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.

Vet. Not vest.

My elderly gelding is 30. I have already decided I wont put him through another winter. He looks well, and is bright but is only field sound and much quieter than he used to be.

You made a very selfless decision that saved your horse from future pain and suffering. I only hope I am strong enough to do the same xoxox

@Isheabastard I think you’re right.

I think sometimes we forget that some things just aren’t fixable, no matter how much money we throw at it.

My oldie was insured, but only on veteran insurance and anything arthritis related was excluded years ago. Whilst I was happy to keep her going while she was happy, there was a limit on what we could afford and what we were willing to subject her to.

Arthritis is degenerative. Now matter how healthy the rest of her was, it was always going to get her in the end.

I think vets are obliged to give all the options.

It's horrible to have to listen to them when you know the time has come and you are heartbroken 💔😢

You did the right thing. I knew with mine, I was bringing him in from the field and he just stopped and looked at me
I remember saying "no, not yet, please" and he told me it was time

You did a brave thing, and the right thing.
Try not to dwell on it now- have the courage of your convictions.
When you think about your beloved horse let it be of all the happy years you had together and not of this difficult time.

I'm not a horsey person but you absolutely did the right thing. Finding her down in her field would've been an awful experience for you both, and letting the situation go on and on until her pain was too much, even more so.

I think, if you can, tell us more about her? That might help, but please know that you gave her the best ending possible, in as little pain as she could have too

Sympathies . I'm a horse owner too and would absolutely have done what you did in the circumstances. There's nothing worse already than losing an animal but it doesn't help if the people around you are nasty about it. We have lots of pets and sadly have had to have quite a few put down over the years and in all but one case the vets have been brilliant, so kind and talked us through in a gentle way all our options and been totally supportive of PTS if we feel that's the right thing for the animal. All bar one experience, with a guinea pig of all things.

Anyone who has guineas or other small furries know that they're very stoic and can show no signs of illness at all until they rapidly go downhill, but with this old lady (8, which is really old for a guinea pig) she suddenly starting showing all sorts of signs of distress, sores on her legs and backsides, rapid weight loss etc, eye flickering indicating fitting/neurological difficulties - to be honest I was amazed she hadn't just taken herself off to die which is what guineas normally do, rushed her to vets fully expecting that they would recommend PTS immediately. Got a brand new locum vet we'd never met before, starting talking about all sorts of intrusive tests and medications, ultrasounds, infusions, CT scans under general anesthetic (guinea pigs v difficult to anesthetize at the best of times even if young/healthy, they can easily die just from the anaesthetic never mind what's actually being done to them). When I suggested I really didn't think given her age and the sudden decline in health she had long left anyway and wasn't she likely in pain/suffering, would the tests even show a treatable condition etc the vet virtually huffed at us and said 'well we can euthanize if that's what you really want!' - obviously it wasn't what I really wanted at all, I care about all my animals and would never want them PTS but even less do I want them to suffer unnecessarily, what a dreadful comment to make at an already difficult time (I know it's 'just' a guinea pig but we were very attached). She agreed to do it in the end but the whole thing left a very sour taste, I'd like to think it wasn't just a money making enterprise (although the barrage of things she was suggesting would have cost hundreds if not thousands of pounds in a totally futile exercise) but rather a new/inexperienced vet needing to make sure she covered herself and made us aware of the options, but there are kind and supportive ways to do that and there's ways to make people feel like sh*t and uncaring pet owners and her's was definitely the latter! Thankfully like I say most vets are not like that at all and you and I just met the small minority that aren't!

You absolutely did the right thing.

I found my old girl down in the stable and I have never forgiven myself for not following the month too soon v the day too late.

I think vets have to give all the options though but I have found that often with the newer vets they seem more optimistic that tweaking medication will help so perhaps that was it.

It is the most difficult decision and you know your animal well. When I look back, honestly most animals we have kept going (with meds and a lot of love), with hindsight I regret not doing it sooner. It is so difficult to do this with a much loved animal, but their quality of life has to come first.

