Donating horse to science

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Barklands

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We have had some very sad news this morning that my mare's prognosis has suddenly declined to very poor. She has been suffering from laminitis which is so far unexplained, every test has come back normal and she was not particularly overweight, so we are pretty stumped as to the cause. She has not responded to change is management such as soaked hay, box rest, feeding etc.

We are now looking at organising for her to be PTS and weighing up options. I will be speaking to the vet to confirm our decision regarding ending treatment later in the week and awaiting one final lab result but wanted to know if anyone else had explored the option of or sent a horse to a vet / veterinary college for research? Her case is so strange, we have absolutely no idea about the cause and feel it could be helpful in understanding the triggers for laminitis in horses who are not typically prone. At least we could feel like there would be some benefit of losing such a lovely, young otherwise fit horse.

I will of course ask the vet that has been overseeing her case if she has any experience of sending for research but just wanted to get thoughts.
 
Are you near one of the vet teaching universities? They are the best place to ask. Many years ago a fellow livery had a horse with what I would suspect was degenerative ligament disease and she said her goodbyes at the university so he could be used for research.

I would say though that it did hit her hard walking away and leaving him there even though he was in very sensitive hands so think about the practical side too.

Sorry you're in this position - laminitis is awful
 
SEL said:
Are you near one of the vet teaching universities? They are the best place to ask. Many years ago a fellow livery had a horse with what I would suspect was degenerative ligament disease and she said her goodbyes at the university so he could be used for research.

I would say though that it did hit her hard walking away and leaving him there even though he was in very sensitive hands so think about the practical side too.

Sorry you're in this position - laminitis is awful
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I think our closest is Edinburgh which is two hours away. We would want her to be PTS at home particularly as she is not really in a fit state to travel. Therefore, it would be a question of logistically how to get her there and the costs involved in that
 
I'm really sorry about your mare, that's a tough break.
Not exactly horsey, but my FiL wanted his body donated when he died. He thought a bit of himself and his preference was Cambridge University Medical School. Unfortunately, he died in the May - the end of term - and Cambridge couldn't take him as the school was closing for the summer. Then there were a lot of very dark phone calls for my husband in the days after the death, involving cold calling universities to persuade them to take on his dead father whilst the tissues were "still viable". Apparently you only have a few days.Then a vehicle with cold storage was needed to transfer him from the hospital morgue to Nottingham University. (The usual NHS bueocracy delayed him being released for 24hours just to add to the stress)

All in all, quite a task, but logistically maybe easier/ smaller than a horse? At least with PTS you will have the opportunity to plan beforehand unlike my poor husband.

It's a dark task, but hopefully will benefit others in the future. All the best.
 
Think you will struggle getting her there. My horse passed away at the Glasgow vet school and I let them use him for teaching on the post mort. It meant I saved on the disposal costs and they I took a lock of his hair.
 
When I was in a similar situation the vet school said I had to pay for transport and a whole lot of other stuff so I’m the end I didn’t “donate” even though the situation was a very rare one at the time and I thought the team there would want to get to the bottom of things after death.
 
I donated my boy to Bristol Vet School. I'm a bit outside their normal catchment area (about 90 mins away) so I had to pay for his transport there (he was PTS at home) but it was fraction of the disposal cost - not that that was a factor in my decision. Mine was a planned PTS in that I had decided months before not to put him through another winter so I had time to speak to them and make the arrangements. They were quite keen to have him as he had quite a few issues that would be interesting / helpful for the students to see but I wasn't given any information about anything they found so you have to be comfortable with not having answers to any questions you might have. It really brought me comfort knowing he was going to help other horses, he was always everybody's friend so it seems fitting that he got to do that.

I'd be happy to have a chat about it if you want.
 
Vet schools normally offer a donation service for horses pts - look on their website for details of what is involved. You will need to complete a donor form and have the vet sign it when the euthanasia takes place (so no fallen stock/hunt possible). I had mine pts at the yard, then paid for transport to the vet school, rather than for disposal/cremation. I seem to remember they couldn't take him immediately, so the fallen stock people kept him in their own freezer until taking him there a few days later.

