Honest opinions need, don't know what to do (sorry it's long)

Horsesforever1 said:
When any of my horses have ever broken a bone or anything else which requires weeks or months of box rest I have always chosen to PTS. I dont believe in cooping horses up like battery hens. They dont understand why they cannot be turned out. Box rest is, IMO cruel. I wouldn't subject any of my horses to it. End of.
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One of ours had a fractured splint bone six weeks box rest six weeks heavily controlled movement then back to normal life cruel I don't think so.
And this one hated being in we sedated at first provided her with a friend next door 24/7 had humans with her 8 am to 6pm almost constantly then hourly to mid night cost a bit but cruel no.
 
Horsesforever1 said:
When any of my horses have ever broken a bone or anything else which requires weeks or months of box rest I have always chosen to PTS. I dont believe in cooping horses up like battery hens. They dont understand why they cannot be turned out. Box rest is, IMO cruel. I wouldn't subject any of my horses to it. End of.
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i agree to a point - if were talking upto a month its not an issue imo


i had one on box rest for a year - i should have had him pts....
 
I think the most important thing for this horse, OP, if you can keep him calm enough to continue with either stable, barn or field rest is to give him company.

Good luck - and let us know how you get on.
 
Horsesforever1 said:
When any of my horses have ever broken a bone or anything else which requires weeks or months of box rest I have always chosen to PTS. I dont believe in cooping horses up like battery hens. They dont understand why they cannot be turned out. Box rest is, IMO cruel. I wouldn't subject any of my horses to it. End of.
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Blimey. Two of my three horses would happily stand in their boxes eating hay for months at a time! It would be a pity to shoot either of them if they needed 3 months rest for something with a 90% prognosis.

OP if it is a time that can be measured in weeks, say 12, I would cross tie him with limitless hay (soaked for 24 hours to make it safe to eat in quantity) and untie him at night with a full grill on the door. Once it is clear to a horse that it simply cannot escape, they usually calm down. It's the possibility of getting over that door that may have upset him. I write from experience of a manic door climber.
 
My mare has had two lots of box rest last time was 3 months, she is also a nightmare will jump out rear and canter round the stable, she is only happy if she can see at least one horse in the stable near her, at my previous yard she was on a courtyard type and she was much calmer plus hardly anyone turned there horses out so always horses in with her.
I would consider sedating I did it on the odd day if she got really bad, but I found bringing her out and tying her on the yard with a haynet really helped would calm her down, I would try and give him some sort of pen to go into once his a bit more healed even if its just while your there you can sedate him for that so his calm and keep an eye on him.

Good luck I hope you manage to keep him calm.
 
Thank you for all of your replies.

Sadly I made the decision to have goose pts this afternoon as he developed a serious case of colic just around lunchtime before was due to go into surgery which would have needed surgery. My vet was willing to do this however said his chance of recovery was not the best and said he wouldn't put his own horse through it. I decided that it wasn't fair to put him through this.

I am heartbroken.
 
ariellaII said:
Thank you for all of your replies.

Sadly I made the decision to have goose pts this afternoon as he developed a serious case of colic just around lunchtime before was due to go into surgery which would have needed surgery. My vet was willing to do this however said his chance of recovery was not the best and said he wouldn't put his own horse through it. I decided that it wasn't fair to put him through this.

I am heartbroken.
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So sorry to hear this, although you definitely made the right decision for him xx
 
OP I just started to read through this thread and have just seen your last post. I am so sorry for you that it came to this but you did everything you could. Such a heartbreaking decision but you know in your heart it was the right one. Sending hugs
 
ariellaII said:
Thank you for all of your replies.

Sadly I made the decision to have goose pts this afternoon as he developed a serious case of colic just around lunchtime before was due to go into surgery which would have needed surgery. My vet was willing to do this however said his chance of recovery was not the best and said he wouldn't put his own horse through it. I decided that it wasn't fair to put him through this.

I am heartbroken.
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I am so sorry.
 
I am so, so sorry. What an absolutely awful thing for you to have to go through. In certain ways he took the decision for you, bless him. RIP beautiful boy. So heartbreaking.
 
Try and look at this through your horse's eyes. Does he really want to live like this - so un-natural for ANY horse. You must remember that animals don't have any perception of death let alone fear it, as we do, so humanising their thoughts to make us feel like we understand them more is really unfair. His dignity is way more important than the loss you will feel if you decide to do the right thing by him. If you truly love your horse the decision will be hard but ultimately the best thing you could do to show how much you really want to end his suffering - mental and physical. Be strong!
 
happyhacker54 said:
Try and look at this through your horse's eyes. Does he really want to live like this - so un-natural for ANY horse. You must remember that animals don't have any perception of death let alone fear it, as we do, so humanising their thoughts to make us feel like we understand them more is really unfair. His dignity is way more important than the loss you will feel if you decide to do the right thing by him. If you truly love your horse the decision will be hard but ultimately the best thing you could do to show how much you really want to end his suffering - mental and physical. Be strong!
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The decision was made for the OP. Her horse was pts this afternoon following a further bout of colic.
 
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