Have you ever had to euthanise a ‘dangerous’ horse?

[DonskiWA]

I‘m facing this dilemma currently and am feeling wretched.
There have been 2 lunging, biting attacks and one aimed kick out (missed my head by inches) over the space of 3 years. I can’t trust him around the dogs at all.
He does have some back/body work issues, but they are being constantly worked on and addressed. Everything physically that can be done has been done for him. He is a palomino QH and has never had a willing work ethic. All my other horses have been darling angels, so I don’t think it’s me?
I can’t sell him on. Have any of you ever been in a similar situation?

 

[Cortez]

Not exactly similar, no, but I would have no hesitation in euthanising a dangerous, unsellable horse that has had all possible interventions.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

No I haven't but I wouldn't hesitate to do it if I thought it necessary, it's not a nice situation to be in so I am sorry your facing this, I think from what you have described I think it is the right decision the horse is in pain and showing aggression so you only have one option really, it's not worth putting yourself in danger it sounds like you have done all you can.

 

[Equi]

Do what you feel is best for you and the horse.

 

[SEL]

He's not a PSSM horse is he? My appaloosa was due to be shot as a 4yo when I took her on because she was dangerous. Diagnosing and managing her muscle disease made a huge difference to her behaviours.

ETA - but if I ever can't look after her then she'll be PTS because I won't risk her reverting and someone getting hurt. It's horrible but sometimes the best option

 

[Cutgrass]

My sister has had two pts for this reason over the years. She runs a yard and it was a very hard decision each time but in hindsight she's really glad she did it. She never could have sold them on and lived with herself.

 

[Flicker]

Not personally but I know people who have. In every case it was the best decision for all concerned.
Sorry to hear you are in this position and hope you have whatever support you need around you at this time.

 

[paddy555]

He's not a PSSM horse is he? My appaloosa was due to be shot as a 4yo when I took her on because she was dangerous. Diagnosing and managing her muscle disease made a huge difference to her behaviours.

this. No way would I PTS until I had checked this as it is the first thing that comes to mind with a QH. Not having a willing work ethic tells a lot.

My PSSM2 bit,, had body issues and double barrelled me onto the ground. . Once I had got him sorted he became a pussy cat. Body work doesn't work for these horses until the underlying problem has been sorted.

Are you on the FB PSSM groups? If not I would get on there (let me know if you want to know the group names) and put his pedigree up or at least his name. Someone will be able to tell you if others/earlier generations are affected. That will be a very good starting point.


Is he 5 panel tested? if not I would test for PSSM1. I think you are in Aus so cannot help there but in the UK the test is very simple, just a mane sample, takes about a week and costs £35 over here.

If that was negative then I would go onto a PSSM 2 management regime. That could well turn your horse around.

There is lots of info available about QHs and PSSM and how to manage them.

 

[Sossigpoker]

Yes, my own. He was dangerous (biting, kicking , charging at you, rearing) because he had medical problems. Had he not been dangerous to even be around he might have been able to be turned away to live what time he had left , but due to being so violent (he picked a vet up by her hair!) He was euthanized within a week of diagnosis. He was 5.
It was completely the right thing to do. A horse that aggressive isn't happy and allowing anyone to get hurt because of him would have been inexcusable.

 

[southerncomfort]

Yes and its the worst thing I've ever had to do. I'm still not reconciled with the decision and still wonder if their was something else I could have tried but we were all battered, bruised and covered in bite marks. After he kicked my daughter in the head, we had one last round of vet checks then had him PTS before he killed someone.

Rationally I know it was the right decision but I still feel sick about it to be honest. Although not as sick as I would have felt had he put someone in a wheelchair.

 

[babymare]

Yes for a similar situation. An hard decision but one I would make again to ensure the horse didn't fall into wrong hands or hurt someone. Be kind to yourself x

 

[Nudibranch]

Not exactly but if we had left it, he would have become dangerous. Big, 7yo WB with multiple orthopaedic issues from a very early age. Spent 5 years on work ups, treatment, etc. I knew for sure when he went for the farrier one day while holding up a hind leg. That horse never so much as pulled a face at a human, so it spoke volumes.

