Horses PTS After Floods

Faracat said:
Would she have been paid for doing the article? If so, knowing that she is in debt, it might explain why she did the article.
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I doubt it - not many local papers pay for stories, they are run on a very short, tight shoestring.

If it had been picked up from a Take a Break style magazine then maybe she'd have had £100 but I would think it's too soon for that as they have quite long lead in times.
 
Sad. Poor woman, I imagine she couldn't see a way forward and made sure her horses wouldn't suffer.
It could happen to anyone of us.
 
It's an expensive area to keep horses. Cheapest would probably cost her £5-600/month + feed on livery for 4 and I'd imagine she's already paying that for her current premises aside from which she's probably lost a stack of hay, straw feed, equipment. I know plenty of people with older ponies/horses liveried in the same place/herd for ages would struggle in this dampness to find 4 places at the same yard that are dry enough, and some horses get very stressed by moving/moving away from herd mates. Given the amount of flooding in the unreported south (not to the degree of the Somerset levels but I know several local to me are on / have been on flooded yards but have had to move), I can imagine alternative accommodation for 4 is going to be very hard to come by, and quite simply there is no let up forecast for the rain.
 
dogatemysalad said:
Agree with this.

When looking at livery or equestrian property, if possible I view in winter or after heavy rain, or try to find documentary/anecdotal evidence of the land in winter. No point in investing a large sum of money in somewhere that is miserable to live on.

I can't say what is going on in the womans life that made her decide to have her horses PTS, although the reason she gave seemed a little puzzling.
The reaction of the Oklahoma horse ranchers after losing 100 horses during the tornado was the complete opposite:- Heartbroken but determined to rebuild - and thankful for the horses that did survive.
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We bought the house in the early 90's, surveyor and solicitor never pointed out that there was a brook at the back of the paddock and as we moved from 125miles we had no local knowledge. We viewed the house in summer and never even saw the brook, now you can look at the flood risk map an see if the land is likely to flood and your mortgage company and insurer will need the information.
We still live on the edge of the fens and although the land is drained I think the ground is so saturated even land that has never flooded in living memory is on the edge. I think the people on the Somerset levels feel let down as they bought houses with no history of flooding and then people are saying why did you did by a house in a flood area?
The water never came in my house, the house was built above the 1947 flood level but my stables and land became a quagmire, the logistics of caring for horses when there is no where dry soul destroying.
I am very surprised there has been no Facebook help for people struggling with their horses. Farmers seem to have got their act together with transport and donations of food, no body telling them because they have sent there cows to slaughter before they are fully grown they are callus. If you can not care for them properly and you have a family to feed better gone sooner than later.
Always think, 'there but the grace of God go I'
 
I have promised myself that if financially i could no longer afford my horses and this would also include not being able to find livery, i am talking desperate desperate searching with no luck, i would put mine down before they suffered. Its a very hard decision to make but sometimes it is a requirement of life.
 
Mithras said:
Callous? Really?

Get a grip.

If its such a pc sensitive subject then its not suitable for a journalistic article.
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Yes, utterly callous. You show no human understanding that somebody might be in such a bad situation that this was, or seemed to them to be, the best course of action and no sympathy that this was so.

It's not a "PC sensitive subject", you just seem to have disregard for someone in a bad position and no interest in trying to understand.
 
Mithras said:
Callous? Really?

Get a grip.

If its such a pc sensitive subject then its not suitable for a journalistic article.
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My grip's fine thanks. ;)

It's nothing to do with being a pc subject (what a silly remark). It's about having a little compassion and understanding for others.
 
She sounds depressed.

I wouldn't be too quick t judge her because the story is in the paper - it's perfectly possible the papers picked it up from someone else and she was asked to comment. If she hadn't they would have run the story without her input - rock and a hard place.
 
dianchi said:
What annoys me the most is the fact that she then did this article- what was she looking to prove?
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It does seem an odd thing to do, I agree. Although of course it was the paper which did the article, she just agreed to be interviewed.

I suggest that, having decided on a course of action she felt was her only choice, she might have been really worried about peoples' reactions and whether they could ever understand why she had her horses pts. Perhaps she thought a story in the paper was her chance to explain, and that maybe then others would be less critical if they read the article. :(
 
I would have looked to rehome the younger ones but perhaps they were unsound or quirky, who knows, it does seem a bit of an odd decision. But also seems there must be more to it than in the article.in any case the horses won't suffer. I don't imagine it is something she did without thought.
 
jeeve said:
I would have looked to rehome the younger ones but perhaps they were unsound or quirky, who knows, it does seem a bit of an odd decision. But also seems there must be more to it than in the article.in any case the horses won't suffer. I don't imagine it is something she did without thought.
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My horse is24. I have had him 5 years and for the last two he has lived out with four heavies. He is happy content and totally chilled. I would most definately pts before i moved him now... i just cant imagine i would ever find anywhere like this again. Before we moved here my horse had to stand in a field on his own due to his issues with other horses. I will never ever see him like that again
 
It is hard to judge without knowing all the story. Our 4 equines are all over 20, and are kept at home, my daughters horse has been kept on livery recently and may possibly go again if she takes him when she relocates with a job. The others however would be pts if for any reason they were unable to stay here, they don't owe us anything, but we owe them a peaceful end.
 
