Desperate for some advice

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landf

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I have a really tough decision to make. I have a 15yr old mare that I have owned for 9yrs. She was diagnosed with osteoarthritis some years ago but I have managed to keep here sound enough for showing, dressage and hacking etc. The problem now is that she is becoming stiffer and lamer (if that's a word!) and really can only just manage light hacking and she is pretty sore when the ground gets hard. I now feel that I have to come to some sort of decision about her future. I would love to find her a companion home or as a broodmare but I am giving myself a hard time about letting her go. On the one hand I would love to keep her and retire her but would have to pay livery for the next god knows how many years for a horse I can't ride.

If you were in my situation what would you do???? Sorry for the long post but I am desperate for some advice!
 
If she was mine? A horse in discomfort? If there was nothing to keep her comfortable then she would be sent off to the beautiful meadow up in the sky. I certainly would never ever entertain the idea of passing her onto someone else.
 
Find her a nice companion home if can be comfortably retired.

She wouldn't be suitable as a broodmare with osteoarthritis imo, arthritis can be hereditary and it could cause the mare more pain when baring the weight of being heavily pregnant.
 
I don't envy your decision. I thought I was going to face something similar a few years ago but in the end the decision was made for me.
It would be nice to think we could all provide for them in their twilight years but for some of us it just isn't right (possible perhaps, but not right).
I look at it as there is someone out there for every horse, she'd probably make someone very happy when you would only be keeping her out of duty and then you wouldn't be happy.
If I was you, I would look for another home for her but take your time making sure where and who she is going to so that you can be happy with the decision you have made for her.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Jo
 
I'm afraid I'm a bit of a softy & would keep her myself even if it meant I couldn't ride. I was in a similar position with my old pony years ago & kept him in retirement for several years. It did mean I didn't have a riding horse but I could still afford lessons & also pcked up rides at the yard where I kept him.
 
Given all the horror stories of the kind of things that sometimes happen to horses who are put out on loan as companions etc, I would never do that unless it was to someone I know or very nearby. It would be kinder to have her put to sleep after all the years you have been together, than to risk her being ridden or treated inapropriately in a 'companion home' that doesn't turn out to be that!

Its a tough one for you, but in my view you should stick with her whatever the end is. Does she have to remain on part livery? wouldn't she be comfortable on grass livery, well rugged in the winter. She wouldn't cost that much to keep then, you would be in control of her life and could perhaps afford another horse.
 
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I'm afraid I'm a bit of a softy & would keep her myself even if it meant I couldn't ride. I was in a similar position with my old pony years ago & kept him in retirement for several years. It did mean I didn't have a riding horse but I could still afford lessons & also pcked up rides at the yard where I kept him.

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The issue here isn't that the horse cannot be ridden, it is that the horse is in pain. If you have ever known a person who has arthritis then you will know how dreadful it is. I have a horse is retirement with arthritis but he is also in his late 20s and is sound on Devils Claw. I just do not see how someone can keep an animal that is is pain alive to please themselves - harsh, but fair I think.
 
Its terribly sad when our oldies start to stiffen up. You have owned her for 9 years. Surely you owe her some pain relief? Have you thought of giving her one of the many anti inflam suppliments available? At 15 she is not old and with a little 'help' could go on for many years. If she still has a quality of life then why would you want to pts a perfectly happy, healthy horse? If you have to 'pay livery for God knows how many years' and have a horse you cant ride, perhaps you could just have grass livery.

Suppose it depends on how much you want to keep her.
 
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why would you want to pts a perfectly happy, healthy horse

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You wouldn't. If you read the post, the horse quite clearly isn't perfect OR happy OR healthy.
 
I had a TB mare PTS 2 years ago to this month she was 17 years old......she could not live out 24/7 so no good as a companion and with all her problems and the drugs that she took and supplements did not make her a cheap horse and I was not prepared to pass that responsibility on....it's a bl**dy hard decision, but I owed her that and I was not going to watch her deteriorate before my eyes,so I let her go with dignity as she had given me 12 years....hard but it's the kindest thing don't let the pain get to bad for both your sakes.
 
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why would you want to pts a perfectly happy, healthy horse

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You wouldn't. If you read the post, the horse quite clearly isn't perfect OR happy OR healthy.

[/ QUOTE ] I'd also PTS if a horse was in pain that couldn't be managed with meds etc. I got the impression from the original post though that she hasn't been tried in retirement. The poster said its got to the stage now where she is sore after being ridden.
 
Just being nosey, but what was your vets diagnosis and what did he/she reccomend? maybe it would be worth having a chat to sort out some sort of long term pain releif, I really do feel for you and hope you come to some sort of happy conclusion.
 
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I have managed to keep here sound enough for showing, dressage and hacking etc.

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I took the above to mean that the horse has been *managed*, ie with supplements, etc - sorry if that is wrong!
 
