A needle phobic horse, how to manage ‘the end’

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canteron

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My old girl is in good health - but at 30 years and large I have to be prepared, if she start losing her teeth or has a problem, there is no way I will put her through either box rest or surgery.

I have heard that vets generally aren’t good at shooting, as they don’t do enough, so I need to find an alternative person, or does domesan gel work well enough that you can use injection. She doesn’t travel so thats not an option.

Anyone have any advice? I’ve had her for 24 years and need to look after her till the end. Thank you.
 
canteron said:
My old girl is in good health - but at 30 years and large I have to be prepared, if she start losing her teeth or has a problem, there is no way I will put her through either box rest or surgery.

I have heard that vets generally aren’t good at shooting, as they don’t do enough, so I need to find an alternative person, or does domesan gel work well enough that you can use injection. She doesn’t travel so thats not an option.

Anyone have any advice? I’ve had her for 24 years and need to look after her till the end. Thank you.
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I have always used the hunt, and they don't inject first. It's incredibly quick and they do it all time time. I'm based in South Oxfordshire and use the Old Berks, maybe check your local hunts to see if they offer a fallen shock service.
 
Equine End of Life service - part of the fallen stock scheme. They connect you with someone local.

nfsco.co.uk

Equine Euthanasia - Options | Equine End of Life Service

Equine End of Life Service gives horse owners all the information, guidance and costs to help them make the right choice when considering humane equine euthanasia
nfsco.co.uk nfsco.co.uk
 
Round here we have a good knackerman. First place I would try for someone to shoot your old girl, is the people who will be collecting the body. If they do not shoot them themselves they will know who does.
 
When we had to have my needle shy horse PTS, he was also not good with strangers handling him to be double difficult.

I did the domosedan gel (as he wouldn't let anyone else do it) then walked him out to the grass.
Once it had taken effect I handed him to the v.v.v.experienced and kind knackerman who PTS with a gun.
We didn't want to risk a needle, even with the dope, as thought he might try to fight it.

Horse knew nothing of it at all and it was very calm and peaceful for him.
 
We have a slaughterman who helps us with our animals when that is necessary. So far no horses, but cats and dogs. He's very good, gentle with the animals and everything goes very quickly, in a good way.

I don't know exactly what your options are over there, but I'd personally definitely try getting someone used to slaughter to do it by some kind of shooting.
 
I did my needle shy one with the vet - but with planning. My OH (non horsey but adored my old gelding) wanted to be there so shooting wasn't an option. It was his first euthanasia of any animal and I wanted it to be calm and peaceful.

We had 1 vet who had been out to my boy over the course of the year who was young and very patient. Every time she came out for whatever reason we gave him a cuddle and a treat so he got used to associating her with treats. I spent quite a lot of time fake injecting him too.

When I booked it (in floods of tears) I specifically asked for her. We had the most enormous bucket of veteran mix in front of him and a tonne of polos and I don't think he even noticed the needle for the sedative. I did feel bad because she was so young but she handled it brilliantly and I will be forever grateful to her.

It was the right time and the kind of day you can only hope for at the end but never, ever gets any easier
 
Mine was needle shy, however the vet was lovely and spent time making friends with him, before giving him a tonne of sedation and inserting the tube thing that I cant for the life of me think of the name of, that the euthanasia drug would be given through

We then walked him to the place the deed was to be done, and he was so sedated he just let them administer the drug, I was worried hed fight it but he just lay down as if going to sleep and it was pretty instant. I hadn't planned to watch him go down, but turned round just as he did, and actually im quite glad I did as it was so peaceful, like he was lying down to sleep.

Would something like a likit be enough to distract her or could she have some dope you could administer ready for the vets arrival? Wasnt an option for mine as he was head shy so I couldn't get a tube of sedalin etc near his mouth

He was head shy so bullet was never an option, but I also only wanted injection as didnt like the idea of a gun
 
I would just ask your vet for advice, they will have dealt with this situation before and will know who to call
Also ask them in advance so you are prepared when the time comes
 
Crazy_cat_lady said:
Mine was needle shy, however the vet was lovely and spent time making friends with him, before giving him a tonne of sedation and inserting the tube thing that I cant for the life of me think of the name of, that the euthanasia drug would be given through

We then walked him to the place the deed was to be done, and he was so sedated he just let them administer the drug, I was worried hed fight it but he just lay down as if going to sleep and it was pretty instant. I hadn't planned to watch him go down, but turned round just as he did, and actually im quite glad I did as it was so peaceful, like he was lying down to sleep.

Would something like a likit be enough to distract her or could she have some dope you could administer ready for the vets arrival? Wasnt an option for mine as he was head shy so I couldn't get a tube of sedalin etc near his mouth

He was head shy so bullet was never an option, but I also only wanted injection as didnt like the idea of a gun
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I think the word is cannula.
 
Mine was needle shy and I would have preferred his end to have been different for him, but it was an emergency pts at 1am. He didn’t even notice the sedation needle, probably because he was already in pain. The actual fluid which ended his life was a shock to him, his distress was plain to see, if short lasting, and I wish it could have been different but not every vet shoots. His companion was shot the following day, an immediate end.

You can plan ahead but if it’s an emergency you just have to go with it.
 
Coblet was to put to sleep a fortnight ago and he was incredibly needle and vet phobic but I’m sorry to say that my teen daughter couldn’t face the gun. What it did mean was he had to have 2 lots of intra muscular sedative before the vet could even get near a jugular vein to site the cannula. It meant the whole affair took a lot longer than planned but once we’d made the decision and started the process we had to see it through. I would say it was a bit traumatic and drawn out but I still maintain we made the right decision although I miss him dreadfully and am still crying on a daily basis.
 
Another vote for fallen stock person. My old girl was violently vet-phobic never mind needle phobic, but the process with the knacker was so simple, head in a bucket of lovely things then all over. Because he didn't smell of, or come across vet-y (if you know what I mean) she was quite happy for him to handle her and fuss him like he was just a random person coming to say hello.
 
If needleshy but not headshy would say the gun would likely be the best (& fallen stock company should be able to advise or ask around locally)

If both (I had a horse who absolutely would not have let a stranger put anything anywhere near his head for a multitude of reasons one of which was pain related) or yard won’t allow to be shot then I did find an overdose of dormosedan effective enough to get a catheter in. We then gave A LOT of IV sedation before doing the deed. It was not totally stress free but it was the best we could manage in the circumstances.
 
Thank you so much for your replies. I appreciate how emotive a subject it is and really appreciate the time you have taken to help and advise. Hopefully your experiences will help my old girl when her time comes.
I now need to investigate local fallen stock people, talk to my vet and also get some dormesan gel jic the timing is taken out of my hands.
 
I suppose the one thing that hasn’t been discussed is cost. Having my horse pts by the vet at 1am and then his body collected the next day for cremation was a lot more money than using just one agency, and I assume the hunt would be less again.


I realise it’s not relevant to everyone but the costs can be a shock.
 
Been in the same situation as you, horse was scared of people so couldn't shoot as they couldn't get near enough and he was scared if vets. Ended up hiding him round thexl side of a wall with the vet out of sight so the vet could sneak a sedative injection in which then sedated him enough to be able to get a full injection in. Not easy at all and I feel for you. It makes a stressful decision/time even worse.
 
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