How did you know? PTS

S

SkewbyTwo

Well-Known Member
Joined
9 December 2012
Messages
178
Visit site
Something I'm facing imminently, from two animals in my herd.

It occurred to me, that people's experiences of the moment they knew it was time - as, in my experience, there has always been that moment - could help all of us when we're facing it. As we all must at some point unfortunately. What are your stories?
 
Not another pts thread ....I know no one has to look but surely every possible angle of killing your horse has been covered now.....
 
bonny said:
Not another pts thread ....I know no one has to look but surely every possible angle of killing your horse has been covered now.....
Click to expand...

That's a bit harsh. If you are bored of them, why bother even opening it, never mind commenting?

OP, when I had my old boy put to sleep many years ago, he told me he was ready. One day he just came down his field much slower than normal, didnt touch his feed, just looked up at me with sad eyes and nuzzled my arm. I just burst into tears, and told my mum (I was a teenager) that he was ready to go. When the vet arrived that afternoon, pony saw him and instantly perked up. He was ready, he told me, it was an obvious decision x
 
The 1st mare, she broke her leg. It was a couple of weeks before she turned 24, she couldn't even turn round in the stable so there was no way I was going to be able to get her on a lorry to hospital. So there was only one thing I could do :(

The 2nd mare just started going down hill (she was 27). She started losing loads of weight. The vet did various tests but couldn't find a reason for the weight loss. When it first started happening she was still happy enough in herself, eating well and interacting with my others when she was turned out. But then she started taking herself off and laying down on her own and she began to stop eating and drinking too. So I knew it was time then :(
 
When a grey horse is no longer poo coloured in the morning after a night in the stable you know it is time. He was concerned enough not to lie down, he was in pain despite walking sound. No regrets, despite missing him like mad. Still have tears 3 years on!
 
He stood with his head in the corner of the stable, and didn`t even want his favourite treats. He`d been off his food ..... all these things for a hungry coblet pointed to one thing .... but his *sparkle* had gone from his eye, i know that sounds daft but his eye was dull ..... and i just knew.
 
Phone your vet, instead of discussing it online? Or search the very many descriptions of pts on here which already exist? You will surely find enough material to keep you in reading all night.
 
I recently let my old horse go earlier this year.

He had various old age issues but nothing drastic. I could have buted him up and kept him going for another year or two. Noticed he was having more difficulty getting up after a roll and was more reluctant to get down to have one, but he was still capable of a good roll if he wanted. However, that fact was enough for me, the fact he couldn't enjoy the 'normal' things comfortably that every horse should.

He was in his late 20's, lovely condition for his age (and retired for 6-7 yrs), lovely shiny coat and could still act like a 4 yr old when he wanted (piaffe with tail over back/pelting up field squealing his head off). BUT always in the back of my mind was the worry that he might not be able to get up after a roll/snooze or struggle, fall and injure himself.

So I scheduled for him to be PTS. He flirted with all the mares on the way down from field, had a massive feed and a groom and was quietly injected. It really helped me with my grief as I knew I had let him go before he suffered and struggled.
 
Harry- the equine vet said we can keep trying or we can call it a day. My farrier said he thought he might recover, but told my dad there wasn't much chance when they walked down the road together. By the time my dad returned, I had made up my mind, and my dad put him down. He had severe laminitis and you could see he'd given up on life. I don't understand putting your animal through months of pain.

Misty- she went down with colic very suddenly. I'd always said the day she needed surgery was the day I'd say goodbye. At 35, surgery would have killed her, but the vet voiced his concerns about HD right thing to do to my mum. She told him not to worry. My dad put her to sleep too. She took the choice out of my hands.
 
lame on three legs only controlled by silly amounts of painlkillers which seemed to be compromising her liver and kidneys,lost her sparkle and lost the fight that made her her - miss her horribly and will never forgive myself for what happened - you will know when its time - I cant explain it but one day you will just think enough is enough xx
 
Like another poster said, she just looked at me and I knew she'd had enough.

I have her 2 weeks, upped her bute, and spent that precious time making her feel special (although I did cry over her a lot).

