Horse being PTS question

Tormenta

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Give your vet a call and ask them for a price for injection, call out etc and then find out who would be disposing and give them a call too, I did that in advance so I knew to have money ready as they require cash in hand on collection here. Prices definately seem to vary from area to area and the knackerman here charges differing costs for differing size of animals, Small pony cheaper than horse etc. I hope that doesn't sound too harsh.
 

ILuvCowparsely

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its around 90 pounds for injection tho each vet is different and if you want individual cremation its 500-600 you need to find out who your vet uses to collect to find out that cost as again each vet uses a different collector
 

ColandMe

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Actually, she asked about the financial aspects of it. Insurance will not pay out for planned PTS. They will only pay out if the horse has to be PTS for humane reasons. I have had many horses in my care with arthritic conditions and they cope just as well in winter as in summer, so long as they are well rugged, and have turnout and good feed. So no reason to choose a particular time of year to PTS for humane reasons. It is all to do with us anthrophomorphising. Horses do not think that way. If a horse is suffering PTS if not then don't. How can you plan such a thing? :confused:

Well not always. My old mare had arthritus, coped very well on joint supplement and exercise, gradually needing bute and very light hacking. Well early about this time last year she seemed to go downhill however seemed happy in herself etc. I knew I was going to have to make a decision and had been thinking about my options deciding while she was happy we'd carry on. Last winter she lay down in the field and never got up again, it was incredibly distressing for me to find her like that. She tried and tried to get up for me but she couldn't. She was well rugged, well fed and well medicated, she obviously just couldn't cope with the weather, conditions, mud, it was too much. I wish I had've made my decision sooner so she didn't end up lying in the freezing mud.
Op, you're doing absolutely doing the right thing by pre planning in my opinion, bloody hard but right. x

Forgot to add, although my vet was very kind and thoughtful, she didn't arrange removal or anything. I had to ring around finding someone to come out, with a vehicle suitable to get through a muddy field. Thankfully a good friend was present for that for me as I was in no fit state, it cost me £200 for removal only, think it was about £160 vet fee but that was weekend call out charges.
 
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ILuvCowparsely

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Forgot to add, although my vet was very kind and thoughtful, she didn't arrange removal or anything. I had to ring around finding someone to come out, with a vehicle suitable to get through a muddy field.
:confused::(

thats a bit unfair of them mine organised everything
 

Spellbound13

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Hi there
Ive just had my 11 year old p2s 3 weeks ago

On the firday it cost me £50 for the vet to come examin him and determin he had to be p2s
On tuesday the vet cost me £290

For cremation from BRENT CARTER it cost me £540 for individula cremation with the ashes returned to me

so almost £900

Brent Carter can shoot your horse and its included in the cremation price for free so does save you over £300 on vets fees.


Its a tough call but its upto you
I chose to have oliver euthanised by the vet as i thought i would be able to cope better and be there for him

please see my post in veterinary *euthaniasia be there at the end?*

Good luck
xx
 

Spellbound13

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Yes summer can be just as bad. My mare is often tweaking her shoulder because of the hard ground, where as in winter she is in the all weather and seems to be much more sound. They run around because of the flies (even in fly rugs) and generally get hot and cross. I think as long as horses are well fed and rugged in winter, they should not suffer from the cold. But yes, if the horse is going to be stood in mud, without rugs and inadequate hay then they are going to suffer.

My Oliver was t least 10times worse in summer than winter and always needed at least double the dose of bute in summer and bertually none in winter
 

flowerlady

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I'm overwhelmed by your support - I'm pretty good at ignoring advice I didn't ask for. I think you have to be in the horsey world.

I always remember the saying my dear old dad would say about his horses.

'Better a day too early than a day to late.'

Which is exactly why he will go while he is relatively comfortable than wait till he is having a bad day.

I'm still no wiser as to how much it will cost for PTS by injection and collection. I don't want his ashes

Gable when I asked the questions I was NOT telling you to have him put to sleep now I asked why winter because my lad who is retired and a field ornament is on 2 bute a day and I occassionaly drop it or up it accordingly to make sure he is comfortable. I have been considering lately what to do this winter as he refuses to go into his stable since we moved. So he will have to live out 24/7 that was my reason to see if there was any particular reason for the winter.

I did try telling you if you'd read my post that to have my other horse pts by injection and removed arranged by the vet was about £350.

The rest of you who are so quick to jump on someone just for asking questions.

Wagtail -Ignore them.
 

Megibo

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unbelievable - does she sound like a lady who is letting her horse suffer - no!!!!
She is giving him his last summer pain free which she quite clearly stated - no need for those questions!!!! :mad:

that was uncalled for. of course she doesn't sound like she's letting her horse suffer but she didn't originally state whether or not the horse was sound on painkillers or not! The poster lost their own horse so they know how it feels and were just asking no need to bite her head off. Goodness some people are so rude !! :mad::mad:
And i think wagtail has some valid points so why jump on her back? honestly some of you need to grow up ...

OP sorry to hear about this, hope everything goes as smoothly as it possibly can x
 

touchstone

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OP, regarding cost you can join the National Fallen Stock scheme, it costs around ten pounds, but it gives you a list of all disposal services available in your area as well as prices. Your vet will be able to let you know the cost of euthanasia if you prefer injection.
 