 

[Wheresthehoofpick]

Yes. Kids pony aged 29 that had been "gifted to us" we tried for a year. Investigated everything. He was just an accident waiting to happen. Went for people, dogs, other horses, cars. Wish we had done it sooner. I don't regret it for a minute. Yes. There was clearly something wrong. But we couldn't find out what it was. The safety of my family was more important. We have had many horses over the years. Never seen anything like it before or since.
Sometimes it just has to be done. We now have three gentle horses who will have a lifetime with us. That pony nearly made us all quit.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I think it’s an admirable thing to do. It’s never an easy decision to pts any horse but in circumstances where its not a straight cut easy choice it takes guts. I feel for you op

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I was seriously considering doing so because the TB/Welsh mare was getting more and more dangerous to handle, it took 2 people to bring her across a small paddock to her stable every night. Then quite by chance, we changed her feed and her character changed completely, so I would always try that before making the final decision

 

[millikins]

Yes, a shetland. He kicked me so hard he chipped a bone in my leg, he kicked a NF mare and lamed her for a week. He was unsafe with any mares, dogs or smaller geldings, if he didn't kick he'd bite. Vet found nothing wrong, I believe he was a previous owner's first foal and had been spoilt to the point of ruining him. I felt awful, still do, it was not his fault but I wasn't prepared to put myself or my other animals at risk and if sold could never risk him coming into contact with children where his kicks would be head height.

 

[Winters100]

Not personally, but I did help a friend with a horse who was a danger to everyone he came into contact with. Like you she tried everything, sent him to a clinic for 2 weeks assessment. Nothing was found, but they said that clearly he had pain, they just could not find from where. She struggled on for some time, keeping him somewhere that he had minimal contact with humans and could be released from his box directly to the paddock. Eventually it became unsustainable because he had to be sedated for everything, farrier / vet etc and she took the decision to pts. In my opinion it was the best decision and I do not believe that she has regretted it. Sadly the rules where we live are that an animal may only be pts with a diagnosis, without a firm diagnosis one can send them crammed on a meat truck to a terrible fate, but one may not legally pts at home. In the end we transported him to an understanding yard where a vet I know attended late at night for a bout of 'colic' and was forced to pts.

Edited to add do what you feel is right. There are worse fates for a horse than being pts, and personally from what you have described this would be far better for him than being passed on. Sorry that you are in this very difficult position.

 

[hobo]

Yes and it was my own homebred 6 year old it was the totally right thing to do and though it was sad I have never regretted it as my life was a little bit more important then hers. She had been fully vet checked and could have until the last incident stayed and looked very pretty in the field but even that proved to dangerous and I got badly injured and did not want anyone else to end up harmed vet was 100% behind it.

 

[Sprig]

Yes, still feel sad about it but not as sad as I would have felt if he injured/killed someone.

 

[Cortez]

I have luckily only had to deal with a couple of truly aggressively dangerous horses over the years. The very worst one was found to have a brain tumour on post mortem investigation, the other had a broken pelvis (and was still being ridden: not by me). The first was put down after progressing to attacking people randomly, the second retired to be a broodmare after she healed.

 

[paddy555]

Sadly the rules where we live are that an animal may only be pts with a diagnosis, without a firm diagnosis one can send them crammed on a meat truck to a terrible fate, but one may not legally pts at home.

a diagnosis or a terminal one? the logic of not being able to PTS any animal at home (even if it is simply a dangerous one) escapes me.

ETA does that apply to dogs as well? I always have my old dogs PTS at home. They don't always have a firm diagnosis just very old and come to the end of their lives. Bit like some of my horses.

 

[Laurac13]

Sadly yes one, I tried everything for 8.5 years he had been passed from pillar to post before I bought him, it completely broke me heart but my vet was the one in the end to say he’s dangerous and needs pts (which I already knew) and to call it a day, I would never have passed him on and I tried for years and huge amounts of money to sort him but after years of investigations etc and trying to retire him I took the very very hard decision to call it a day, it was truly awful, I never give up on animals and thought I could fix him but I couldn’t, in the end I felt almost relieved after, he wasn’t a happy horse and was frightening / upsetting my mini Shetland and youngster and his rearing, bolting through fencing, kicking stable walls down, and running over me had to end. I spent a fortune on vet investigations (when he had his back X-ray under sedation he had the X-ray Machine over and all the staff ran out the room) we had numerous trainers, etc one animal communicator who came out said he was autistic, He just wasn’t a normal or happy horse, I know I tried everything but it doesn’t make it easier. Sorry for anyone going through this imo it’s better to end their suffering and save someone from being hurt

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

this. No way would I PTS until I had checked this as it is the first thing that comes to mind with a QH. Not having a willing work ethic tells a lot.

