I think I'm putting down my difficult horse

[whattodowheretogo]

I've posted about my horse on here before but I'd just like some last minute opinions.

I bought him a year ago from a TB breeder and trainer as she felt that she was too old for a horse like him and she couldn't sit his spooks.

No ground manners, didn't know where to put his feet, didn't respond to pressure.

I wanted a project and he was one in every sense of the word. I fell in love with him as soon as I saw him.

When I tried him out he was good, but at the end, he took off with me across the field and didn't stop until he physically couldn't go any further. I wasn't concerned about that, I just figured he was green and overwhelmed and these things would come with time.

When we got him home he needed a chifney to be taken anywhere or he would just set his neck and try to canter off (my ex was looking after him for a lot of the time - he's a racehorse trainer and rehab yard owner so he knows what he's doing!) and even he would struggle with him.

Through the months his ground manners improved but to this day he can suddenly try to drag you somewhere and canter off.

His biggest issues are ridden. I've had many rides on him when he's simply decided to take off and nothing can stop him until he's done himself in. One lesson I had we were cantering for so long with him screeching round the corners and bucking that I was getting lightheaded. My trainer couldn't do anything but stand and watch.

He will do things like take off, then screech to a halt in front of the fence, then shoot off again.

I've taken everything right back to basics, over the winter I worked solely on the ground with him, teaching him the saddle and bridle is a positive thing, we learnt to stand stock still at the mountain block, yield to pressure etc.

But he is so unpredictable - he'll do a nasty spook at "nothing", just completely drop his shoulder.

I've spent months just walking and trotting in the school to make it a nice calm experience for him. I've honestly tried everything.

He's just messed up his only saving grace - to hack he is brilliant and super calm. But this weekend he took one look at something on the floor, bolted for home and ran into the main road. I came off, got concussion and fractured my foot.

I've been riding for 17 years, I'll ride literally anything. I ride friend's difficult horses for them if they've come off and had accidents and have a great time. But there's just something about this horse that I just think.. what is it going to take?

I'm so thankful that this wasn't a worse injury for either me or him.

I'm pretty certain that I'm going to put him down. It's something I've discussed with my vet before after he remarked what a difficult git he was.

I feel like it would be unfair on him to pass him on, I'd worry about how he'd be treated given all his quirks, whether he'd be passed on again etc but also I'd worry that he may seriously injure himself or someone else.

Thoughts/suggestions?

My friend left three children, youngest aged is is a lethal weapon not a Labrador!

Pts - best outcome for your boy sadly. And well done you for all the work you’ve put in. As a long standing horse owner wish more took your stance - least selfish thing you will ever do xx

^^ 3

Yawning, I think commenting on others direct name calling is a bit different. Peng hasn’t done that to anyone.

For what it’s worth, I’m in complete agreement with the op, the horse should be pts.

I also completely understand pengs sentiment. I just think she or he had been verbally attacked for no reason which isn’t nice at all.

Allthe

Bad ownership is not the only thing that causes animals to behave badly. Some traumas cannot be got past just like in people. Animals develop brain tumours that affect behaviour. They develop mental illness. They can just have that kind of personality.

You seriously think any experienced animal owner who takes on a damaged pet and cannot fix it should be forever banned from having another animal? Would you say the same for a psychiatrist who has a patient who goes on to die by suicide?

Money I think people were just getting exasperated by their refusal to consider any other viewpoint. But let it be.

OP, also do bare in mind that if you decide to keep him, knowing he has behaviour problems, your insurance policy may be invalid in the event of third party claim if you do not declare his issues.

PurpleStarInCashmereSky I'd expect a little bit of introspection, not 'shoot the creature and get another'. OP listed what she had done. She said the horse deteriorated under her management. She said the vet could find nothing wrong (pending a post mortem, of course). The blame lies with her and I would consider that negligence. Perhaps the previous owner should have done 'the kind thing' for it.

I feel for you op, I really do. This is (clearly) an emotive subject. I must confess when I first read your post, my knee jerk reaction was a bit like Peng’s...and I’m reasonably experienced with horses. But, so many posts here makes very fair point, that this horse is a danger to himself and others. As a companion horse he is also potentially dangerous.
A friend of my MILs had a lovely horse, for many years. But, on the yard where she was kept another horse owner kept a “companion horse”- by this I mean a batshit crazy thing that couldn’t be ridden. It kicked her horse and this resulted in two deaths. MILs Friends horse died of her injuries and the “companion” was pts. Heartbreak all round and now said friend cannot bear to keep another horse. It is a sad situation op, but you have done all you can

I had a young horse very similar to this although his problem was he was a colt. Once he was gelded he really was much better but he did still have a nasty unpredictable streak. Farriers wouldn't touch him because he was just sneaky and he was very strong. He once kicked me double barrel and I flew across the yard he winded me so badly I almost passed out I was so lucky he didn't seriously hurt me. And that was totally out of the blue. He once leaned on my partner in the stable against the wall I still think he was trying to crush him to this day. Luckily I was around to get him off. He used to fly out of his box to bite people as they walked past. Riding out he would decide he'd had enough and just back into the nearest wall he once knocked a dry stone wall down. Yep he was a pleasure. We sent him away to live out with another horse as a companion. I believe he got better when he was 10+ but never saw it with my own eyes.
You sound like you've tried everything op. I don't know if I could go through with pts only you know that it's your decision he's your responsibility.

Op I'm sorry for the absolute nastiness recieved from some on here. I can't believe the ignorance. You are clearly an experienced horse owner and you know what the answer is. It is blatantly obvious the people on here who have no idea about horses and horse welfare. Trust your knowledge.

