet wasn't more sympathetic OP. It's a horrible decision to make and you should feel proud of doing the right thing for your beloved horse. Too often horses have to endure pain and depression as they dwindle away. It's no kindness to let that happen.

Maybe your vet is used to owners who want to throw every treatment at a horse in decline and has gotten into a habit of prescribing instead of deciding. I hope there are genuine motives behind your vet's advice, not just the money she would earn from treatment.

When my daughter's youngish horse became gradually very odd and dangerous in behaviour, her equine-specialist vet was prompt to suggest euthanasia. There was a hormonal or brain issue underlying it, but no one could resolve it through medication or behaviour management. My daughter kept doing her very best and it was becoming a big risk to worm her and have her feet trimmed. The vet was unable to do bloods and behaviour therapist wouldn't take her on without med screening.

The situation finally came to a horrible conclusion when the horse injured herself in the paddock. Vet had to dart her to examine her and diagnosed a withers injury that would need box rest. It would never have worked and would have been horribly distressing for the horse. They made the decision to euthanise her with drugs there and then and she drifted off peacefully surrounded by her horse mates and peers in her own paddock.

The vet was incredibly sympathetic and even contacted my daughter a week later to chat and reassure her that it was the best, responsible decision, made through compassion.

Unfortunately a previous owner (breeder) disagreed with the decision and harassed her on SM. Even though my daughter had bought the horse through a dealer some years previously and gone out of her way to contact and keep in touch with the breeder, they made some really nasty comments. She had even offered to give them the horse for free when the issues began, so that they could try therapies if they wanted, but they were not prepared to do that. I think they knew all along that there was something wrong, which was why they sold her through a dealer. Daughter spent a lot of money and all her time trying to resolve the difficulties, but it seems they were organic or genetic.

The decision to provide a 'last act of kindness' is a horrible thing to have to go through. I'm so grateful to my daughter's vet for supporting horse and owner to the right solution. I'm sorry your vet wasn't as reasonable, but be assured you made a loving and caring choice that any horse owner should be proud to have taken.

You did the right thing. You really did.

I had similar with a cat a couple of years ago. I had decided to let him go but another vet persuaded me to try a different treatment. It was just awful. He ended up with sores on his back where she had given him infusions. I really wish I hadn't done it - but sometimes they are persuasive and sometimes it's because they can make more money through the treatments. Not all are as ethical as they should be.
I had him PTS 3 weeks later anyway but I should have let him go when I made the decision previously.

You know the animal best and they do communicate when they are ready to go.

I think an unintended consequence of lovely TV programmes like Supervet is that so many people now think that with all the modern drugs and technology we must keep going with treatment until ALL options have been tried and money is no object.

prices for animal insurance have risen considerably at the same time.

Over the last few years veterinary practices have been bought up by venture capitalists who realised that normal vet practices weren’t optimising their profits as much as they could.

I think these two things have fostered a culture of treatment, treatment, treatment.

I had something similar with my cat.

I think it’s even more important than ever before we advocate for our animals.

I think you did the right thing, and I understand how the experience with the vet upset you.

Good points @Isheabastard .

You did the right thing @blinkybell , sorry you were made to feel bad by someone who didn’t know your horse like you did, and sorry for your loss.

This is very true. I think vets deal frequently with people who want to try 'everything' to save their pets and are used to going through all options before discussing euthanasia, regardless of what quality of life the animal might be left with. I've had to have this conversation with my vet (who I love) a couple of times now; telling him that no, I don't want to try a treatment that will buy a few more weeks if the animal won't have any quality of life with it.

You did the right thing. I’m so sorry that you had to face judgement for that.
My DH is a vet and he would have fully supported your decision.

When our old dog got ill with a terminal disease my DH talked to me about letting her go when the time was right for her, not us, before it all got too painful for her, not to let her suffer because we didn’t want to let her go. This is something he sees a lot of at work and although he understands how hard it to let go, he finds it so sad to see animals in unnecessary pain.

So when the time was right for her we picked a lovely sunny day, took her for a final walk in her favourite place, fed her chicken and let her go at home in peace. It was the right thing to do.

You made the right decision. We had similar with a dog with bone cancer, we wanted a peaceful end for him before the pain got too much. The vet was supportive.

I think maybe the vet was just making sure that you knew al the options before putting her to sleep? Having worked with many vets I've never known one try to dissuade owners from making the decision. If it's any consolation I would have made the same decision as you. I'd hate to leave my horse until they couldn't get up!

You made a very brave and tough decision for your horse. This kindness when it is needed is the most important thing we can do for our animals.

I had a similar situation last year. A horrible bout of colic, the vest came out and treated but the horse kept going down even after a shitload of meds. I wanted to PTS immediately but he insisted on waiting; only to have to come out at midnight the same day in torrential rain to PTS.

I refused to pay the emergency call out charge.