I don't know the lady in question but it appears that we have a mutual friend. According to the mutual friend all the horses had health issues which is probably one of the factors in her making this decision. Plus the fact that when you're in debt to the tune of £20,000 adding another £600 - £800 per month in livery/feed/bedding bills probably isn't a very good idea, without even factoring in farrier costs etc.
 
I think it is sad and drastic to pts due to flooding, we are all in the same boat, surely last year she must have some floods etc not to this extent no. Why not look in to the cause of flooding blocked drains or invest better drainage, sheesh my back yard looked like that and a stable flooded. As someone else said get to the bottom of the cause .... sorry think it was more haste less investigation.

Can't help noticing she has brand new gates in photo, why not use that money to get Dyno Rod to blast trough the drains to allow better drainage
 
I think we have nowhere near enough information to even form an opinon to be honest.

How often to people get judged on here, only for apologies to be forthcoming when more facts are given. We've read a few articles...that does not a whole picture make so I'll leave this poor woman alone.
 
Poor woman has obviously been left seriously out of pocket & maybe couldn't afford to keep them. Rehomimg doesn't happen overnight & she obviously couldn't keep them there. They may have been unridable ect and so unable/unlikely to be rehomed. At the end of the day she didn't neglect them, she did what she felt was best. It's maybe not what everyone would do but her horses, her choice.
 
My Livery yard was flooded in early Dec 2013, its a small yard, mainly elderly retired horses, we managed to walk them all to dry fields, up an incredibly steep hill, the 32 yr old, partially blind 16.2 hunter was the only one we felt couldn't make it and we managed to put him in a horse box for the journey..he was away from home for 2weeks, yes he found it incredibly stressful but he's home again, life is back to how he knows it, maybe if you had no where to put them at all PTS is an option, but hopefully flooding isn't forever your only moving them temporarily !!! And if your moving your herd together they will cope with changes together and support each other, I know ours did.
 
ihatework said:
Sounds desperately sad whatever happened.
I'd imagine there is a bigger underlying story so I'd hate to cast judgement
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This.

dianchi said:
What annoys me the most is the fact that she then did this article- what was she looking to prove?
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....but also this.
We don't know the full story so don't want to judge the action, but I do think that going in the paper was probably not the wisest decision.

Leviathan said:
Can't help noticing she has brand new gates in photo, why not use that money to get Dyno Rod to blast trough the drains to allow better drainage
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So the water can drain WHERE exactly? Into the also flooded drains? Are you for real!?
 
I've not read all the replies but who informed the press - presumably the owner??? Surely she could guess there would be varying reactions and "discussions". It's bad enough having a horse PTS without publicising it to everyone.
 
As others have said, her horses, her decision. I doubt she went to the press though - far more likely they went to her (in the same way as they went to Farmer James Winslade) either specifically because they'd heard what had taken place, or just as another flood victim.
 
There's not really much more that can be added to this discussion. So all I'm going to say is that we don't all know every single thought she had relating to her decision. Obviously she was in financial dire straits, and having recently been in a similar position (fortunately I have somewhere for my elderly 3 that have been flooded out twice this year) I think I can understand why she took the decision she did. I'm sure it won't have been one that came lightly and I'm equally sure that if there had been a suitable, workable, financially viable alternative she would have taken it.

RIP poor horses and also big hugs to the owner who had to make such a heartbreaking decision and is now left to pick up what pieces she can of her life; because lets's face it - the horses may be gone but you can't PTS a debt.
 
Thats fine Equi but we are all different with different responsibilities different commitments and all would act different given same scenario. Its all so sad not just this but the whole situation.
On another note to another poster durrrr @ goverment for not ringing dynorod!
 
Just want to say that often the press will turn up unexpected. We had them turn up a couple of years ago. Came right up the drive and asked to photograph the horses and interview me about how I felt about the Coalition Government! It could be that someone else rang them up and told them someone had put their horses to sleep due to the floods, and they thought it would make a good story.

I had been wondering what people were doing with their horses that had been caught up in the floods. I wonder if any have actually died? It's such a sad situation.
 
Leviathan said:
Can't help noticing she has brand new gates in photo, why not use that money to get Dyno Rod to blast trough the drains to allow better drainage
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Leviathan it doesn't say in the article but the river flooded her grazing more than waist deep and then reached the stables, so there was nowhere for the water to drain to.
 
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