[shymare]

I got to thinking about this on my way home from the barn today...

I always thought that most horses who didn't get slaughtered were euthanized when the time came....but today I heard that this one little gelding that I thought had been sold had actually just fallen over dead one day...I'm not really sure what my question is...my assumption is right though, right?

I don't know...I guess I'm just upset that he up and died when there didn't seem to be anything wrong with him and now I'm paranoid that Roads is going to to the same thing...

[Dandy_Brush]

Hmm that is weird, but i guess horses cant tell you when there sick and sometimes yah cant cach it in time

[monica-n-shiloh]

He might have had a heart attack or something. Was he old?

Personally I think its cruel to let an animal suffer when you know they are sick, theres no point of return and you wont put them down. Sure its a tough decision....but its one Ive had to make unfortunately. Toughest thing Ive ever done....but she deserved the most dignified passing I could give her as sick as she was. I already felt horrible enough for not catching her sickness faster and getting the vet out when they were dragging their heels. I was not about to make her suffer longer....
Any true owner and friend owes that to their companion...be it horse or another animal.

Dont worry about Roads...hes in your care and hes healthy and fine

[minilove]

No creature dies for no reason. Horse or human. That horse had 2 be sick or very old. Mabey he had a hidden health problem no one knew about. Your is fine so dont worry...

[Top Dun]

Well I've worked as a vet tech for over 4 years and I've seen my share of BOTH natural deaths and Euthanasias. I have to say that when the end comes for my oldest horse Hobo (the one I've had for over 22 years) I'd really rather prefer that he just up and dies peacefully one day rather than put me through the agonizing decision to physically end his life. Euthanasia is not always easy on the horse or the owner. I've had to actually be the one to end the life of several suffering horses and they needed to be put to sleep, but personally I'd rather that my horses die a peaceful natural death when their time comes. Alot of times you can't see the hidden reasons why a horse dies. In old age the heart can sometimes just give out or something else. And each horse is different in their old age just like people. one horse might die at 18 for no apparent reason while another might be 25 and some others hold out until they are really old like 35 or so.

[steeledancer]

Ok, so, it is better to keep people alive while they suffer and want to be dead, but it is better to decide for horses when their time is up, is that it?

I would certainly prefer my horses go out on their own time. When my little girl had WN and was past the point of no return, I made the decision to end it for her, but let's face it: death is a part of life. It is a natural thing for horses, for people, for plants, for everything. It is just part of the life cycle. I don't frown upon anybody for letting nature take their horses when nature decides it is time for such things. I also don't frown upon anybody for putting a suffering horse out of its misery.

Don't worry about how your horse is going to die, it is not going to help him or you in the long run. Instead, think about how your horse is going to live, that will give him the best possible positive feedback he can get, and help to keep him healthy. At the same time, you will be in a better position to recognize when something truly is wrong, as opposed to being over cautious and treating issues that only exist in your mind. Over-doctoring can be as bad or worse than under-doctoring, in my opinion.

Natural death does not have to be traumatic, and euthanization is not always peaceful and sweet.

Just my thoughts, I do not mean to offend anyone.

[Jess!]

I agree with Steeledancer -well said.

Either way, we've had a few horses die on us from old age. However, they were most likely heart attacks, according to our vets at the time.

There is a horse I watch when these people are out of town, and she passes huge stones all the time. She colics all the time, and is over all really depressing looking. She's 29, but yet they won't put her down. She's in constant pain from the stones moving, and the vet is surprised she hasn't died from the stones yet.

[JBandRio]

Horses don't have to be old or sick to die. They can have heart attacks and aneurysms just like people do.

It's hard to say which I'd prefer - having a healthy 10yo suddenly die, or having to make that decision for a sick/injured 20yo. I've experienced the latter and hope to never experience the former.

Don't spend your waking moments wondering when and how your horse is going to die - it will make you insane. Cherish all the time you do have with him and understand that it's all only temporary anyway. If you're lucky you'll end up with a healthy 35yo who just doesn't wake up one morning

[SugarPony]

I can't say for anyone else's horses that it's better to put an old horse down or let them die on their own.

Personally, as soon as a horse is in constant pain or discomfort and has lost the quality of life that he or she once had, then it is simply kinder to put the horse down. However, if s/he is just old, then I'd let nature take it's course UNTIL the horse seemed to be in discomfort.

Foe example, these are reasons I would not put a horse down:

-skinny
-not as pretty/losing coat colour
-not eating as much as he/she used to
-not useful anymore
-not as active anymore

These are all just normal parts of aging, our granparents all go through it and we don't put them to sleep.

These are reasons I WOULD put a horse to sleep:

-in pain (and by pain I mean physical discomfort that is not going to get better, ie. severe ulcers that will likely outlive the horse, or an untreatable lameness)
-broken bones/massive injury that the horse won't likely make a full recovery from (and I don't necessarily mean useful recovery...by recovery I mean "not be in pain")
-a severe handicap like a breathing problem (something that would affect his or her ability to run and play with their friends
-any other physical situation that would require the horse to have daily medical treatment every day for the rest of it's life in order to keep it alive.
And please note, I'm not talking about joint supplements or something like that, because that doesn't cause the horse any pain to ingest. I'm talking about daily injections, or daily bute (one thing I'm really passionate about, I hate it when people will dole out the bute to keep a horse "sound enough to ride". In fact I find it downright disgusting.

Hopefully I won't have to make any decisions about my 4 anytime soon, but I do own a 19 yr old stud who will eventually need to stop breathing...I just hope that he either makes it 100% clear that he wants my help to get out, or that he lays down to sleep one day and just doesn't wake up.

I *really* don't want him to deteriorate and be in that "half and half" zone; one day so bad I want to phone the vet and end it for him right there, one day so good I think "God, I can't kill a horse this healthy and happy."

If it does come to that though, I'll just put him down. I know I'll regret it every day, thinking "how many good days did he have left? Did I do the wrong thing?" But I'd rather have that in the back of my mind as opposed to "How could I have let him suffer so long? How could I have been so selfish?"

Just my 2 cents.

[chocchipcookie]

I agree completely with SugarPony.