Allthe, are you accusing the op of neglect? Or have I misunderstood your post? Apologies if I have, but it sounds as if she and her experienced partner have worked extremely hard and clearly didn’t want to give up on this animal...as I’m sure plenty of others would have.

Sorry op, I just reread your post, didn’t mean to describe your ex as your partner 😕

I think someone already mentioned but did you scope for ulcers? There’s no relationship between grading and severity of pain - so even low grade ulcers can be extremely painful,or, conversely, high grade might not be painful at all.

Agree there are much worse things for any animal than being put down. Good luck x

OP you’ve invested so much into making this a good last chance. I think PTS is the best option, before someone gets hurt.

OP YANBU.

TBs are not pets or companions. They're hard work at the best of times, you've tried your very best and done a lot more for him than most others would.
Being PTS would be the kindest thing for him now imho.

Thanks again for the kind words.

To answer the question re. ulcers, I had him scoped early on into getting him and they didn't see anything that was a cause for concern. I wouldn't rule out getting him scoped again though now.

Allthe - by all means please do go ahead and ring around the rescue charities to tell them what a neglectful owner I am. I do hear they're looking for well fed, well cared for horses who are up to date with all the latest treatments and vet care!

OP, non horsey person here, but you sound like an incredibly responsible horse owner to me.

People need to stop humanising animals - it's an animals, you can't just let it live peacefully with no human interaction. It can't survive in the wild, it can't even survive out in a field without frequent human interaction which puts the humans at risk.

PTS and known that you've done everything you can.

I considered pts an ex racer TB once for similar reasons. Very luckily found a natural horsemanship type trainer who worked wonders and he’s now a perfect happy hacker.
So I know how you are feeling. If you cannot find a way forward with him (it sounds like you’ve really tried!) and you cannot keep him as a non-ridden field companion then yes, pts.
Contrary to some people’s thoughts his youngish age makes this the best option I feel as it’s unlikely you can find him a home that is guaranteed to be permanent, unlike if he was in his 20s and only a few years left to chill out in someone’s field.
The easy thing to do would be to send him off as a free companion - but I don’t think this is the right or responsible thing.
Yes in reality we’d all like life to be like some of the previous posters views in that he could live happily until the end of his days. But unfortunately that’s not real life and you have to make a difficult decision.
I feel for you and wish you the best

Also, to address those suggesting he’s just not ridden again - I understand from the OP that he can still be difficult on the ground. Even non-ridden field companions need basic handling, vet visits, farrier etc. So still potentially very difficult to keep even if never ridden again. If OP becomes sick or just wants to go away they need to know that he’s not going to cause significant issues for those caring for him.

OP It sounds like you have put a lot of work into him and have lots of experience and are still having significant problems. I can’t believe people are happy to suggest you pass such a horse onto a welfare charity - who are experts in horse care but (generally) not necessarily equipped to deal with such extreme behavioural problems. It would be putting their staff and volunteers at risk too.

I also think some people are romanticising retirement and life as an elderly horse - longevity is very much a human trait. Horses live in the moment.

I'm not horsey. I think the kindest and most responsible thing would be to PTS. With the best will in the world even if you put him out to grass, he could escape and cause untold damage.

your insurance policy may be invalid in the event of third party claim if you do not declare his issues.

This is very relevant. Some people seem to think you can stick DHorse in a field, run in and fling some hay at him once every few days and he can live a healthy, happy life for another 15 years. Horses need regular hands on care- you would not only need to disclose the temperament issues to insurers and pay £££ to reflect same. Alternatively the OP could effectively self-insure, but when horses injure people we're generally (and I mean generally, obviously) talking about pretty serious injuries. It's a big risk to take.

OP would also need to make sure she warned, preferably in writing, every single person that comes in contact with the horse and ideally be there when he's being handled to reenforce the message. And that's before you take into consideration the risk of the horse getting out- in rural areas with narrow windy roads it's a recipe for disaster even with normally calm animals.

I am not horsey but do some work in this area and PTS seems to be the practical and responsible option. If OP had the resources to keep him on her own land it might be something to consider, but that's not the case and it still comes with its own problems. This isn't an old dog or an incontinent cat, it's a powerful, uncontrollable animal that has significant potential to really hurt someone.

OP, I was the first to post after your initial post and at that point I was a bit brusque. I’m an animal lover and a “bit” horsey and I do believe that we should take responsibility for our animals.
I’ve rtft and I think you have taken responsibility. It’s a horrible situation but fwiw I think if you know you’ve tried everything you can to make him not dangerous then you can have your boy pts with a clear conscience.
I really feel for you and you don’t deserve the bashing you’ve had from some people here.

I do feel for you OP. A friend of mine was in a similar situation. She is a very experienced owner and she bought a young ex-racehorse. The mare had time out, then was re-backed, carefully and gently. The upshot of this was that my friend ended up in hospital with life-changing injuries.

Whilst she was in hospital I went to do field checks. It's hard to describe but there something off with the mare and trying to approach her, with no headcollar or tack, just being near enough to check her, was met with very erratic behaviour. I took to ignoring the mare and checking the other horses, whilst just being aware of where she was and any obvious signs of any issues. Even so, there were times when she would kick out at me and on one occasion came close to double-barrelling me in the face. This was loose, in a field, when I had not approached her.

When my friend was out of hospital we talked over and over about what to do. We contacted rehabilitation centres - they would not take the mare because they felt it would put their staff at risk. We went through every option but what it came down to was that even with experienced people, on the ground, in the least pressured situations we could think of that still allowed her contact with other horses, she could kill someone. So yes, she was euthanized. It was horrible but she was very stressed and actually very ill in the way she behaved.

So I understand the decision you're making, and how difficult it is.