My PSSM2 bit,, had body issues and double barrelled me onto the ground. . Once I had got him sorted he became a pussy cat. Body work doesn't work for these horses until the underlying problem has been sorted.

Are you on the FB PSSM groups? If not I would get on there (let me know if you want to know the group names) and put his pedigree up or at least his name. Someone will be able to tell you if others/earlier generations are affected. That will be a very good starting point.


Is he 5 panel tested? if not I would test for PSSM1. I think you are in Aus so cannot help there but in the UK the test is very simple, just a mane sample, takes about a week and costs £35 over here.

If that was negative then I would go onto a PSSM 2 management regime. That could well turn your horse around.

There is lots of info available about QHs and PSSM and how to manage them.

This ^ I too have an palomino QH by Sedgehill Gold. One of the trainers round here. Chris Haywood bought a horse for £ 1 as it was dangerous and kept bolting. It now is an amazing event horse. Gets some good trainers who are used to this sort of thing , along side your vet.

 

[Winters100]

a diagnosis or a terminal one? the logic of not being able to PTS any animal at home (even if it is simply a dangerous one) escapes me.

ETA does that apply to dogs as well? I always have my old dogs PTS at home. They don't always have a firm diagnosis just very old and come to the end of their lives. Bit like some of my horses.

I don't think it has to be terminal, but if I understand correctly has to be that they cannot have a good life in the paddock. Just being dangerous, kicking, biting etc is not enough. For dogs I am not sure how it works. I recently had one put to sleep, but he was very old when we found him 4.5 years ago and suffered from several problems (heart problems, arthritis and a pretty rare auto immune disease). For me it is absurd,, because the meat truck is legal, as is keeping a dog alive if you cannot afford the treatment, but it is what it is. To put this in perspective the dog that I had put to sleep cost more than a horse to keep for the first year because of 3 times a week visits to the dermatologist!

Just to add Paddy that I think 'just too old' is acceptable under the law. Because when we took the dog for his final visit my Son was asking the vet if he could not do something to give him more time, and the vet gave him the answer that the dog was just too old and that he agreed with me that he should not be put through suffering just to give us some extra weeks. But still it is absurd for me, as in all honesty an animal with an unknown problem, or with a medical problem that the owner cannot afford to treat, even if the animal is young, is better pts than allowed to live in pain - at least that is my opinion.

 

[TPO]

It didnt come to that but my then vet did offer it as an option and that was without me broaching the subject!

Agree that pssm/hypp come to mind with a QH. Has he been tested?

Was he late cut? Does he have adlib forage or is it dry with you?

But bottom line is I wouldn't hesitate to pts a true dangerous horse. Theres a clip from the Buck film on youtube of a horse, sure it's a Palomino too, attacking another horseman in the yard and it was savage. Sometimes they cant all be fixed or saved

 

[cindars]

A fellow livery years ago had a lovely Arab gelding that would suddenly go pop he got so bad she did pts and had autopsy done found out he had a brain tumour.

 

[L&M]

Yes we did. She was a little sj mare that my partner got on the cheap as was a confirmed rearer and would try to attack other horses in the field, so had to managed, handled and ridden, very carefully.

Her saving grace was she was an exceptionally talented sj and with humans, had a loving and gentle temperament.

She progressed through the levels until she had reached her limit and started to age, so he then made the hard decision to pts at 18yrs after the end of her last jumping season - without her quirks she would have been a fab schoolmaster, but felt he couldn't pass her on in case she did anyone/another horse damage.

Sounds harsh, but her previous owner was going to euthanise her as a 9yrs old, but with my partner she got to enjoy many more years.

 

[spoo]

Yes. Had him from birth. He was pts when he was 4. Eventually came the realisation there were only so many times I could be stitched up, bruised, bitten. Had professional help with him and even they agreed it was the only step left. As horrible as it sounds, the relief I felt when I no longer had to deal with him and his behaviour two/ three times a day made me know I had made the right decision. I couldn't sell him, he would of been passed about, not to mention he could of killed someone.I wouldnt hesitate to make that decision again if needed.

I don't envy you, its a hard decision to make, and you feel like the worst person making it. But sometimes there just isn't any other option

 

[hobo]

Winters I have never noticed where you are based. I am glad here that we are trusted to know what is the right for our own animals and that most of us are brave enough to do it.

 

[cauda equina]

You would hope that a compassionate vet would come up with a diagnosis of some sort to allow pts to happen
Perhaps it's more difficult to find a compassionate vet though if the culture in your country is that horses are a commodity or food