Do I put her through another winter?

T

toffeeyummy

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I have a very elderly mare. We love her to bits but she is old and slowly losing weight. She has arthritis and although moves about quite slowly, will canter across the field for her tea! I keep looking at her thinking, when do you do it? At the end of the summer when she's quite happy and well? Or wait til the weather sets in and it's freezing cold? She won't come in, she hates being in. I would feel so guilty pts when she's quite well, but what's the choice. Wait til she's suffering? Old pony keepers, please advise.... :(
 
I had an old boy, had him for 20 years. He was on three legs bless 'Im' and wasn't about to give up. Always loved his food and pooltled about the field.

Eventually we had to say enough was enough before he fell over and couldn't get back up again. It was a very hard decision but, of course, the best decision for him.

A cliche, I know, but better a day too early than a day too late.

You'll do the best for your pony I'm sure.
 
I always said the day my old girl needed surgery would be the day I said goodbye. She was fit and healthy and I was still riding her, when one day, at the age of 35, that was that. I am glad she took the decision out of my hands, I had no choice about what to do.

She's had a good innings, and as said, it's better to let her go when she can still enjoy life than when she is losing her former self. It's a horrible decision to make if she's currently happy, but if she you think she won't be during the winter and she goes downhill then, will you beat yourself up for not doing it sooner?
 
i think the bravest and most sensible decision would be to have a final month and before the cold and mud sets in pts. it must be very difficult, my guys are still quite young but i have seen other people who's horses are very old and lame and i really hope they don't get put through yet another winter like the the last one.
 
I am going through the same thing i have a 17 year old gelding hes got arthritis and cushings disease had his arthritis since he was 9 and he is starting to trip coming in and out of his field so thinking another winter may be too much for him but its so hard to make the decision for them
 
I had my old girl put down in June 2 years ago, as I didn't want to put her through another winter. Best decision. It turns out, that although she went maybe 2 months 'too early', she was looking her best and i still give myself a pat on the back for that.
Be brave, it is for them, not for us. x
 
This is such a hard time. My old mare was 32, she was fit and well but was thin over the last few years. We had no stables just a field shelter. She suffered an attack of colic in september ( a few years back). She was treated and came through well. Then two weeks later she had another bout. The weather was forcast to be stormy , cold and rain by the weekend. i called my vet and discussed it and he came out . We couldnt catch the little madam when he got here ( she had been laying down on and off all day} this gave me the heebie jeebies about wether I was doing the right thing. We talked and he said he could treat her but that he would be back next week as there was probably something failing. We went ahead and she was PTS there and then. A few nights later the storm hit and much as I missed her I was so glad we did it when we did.
You have to live with it and know you have done the right thing. My thoughts are with you.
 
amymay said:
I think the phrase 'put her through another winter' is a telling one.
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Yes I agree. I just need someone to agree with me. Every day I hope I find her passed away in the field. Tonight I thought I'd book the hunt for October. With the horn blowing, a fitting tribute to the perfect pony :'(
 
Do what's right for the horse not for you. I would not put such a horse through another winter. I thought the wording was very telling too! Let her go before it becomes distressing for her. Let her end be peaceful and dignified.
 
We've done in it October twice. The first time the vet advised us in September that the mare wouldn't get through another winter comfortably and the 2nd time was a very wet summer which the mare had struggled with. We did consider the end of August but for various reasons it wasn't really possible then. We had the best 2 months of the year that Sept and Oct and she went on the last Friday in October. That night the good weather broke and we had such horrendous rain. We were so glad that the timing had worked out so well.
This year we were just congratulating ourselves that we had got our elderly cob through another winter, when she went lame. Everybody thought it was an abscess although neither vet nor farrier could find anything. Then we had the weeks of snow drifts when all our horses had to stay in 24/7. At the end of April she deteriorated, vet decided it was a tumour on her brain or spine and she was pts. Although she was fine at the beginning of winter, I have thought that perhaps we would have been better saying goodbye before the worst of the weather - hindsight is a wonderful thing.
I think you have made the best decision in the interests of your pony, which is what all responsible horse owners do.
 
Not easy is it. I have a similar issue with a diabetic dog. She is blind now (and has other problems all due to the diabetes) but I can't seem to bring myself to do it as she is not obviously needing pts.
 
No, it's not easy. Especially when children are involved. I have started to prepare them but it will be the saddest day. The pony owes us nothing, but I keep thinking maybe she'll be ok for one more winter? X
 
Bless you, it's such a hard decision to make. My old lad gave me no choice and it was mercifully quick. I did however take a great deal of comfort from that fact I had made that final decision and ended his suffering. I could only do it as I loved him so much. (Blubbing now!).
 
Why would you want to put her through another winter? Do you honestly think she would winter well? If you do then go for it. If not you know what should be done, who would you be keeping her going for. Not for her, for you. Do what's right for the horse as you say she supposedly owes you nothing... But another winter?
 
