A Timely Decision

It's hard to decide whether to put your old companion or injured horse to sleep. They can't tell you if they want to live or die and they usually don't let you know where or how much it hurts either.

Out in the wild, the predator or nature would quickly decide if a horse is fit to survive or not. These days, most lucky equines live a happy, sheltered life with hard times being close to none. Some horses have it a lot harder as people tend to lock them away without adequate care and the animal is unable to at least try and fend for itself. Owning an animal means being responsible for its care and well being. This does not only include food and shelter but also the decision of when it is time for the animal to die. Their life span is much shorter than ours and it is cruel to let an animal suffer past its "use-by-date".

Reasons for putting a horse down could be plenty: old age, sickness, consistent stress colic, laminits, persistent painful lameness, broken limbs and just a dangerous or useless animal. A lot of people consider giving an old horse away unfaithful and rather have them put down and buried. Having a horse put down is humane and pain free. The vet will tranquilize the horse and then inject it with a lethal dose. The horse is usually dead within seconds. Shooting calls for an excellent, steady handed fire arm handler and the horse is best calmed down in a large paddock and offered a bucket of feed. A cattle gun is also quick and pain free but most horses seem to know something is up and tend to struggle which leaves the owners feeling guilty and with more despair then necessary. Hunt Clubs usually offer to take horses, settle them in and shoot them to feed to the hounds. Sounds bad, but if you don't have space to bury your horse, it is probably for the better. Hunts people have usually good horsemanship skills and do not let the horse suffer in any way. The dog tucker is not a very nice way for a horse to pass away. Hours of trucking without food and water, stress, severe injuries and rough handling usually accompanies the horse on their last journey and anyone who has ever seen those poor creatures will probably refrain from sending their horse to the meat works.

It's never easy to decide when the time has come to say Good Bye to your horse. Old horses will usually lose a lot of weight, become dull and seem to be slow to respond. If your old horse is losing its spirit, its best to call the vet or farmer to have them put to sleep. Injuries should be looked at by the vet but if you're horse is bleeding to death or has open stomach wounds, don't let them suffer. Some vets will try to fix things that shouldn't be suffered through by an innocent animal and valuable stud or competition animals are sometimes being kept alive for financial purposes, which shouldn't be an example for the normal horse owner. Laminitis can be fixed but if it is very severe and/or caused by stress, it either calls for a change of lifestyle or death.  The most difficult decision is whether to put down an aggressive or panicked animal. Some horses suffer unbelievable traumas during breaking in or riding and will always be a danger to humans. They might find one or two people that can work with them, but those people can't pass the animal on without the fear of hurting another person. Horses like this should not be passed on as paddock mates or babysitters as some person might think it's a good idea to breed from them or try to re-break them. Those things often end bad and the offspring of these horses might show the same behavior or conformation characteristics that will have made life bad for their parents. The decision is best made with outside influence.

In the end, it should always be the horse owner that makes the final decision. It's best to ask for opinions though and ask educated people that will provide you with pros and cons. Try to be objective when making a decision as false pity and guilt might lead to the animal having to suffer through its final days. Don't make rash decisions you might regret and don't let yourself be bullied into doing something unnecessary.

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