I still miss her so much, but we'd had 20 wonderful years together, and she went quickly and with dignity x
 
Sometimes of course the horse is sick or injured and the desision is taken for you .
The last oldie I elected to PTS like others have said he had lost his sparkle he looked dull I caught him one morning and looked at him and thought your tired now aren't you it was autumn the weather was still good I decided to do it before winter .
 
bonny said:
Not another pts thread ....I know no one has to look but surely every possible angle of killing your horse has been covered now.....
Click to expand...

I think that is rather insensitive. So, you actually bothered to open this thread just so you could make a catty remark? Nice character trait.
 
The decision has always been made for me in the past (broken legs, colic). However, my most recent one was the hardest of all. She was my horse of a lifetime and my soulmate. She had battled so much (broken shoulder with massive tendon injury, relentless episodes of laminitis, Cushings...). Then finally, when I thought we'd beaten it all, she redid her shoulder injury by doing the splits in the field. I saw it happen, and I sort of knew then. But thought I'd give her a few days in to see if it was just a tweak as she had reinjured it on numerous occasions and it only was bad for a couple of days. But this time she did not improve after 3 days. I called the vet to assess. I realised I would never dare turn her out again as the shoulder was so unstable and the thought of finding her with her leg just hanging was actually a real possibility, as confirmed by the vet. Also, she would need several months box rest, which considering she was on very meagre rations due to her laminitis, would not have been fair on her. So I asked the vet to do it there and then. I could not have booked it in and planned it. It had to be spur of the moment. It was exceptionally hard because she was so happy and perky at the time and I felt like a murderer. But she had no future, no chance at all of just being a horse. It was the right decision, made at exactly the right time, not too soon or too late. But the memory of the actual event is incredibly painful and it plays over and over in my mind.
 
Wagtail said:
I think that is rather insensitive. So, you actually bothered to open this thread just so you could make a catty remark? Nice character trait.
Click to expand...

That is her trait waggy.

So what if its another PTS thread OP most likely does not want to hijack someones else's PTS thread so start one of their own, which excuse me is what most do, and they probably don't come on the forum regularly enough to notice how many PTS threads there are.

Been a year since I lost my HOAL still miss her daily always will. X ray's showed bone dying, I had no choice. My ponies colic caused her intestines to go through gut wall I had no choice
 
Last edited:
Right up until the day I wasn't sure, I know realistically it was the only option, the vet agreed - but there's always the emotional response of "could I have tried this or that, maybe he'd have got better with time, maybe he just needed more of a rest", you know the drill. I know it was the right thing to do, I know putting him through another winter would have been unfair, but there will always be doubts, it's only human nature. Rather a week too early than an hour too late is something someone said, and it's stuck with me.
 
Different horses , different reasons - one when the pedal bone dropped thru his sole ( that one was my first and because of that it was a day too late - much regret about that) I've lost 2 in acute illnesses ( one acute cushings the other colic) and 3 due to lameness issues - the 1st was 10/10 lame hopping on 3 legs and no one could diagnose it, and the other two were kept til bute/danilon couldn't keep them comfy enough to go in the field... All very different but all except the first I think I got as right as you can...
 
Pretty much always just got on with it. Once the thought has come to mind I tend not to over analyse but to keep an even closer watch - how they behave in the field etc than I do normally. If it's an older horse (20+) I'm not going to be spending a fortune on various tests / meds either. Once it's done, grieve a little, & move on.
 
Pigeon said:
Rather a week too early than an hour too late is something someone said, and it's stuck with me.
Click to expand...

This. I had one of my horses pts 10 days ago. He was still eating and having a good roll in the field but at 27 had been retired for a few years. He had recently been diagnosed with Cushings and was having trouble keeping weight on. I didn't want him to get laminitis and after discussion with my vet chose to have him pts whilst he still had a reasonable quality of life. He had a morning in the field with his mates and the sun on his back. Unfortunately all my other horses have been pts due to medical emergencies.
 
Pigeon said:
Rather a week too early than an hour too late is something someone said, and it's stuck with me.
Click to expand...