I think your title says it all, It not for Us to decide But you and it can be a very hard heart rending decision to make, but I am a great believer in sooner rather than later I hate to see suffering and in my opinion their are too many old infirm Horses kept alive in this country with poor quality of life "For Kindness" when in reality it is down to the horses owner who wont face up to the truth that it would be Kinder and more Humane to have their beloved old horse Put to Sleep.
 
IMO it's kinder for them to spend their last days fit and healthy. That's how you'll remember her and later you'll come to appreciate that she was pain free and happy. It's just my opinion but I'd rather that than have no preparation as a result of an emergency callout to the vet.
 
My 28 year old mare was PTS last October. She wasn't arthritic, or stiff, but it transpired that she had no grinding surface left on her molar teeth. She dropped severe amounts of weight the winter before but the vet and dentist helped me formulate a diet that she could eat well.

Sadly, she stopped eating early October last and we made the heartbreaking decision to let our old girl go. She was my pony and I passed her on to my four year old son.

It left a big hole in our lives. But we did it for her, not us. I think personally, if you ask the question you already know the answer and it's the kindest thing to let your old horse go with dignity Xx
 
I know my situation with peggy was different...on one hand i wish i'd tried harder to find a "better" alternative but on the other i'm glad she didn't have to suffer anymore....

imo its your pony and you know her better than any of us and whatever your decision we should all support you and not judge you for it. (not directed at anyone)...if you do decide on pts we are all here for you.

re pts in october i'd see how th weather is shaping up and if its ok i think it sounds very thoughtful and a beautiful tributeXoXoX
 
toffeeyummy said:
Yes I agree. I just need someone to agree with me. Every day I hope I find her passed away in the field. Tonight I thought I'd book the hunt for October. With the horn blowing, a fitting tribute to the perfect pony :'(
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But would you want to find her passed away in the field overnight trapped in a position on the ground she couldn't get up from, or the mud was too slippy? I was in exactly the same position almost a year ago and that was my biggest fear. I chose the last week of October as I wanted her away before another miserable week of fireworks and the actual day based on the weather forecast. When I look back at the pictures and video I took of her the day before I can see how thin, stiff and slow she had become so I don't regret my decision for a second.
 
I am facing a PTS situation with my mare. Personally, I feel I need to get the timing right. I could not PTS when a horse is perky and happy the majority of the time. I know I would just bottle it and cancel. It would have to be done at the point where the horse loses it's spark. Not left so late that they suffer unduly, but not so soon as to rob them of any quality of life. It's a tough one and the hardest decision to make.
 
I had the same dilemma 2 weeks ago when the vet came out to do my 33yr old mares teeth I told him I would wait til just before winter and see how she was. Last Monday night I watched her trot up the field with the others commenting on how good she was looking and I wasn't looking forward to having make the decision. Sadly on the Tuesday morning, that decision was taken out my hands as she died in the field.
However,2 yrs ago I was in that same situation again when I decided in the October to put my daughters pony down. She was keeping her weight on and had the odd trot around the field, but she had just lost that spark and knew the time had come.
Its one of the hardest things to do as an animal owner, but you have to think of their quality of life.
 
I had my old boy pts in September, 4 years ago. Seems very similar to your situation. He was bright, and interested in his food, with a lovely shiny coat. But he was thin and didn't put on "summer condition" the way he would have normally, and his arthritic hocks made him a bit unsteady at times. So, on a lovely sunny day in September I had him pts (at the age of 33yrs) in his field, next door to his pal. I did have a few guilty thoughts - maybe I should have tried to nurse him through the winter - was it fair to pts when he still trotted (slowly) down the field to meet me, with his ears pricked? (when he finally heard me shouting - think he was also a bit deaf by then!) But, no, I am certain I made the correct decision. As I'm sure you will be too, when the time comes. **lots of hugs**
 
For me its about quality of life.
If you are starting to doubt that she will winter well this year then I think deep down you know its time. Only you know your horse, and I'm sure you will make the kindest decision for her, however hard that is for us to bear.
I am most definitely a believer of the saying 'rather a week too early than a day too late'. Don't let her get to that point of losing her dignity x
 
My old girl was 40 & she was PTS in July this year. I was dithering & dithering re what to do. Her weight was okay & she seemed cheerful enough, but then she got an eye infection. She did recover from it, but it knocked the stuffing out of her. Then she developed a stiff leg & started losing condition, & all she seemed to do was stand about looking fed up. I'd had her since she was 3, so it was so hard. I finally 'did it', then a few days later, came across some photos from a few months earlier. In those, she looked happy & well, then in contrast she really did look ready to go in the photos from the day she went.

It's so hard. I was going to give her til Sept, but then my friend pointed out that that was only a few weeks away anyway. When the hunt said she could either go on that particular day or we'd have to wait 2 weeks, & my first instinct was that I'd be disappointed at having to watch her limping about for another 2 weeks, I knew I was doing the right thing.

I really wished that she'd go naturally, but I think they very rarely do.

(((hugs)))

T x
 
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