I'm sort of in a similar situation with Chex, but there was no choice for me - I was 100% keeping him. He had to be on Danilon over the winter, and was much happier on it. He's much better now after losing some weight and getting ridden daily - he's almost 100% without the Danilon now. He's still hacked properly though, and I'm happy with that if it means that I can give him the care he deserves in his old age
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Thanks for all your views. I never relly thought of it as letting her down by letting her be in pain. She has been on various joint supplements and although they obviously help with the stiffness she is still lame. I have also tried her on bute short term and she is still lame on 1 sachet a day.

I must admit that having her PTS never crossed my mind but I would hate to think of her being in constant discomfort and not looked after properly by someone who is not as loyal to her as I am. It's just a horrible decision to have to make.
 
The amount of money and, critically, CARE it takes to keep a horse sound as a companion really outweighs any benefit for me. Companions for me should be out without pain relief of any type. Your horse has obviously given you years of enjoyment and owes you nothing. It IS a horrible decision, but you have to decide whether you could really hand her management over to someone else, who, if they miss a dose of this or that, means your horse is hobbling
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Just being nosey, but what was your vets diagnosis and what did he/she reccomend? maybe it would be worth having a chat to sort out some sort of long term pain releif, I really do feel for you and hope you come to some sort of happy conclusion.

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She was diagnosed with bone spavins when she was 6yrs and also very mild navicular. She was never put on any long term mediction at the time as it was not considered to be needed. Obviously both these conditions have deteriorated with age but I have managed them with various supplements.
 
not read all the replys yet so hope I am not repeating someone.

I am going through a similar thing with my old horse at the moment, and if I cannot get him pain free then I will have him pts, it is the only fair thing to do imo, I posted on here and got alot of usful advise but also people telling me to give him another chance which in this sort of situstion isnt going to do any good, wish you all the best in your disicion, I know how hard it is to make xx
 
I do agree with you Weezy. Perhaps, because I have the land and the 'need' to do it, we go without so that the horses can benefit. Ok, quite mad in some peoples eyes, we cant all be the same. We kept our old boy going until he was 41, great quality of life. Old mare, 43 again, quality of life. I always know when its time to say goodbye with mine, but until then I sleep with the bank manager
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Its what makes this forum special, differing views. I could never farm animals as I couldnt bear to send them for slaughter, but I dont judge others for their views. I think, along with a few others here, I try to fight tooth and nail for an answer, no matter the cost. Perhaps thats why we live on bread n scrat
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Weezy since no mention had been made of bute doses or similar in the original post I assumed that no long term medication was being used - different people reading the same post in different ways!

Obviously if the horse is on a significant daily dose of bute or similar & is still in pain on hard ground then that is a totally different situation to the one I thought was being discussed.
 
If her quality of life is that poor you should have her pts to my mind.
we have just made that decision about a brood mare of ours, after she foals this year and the foal is weaned at the normal time she will end her days.
She had a stifle injury aged 4 and has been a brood mare ever since, last year she developed melanomas (she's grey) and you could see some inside on the scanner. Her arthritis has got worse and she didn't thrive terribly well last winter, so the decision has been made funnily enough today.
Ask yourself how happy she is if she is in pain? There are levels of pain that are acceptable, if they mooch about without limping in walk for instance , keep their weight on, they are mostly fine to keep going. If however like the above they start to lose weight and struggle, it's kinder to say goodbye.
Our mare is now late teens and had we not bought her back for breeding after selling her aged three, she would have been pts years ago. As it is she's had a reasonable life, some lovely foals but is now past breeding without too much strain on her, so the decision was really made by her not us..
 
I am with tia and weezy, if any discomfort I would spoil her rotten and send her galloping on to the sky. That way you will not worry about what becomes of her and you have been a caring and responsible mum.

We sadly had to have a 7 year old pony PTS due to health problems and behaviour problems. There was no way he would ever have been comfortable and I wasnt going to pass the big problems on.

It was tough decision and broke our hearts but I know now i did the right thing by him.
 
If you can find her a home on loan as companion where she will have a reasonable quality of life, I'd go for that.
 
I had a companion pony fromILPH who had arthritis. We had her at 19 and had her pts in 2005 aged 33. For most of her time with me she had no pain relief, then low doses of bute, but when she was still uncomfy on bute, the ILPH field officer and I decided she had had enough. She was pts in October 2005 and tho it was very hard it was also a relief that I had done the right thing for her. As I understand it your pony is still in pain on 1 bute a day, I have to say if she were mine I would have a talk with the vet and probably make the decision to have her pts. Painful as it is, it is the kindest thing for an animal who has served us well. I do feel for you, this is such a horrible decision to have to make.
 
She'd be off to the big stable in the sky if she were mine. Having a had a horse with similar problems - and trying very, very hard to give it some good quality of life - my advice would be to do it sooner rather than later.
 
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