Pearlsasinger

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That is what I am trying to say. If a horse is comfortable right now, I don't know how I could make a decision that on such and such a date I will PTS. I would have to take it as it comes. It would just cut me up knowing that I intended to end the horses' life regardless of how well he was feeling on the day, as soon as the weather turned. And the closer it came, the worse it would get. I know that there will come a day (maybe quite soon) when my mare will need to be PTS, but it may be tomorrow or it may be in 15 years. I cannot plan it.

We had our Appaloosa mare PTS (shot by local equine crem, no ashes returned £200) in October 2007. You may remember that it was a very wet summer. We thought that we might not get her to the end of the summer and were prepared to do the deed earlier. However the 8 or so weeks from the end of August to the end of October were the best consecutive 8 weeks of the whole year. She made it quite happily until the last Friday in Oct, which was the last day of my half-term holiday from work. It was a lovely sunny day, she was out without a rug. The next day was wet and cold and windy. We live on a very exposed hill-top, which is pretty inaccessible in snow. We KNEW that we had done the best thing for the mare. Remember the saying 'Better a week too early than a day too late'.
OP you do what think is best for your horse.
 

Wagtail

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Well not always. My old mare had arthritus, coped very well on joint supplement and exercise, gradually needing bute and very light hacking. Well early about this time last year she seemed to go downhill however seemed happy in herself etc. I knew I was going to have to make a decision and had been thinking about my options deciding while she was happy we'd carry on. Last winter she lay down in the field and never got up again, it was incredibly distressing for me to find her like that. She tried and tried to get up for me but she couldn't. She was well rugged, well fed and well medicated, she obviously just couldn't cope with the weather, conditions, mud, it was too much. I wish I had've made my decision sooner so she didn't end up lying in the freezing mud.

What a horrible thing to happen, but I really don't think it was anything to blame yourself for as it is unlikely that the winter was to blame. My friend had a similar situation but it hapened at the end of the summer on a lovely sunny morning. Her old horse had had trouble getting up one day in April, but he managed to get up eventually and had three trouble free months grazing happily, before one morning in August, my friend found him lying down in the field. This time he did not get up and she had to have him PTS. Animals can go down hill suddenly at any time of year. They can seem quite happy one day and then lie down and never get up again. There is no way of knowing when this will be. If your horse was not suffering badly before the day he could not get up then you did the right thing waiting until that date to have him PTS IMO.

OP much better, I think, to concentrate on the condition of the horse, than the time of year. Set yourself limits (in advance) regarding your horse's comfort and decide on his condition at the time whether or not to PTS. It may be the day he cannot get up, or it may be the day he doesn't seem interested in his feed, or it maybe the day he has been lame for x number of consecutive days, or it maybe the day when bute does not seem to have an effect. Everyone will have different limits. For some, it may even be the day they know for sure a horse can no longer be ridden. But to decide that a horse will be PTS on a particular date seems a difficult thing to do, especially if the horse is happy, well and comfortable on that date.

But I wish you well in whatever you decide to do.
 

Rana

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Had my 13hh pony PTS by injection - approx £175 vet costs and £350 cremation costs (no ashes returned).

Had my 16hh horse shot, and "economic disposal", £200+VAT, by the same disposal company as above - they don't charge for shooting.

I chose the best method for each horse - the latter one hated vets and injections, so as distressing at it was for me, I chose to have her shot.

FWIW, I was hoping to give both of them a last summer - both were old, with failing teeth, and I felt it was the right time for them. It didn't work out like that though. The pony went downhill quickly, and with the weather getting hotter, she was PTS in July 2006, just before we had a massive heatwave which she wouldn't have coped with. I was glad the timing worked for the best. The horse didn't go downhill, but she lost her sparkle, and didn't seem her usual self. I was struggling to find feeds she could eat, and I was determined that she would die with a full belly and the sun on her back. I made the decision to let her go sooner, rather than risk her getting fussy about her feed, and ending up hungry. She was PTS in April this year, during a bout of lovely warm spring weather. I couldn't have asked for better for her.

I totally understand that you want your horse to have a last summer, but sometimes they make the decision for us. Definitely worth having a contingency plan in place, in case he does worsen quickly.
 

el_Snowflakes

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Sorry to say this but if he i in pain?? why not do it now? When I had my lad pts by injection it was about £350 that included the vet, injection and the people who came and fetched him to cremate. Did not have ashes back as I was so distraught when he went it didn't cross my mind till the day after and it was too late:(

I have to agree with flower lady.

I had my old horse put to sleep 2 years ago it was heartbreaking so i know how you feel and dont envy you one bit :( However, you WILL get over it and move on eben though u probably dont feel that you will. My horse was very arthritic and only 13:( I had owned her for less than a year so i was absolutley in bits :(:( I decided in december to let her go and said to myself i would wait til after xmas and new year. However I could not put her through the extra time spent being in pain and I could not have that hanging over my head so i decided to book the vet for the following monday. It was a big decision and i certainly did not take it lightly but knew deep down that i would not regret it. That day was terrible but it marked the end of a bad time in my life and the start of a new happier one. I appreciate everyone is different and its not a '1 size fits all' approach but i do feel the quicker its over the sooner you and your horse will be free. I like the saying "better a week to early than a day too late".Big hugs & deep breaths....its a hard time but something all of us will have to face with our lovely horses. It took me ages to be able to look at pics of my old girl but now i look back and smile because i did the right thing at the right time and she was so loved just like your boy is xx
 
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