Well thats not always the case. Sometimes there is nothing u can do. Like if my mom got hit by a truck and was living but became a vegetable. I would pull the plug. y put them through the pain. they cant do anything or understand. I kno id rather die. I agree with fighting ur best i would for my horses im willing to spend and give anything and everthing i own to just have them living without pain even if i cant ride them. But in some cases there is nothing u can do. I wouldnt want it to be held up in a sling or something like that with tons of drugs and neddles to get daily for the rest of its life. I kno id rather die so u might have to.

I agree with you, sometimes it's unavoidable, but I beleive it's less ofen than most people think it is

Obviously you've never dealt with a horse that has had to be put down. Or you wouldn't be so idealistic. As much as you want to think otherwise, there ARE many cases where there is nothing you can do. Like a colic situation that has just escalated and not gotten better. Or an injury that will cause the horse pain for the rest of its life. Take Barbaro, for instance. They were able to fix his leg. But he's a racehorse with owners who have the resources (i.e. MONEY) to treat him. Surgery like that is VERY EXPENSIVE. Maybe you don't realize that. But it is, and not everyone can afford that. And I'm sorry, but if I were in a situation like that I would choose to put my horse down rather than make my family starve.

A horse I loved very, very much died due to colic in the pasture one night. By marks on him they determined that he had rolled a lot and was in a lot of pain. If the only thing that would ease his pain would be euthanasia, I would do it (if he was mine). My heart breaks every time I think of the pain he went through before it was over.

So my point is, most of the time people don't use euthanasia as "the easy way out." I would rather kindly end an animal's life than see it suffer. Sometimes it's the only thing you can do. So if you've never been in this situation, or seen it happen with others and their animals, please don't preach.

i have been there before, and, to me, it just doesn't feel right

That is so very true ... that had to be determined for a friends son who was only 5 years old. He was alive only because of machines... there was no brain activity... he would never have life again so why prolong something which will never be? The choices are not always easy for you and me because the subject of the case cannot speak to save the race. On gut and whim one must go for the end is near if you make the decision so. Often we do not want to hear what is best for what we think is often a contest with what we feel... so emotion wrap are we to be? Or is it better to just face reality?