Our vet school (Surrey) doesn't offer ashes back, but that's not an issue for me as it's not my thing. It may differ for Edinburgh, but if their facilities are CL3, chances are you won't have the option either (it means they perform post mortems on disease cases that are CL3 and below, so what goes in, does not go out except as 'clinical waste'. Not sure if it was different as I worked there (not the 'take my horse to school day I envisioned!), but I kept in touch with the PM facility manager and got a report on their findings. I also have a rather interesting picture of my pony's brain spatch-cocked, to show the astrocytoma!
 
Nottingham University definitely took horses back when I was there (20 years ago!). I did the pratical part of my dissertation in the vet disection lab. We sometimes had specific parts picked up from the local abattoir. But occasionally a horse was PTS on site. They were usually ex police horses.
 
Annagain said:
I donated my boy to Bristol Vet School. I'm a bit outside their normal catchment area (about 90 mins away) so I had to pay for his transport there (he was PTS at home) but it was fraction of the disposal cost - not that that was a factor in my decision. Mine was a planned PTS in that I had decided months before not to put him through another winter so I had time to speak to them and make the arrangements. They were quite keen to have him as he had quite a few issues that would be interesting / helpful for the students to see but I wasn't given any information about anything they found so you have to be comfortable with not having answers to any questions you might have. It really brought me comfort knowing he was going to help other horses, he was always everybody's friend so it seems fitting that he got to do that.

I'd be happy to have a chat about it if you want.
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Thank you, that is really useful to know. What kind of company did you use to transport him? I wasn't sure if it would be the fallen stock people that do it and not sure where to start with googling
 
katastrophykat said:
I knew of one donated to Dick Vet in Edinburgh but he had to be transported there and PTS on site. He had a major tendon issue but was fine to trailer with painkillers on board.

Sorry to hear about your news, it’s a crappy disease 😢
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Thank you.

Yes I think that would be the easiest way but I wouldn't want to put her through the journey as she is in quite a bit of pain and isn't the happiest traveller anyway unfortunately. :(
 
I dont know anything about how to donate the body to a vet school, but I just wanted to say how very sorry I am that you are in this situation. Laminitis is a vile disease, but to turn something so horrible into an opportunity to help others is so generous of you, I think you are doing an amazing thing.
 
daffy44 said:
I dont know anything about how to donate the body to a vet school, but I just wanted to say how very sorry I am that you are in this situation. Laminitis is a vile disease, but to turn something so horrible into an opportunity to help others is so generous of you, I think you are doing an amazing thing.
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Thank you, such a cruel disease. Hopefully something good can come from the loss of my lovely mare.
 
A friend donated her mare. I don’t know much of the details but I do know she was PTS at home by the fallen stock man, who then transported her to the teaching location (I think it was a university - but not sure which I’m afraid). She received an update with the findings too which was interesting.
Sorry you’re going through this.
 
Barklands said:
Thank you, that is really useful to know. What kind of company did you use to transport him? I wasn't sure if it would be the fallen stock people that do it and not sure where to start with googling
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The vet school arranged it and I just liaised with the fallen stock company on the day about timings and directions etc. Speak to the vet school first and they'll advise you on preferred contractors and timings etc. e.g. I arranged everything for a Thursday as that's what suited them best.
 
Unfortunately today Edinburgh explained that they would only take her if she is put to sleep there. I don’t feel that travelling her with severe laminitis to a place she doesn’t know to be PTS is fair so very sadly not an option for us. But maybe something others can consider in a similar position to me if they are ever having to face these really difficult decisions.
 
Barklands said:
Unfortunately today Edinburgh explained that they would only take her if she is put to sleep there. I don’t feel that travelling her with severe laminitis to a place she doesn’t know to be PTS is fair so very sadly not an option for us. But maybe something others can consider in a similar position to me if they are ever having to face these really difficult decisions.
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As a scientist, there is quite limited things we can actually study when a horse is PTS and home and then transported to us - a lot of things in the body change rapidly after death. Personally, as someone who has gratefully used horses donated for research before, I need to collect samples ideally within 20 minutes and maximum really 1 hr of death typically for them to be useable for my research.

Use for PM, teaching or other anatomy purposes rather than other kinds of research can be possible, but it depends on cold storage etc prior to arrival - it gets complicated.

I completely agree with your assessment of the situation and you’re making the right call for her welfare - but I just wanted to explain that they aren’t saying no to be fussy.

I’m so sorry for your situation, and wish you a straightforward and peaceful PTS at home.
 
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