OP it goes without saying that you did the right thing.

It's shit that the vet wasn't supportive of you on the day but please confort yourself that you stood up for your mare and put her first when it really really counted.

You absolutely did the right thing
The problem i think is now there are more big company veterinary practices rather than the old fashioned 'All creatures great and small' ones we've been used to

I used a slaughterman for exactly the reasons youve outlined. I'd made the decision over the preceding 9 months and didn't want a conversation about it. My two were shot, they didn't know a thing and it was my final duty as a horse owner.

You absolutely did the right thing.

I’m so sorry for your loss.

I think this is a situation in which everyone was trying to do the right thing - it’s just a shame the conflict of opinion made a difficult decision even worse for you. I don’t think the vet was wrong to want to explore other options with you (in fact you could say it would be negligent not to).

She probably could have handled the conversation more gently, but don’t underestimate how your state of mind will have influenced your reaction. If you were already stressed and emotional, it’s easy to see how you might feel attacked and lose sight of the fact that she was also only trying to do the best for your horse.

In the end, don’t lose sight of the fact that you loved her and gave her the gift of a dignified and painless end. There are some much loved people in my life that I sincerely wish I could have done the same for x

I haven't owned a horse for a long time, the last one we had was dealt with by the slaughterman. My mum was with our horse as I was away at university. She said it was much quicker and less traumatic than the vet. I wasn't sure if that is still an option these days.

You made the right decision.

I had to put a beloved, elderly pet to sleep 2 years ago and it was a really difficult experience.

But I was not going to let her suffer any further. Her body was failing her, she had issues drinking and eating, her cognitive functions were starting to be affected as well and there was no reason to prolong the decline.

We tried everything first in term of treatment but there was only one outcome once she started declining really fast and at that stage and I just did not want my girl to suffer anymore.

You spared her further pain and she had a good life with you.

Thanks all!

Huge hugs to everyone who have lost their animals.

I don’t think the vet was wrong to want to explore other options with you (in fact you could say it would be negligent not to)

I agree up to a point, however, the vet came from our regular equine practice that we’ve been using for years, although I think this particular vet was new to the practice. We worked with the vets trying and tweaking different meds and supplements ever since we retired her. We also had a blood test every 6 months as she’d been on pain relief long term to ensure it wasn’t causing any issues. It’s all there in her records, the vet would (should?) have been aware of all this.

And also, I’m not convinced that not being a welfare case yet, is really a good baseline for deciding whether a horse should be put to sleep or not.

I don’t want her to become a welfare case in the first place.

You know your animal best. I'm firmly in the camp that says 'better a week too early than a day too late'.

Stop questioning yourself @blinkybell , you know your horse, if there's no quality of life then it's unkind to prolong their suffering
I'm so sorry you've been through this, it's a heartbreaking decision to make

You've made a wise and compassionate decision in good time rather than waiting until it was "too late" and your horse was suffering, which is a tricky call for anyone who cares for an animal, and I'm sorry you were made to feel otherwise. I hope you find peace.

We (me and owner) chose to have the horse I loaned put down after he couldn’t get up in the field a couple of times and showed signs that was becoming the new norm. It was absolutely the best thing that we could have done for him and would have been horribly cruel to pump him full of more drugs to see if that helped.

You did the right thing for sure 100%. We were in this situation with our dog. I said she did not have long left a year tops to warn my kids as I just had a feeling she was not going to be around much longer. I thought about getting her pts. Throughout December she deteriorated then got better and then deteriorated and died in her sleep just after Xmas but we made sure she had a lovely last Xmas. 😥

YANBU but I imagine the vet was letting you know treatment options were available to cover them in case you came back later and said you hadn't realised your horses life could have been prolonged with this or that treatment.

The vet was totally out of order. You'd made the decision and booked the appointment. I'd actually have a firm word with the senior partner at the practice - it was absolutely not the vet's place to make you defend your decision to put an end to your old, arthritic horse's suffering.