I've never arranged for any of mine to be PTS (as I've only really had Ned and Cooks!) but there was one owned by YO who was really fit and healthy on the outside. He would gallop around the field and loved jumping around! He was great to watch :)
Though one of his tendons was on the verge of going completely and that would have been horrific, so she PTS before that happened. I gave him his last meal and a lovely groom :(
With some I guess you just have to be brave, even if it seems a little too early.

Not exactly the same, but it was too late with my cat and I hate myself. We took her a week before and the vet said she was ok...she clearly wasn't but he was so insistent :( we took her home and gave her another week, but it was miserable. We took her back to see a different vet and he agreed it was 100% her time.
 
Chan said:
With some I guess you just have to be brave, even if it seems a little too early.
Click to expand...

This ^^^^^

Not exactly the same, but it was too late with my cat and I hate myself. We took her a week before and the vet said she was ok...she clearly wasn't but he was so insistent :( we took her home and gave her another week, but it was miserable. We took her back to see a different vet and he agreed it was 100% her time.
Click to expand...

Don't hate yourself. You went to a professional, paid them good money for their opinion & for whatever reason they let you down.
It doesn't matter what the type of animal is, there are still vets who are reluctant to help owners make the decision. They will pander to those who want to grasp at straws & try different meds, run more tests etc while the bills mount up & the distress of animal &/or owner escalates. Animal owners need to face up to the fact that at some point they're going to have to make the call. It's an unavoidable part of animal ownership, be it a hamster or a horse, & some will have to leave us far earlier than we would like.
 
These were taken a couple of days before my boy was PTS for kissing spines.
AndyLizzie158_zpse545ec16.jpg

AndyLizzie069_zps96ce5cfb.jpg


We could have kept him going longer but he was in pain (although he doesn't look it here). The only way to help him was surgery and he wasn't calm enough to put up with the aftercare and box rest. Last time he was on box rest was because of a very deep cut on his leg cause by wire, and he jumped out the stable!

We knew it was time when I kept seeing him lying down and he stopped rolling (which he always did in any weather on any ground). If he did roll he would groan and sounded awful, he lost the spark which made him the horse he was. I felt awful for ages having him put down like we jumped the gun but looking back at these photos made me realise 100% it was the right time.
 
Zebedee said:
This ^^^^^



Don't hate yourself. You went to a professional, paid them good money for their opinion & for whatever reason they let you down.
It doesn't matter what the type of animal is, there are still vets who are reluctant to help owners make the decision. They will pander to those who want to grasp at straws & try different meds, run more tests etc while the bills mount up & the distress of animal &/or owner escalates. Animal owners need to face up to the fact that at some point they're going to have to make the call. It's an unavoidable part of animal ownership, be it a hamster or a horse, & some will have to leave us far earlier than we would like.
Click to expand...

Thank you :( you're right! I wish me and mum were braver and stood up to him though - she was 18yrs old, thyroid problem, deaf and I'd say 60% blind. I know I'm going to have to make the call for Annie the dog soon, we almost did a few months ago when things seemed to go down hill, but by the time she was in the car on the way - she was fine and has been ever since! Arg, the pain of having old animals...she's 16!! Never thought she'd make it this far.
 
Kokopelli said:
We could have kept him going longer but he was in pain (although he doesn't look it here). The only way to help him was surgery and he wasn't calm enough to put up with the aftercare and box rest. Last time he was on box rest was because of a very deep cut on his leg cause by wire, and he jumped out the stable!

We knew it was time when I kept seeing him lying down and he stopped rolling (which he always did in any weather on any ground). If he did roll he would groan and sounded awful, he lost the spark which made him the horse he was. I felt awful for ages having him put down like we jumped the gun but looking back at these photos made me realise 100% it was the right time.
Click to expand...

You put the animals needs before your own Koko, which is all any of us can do. I'm so glad that you're at peace with the decision & the timing, & I wish all owners were as unselfish,
 
bonny said:
Not another pts thread ....I know no one has to look but surely every possible angle of killing your horse has been covered now.....
Click to expand...


Something that EVERY horse owner should explore in minute detail, as you never know when it could happen to *your* horse. I'm afraid I have a very low opinion of those who refuse to consider the question properly.

OP, in some ways we have been 'fortunate' as although we have had a lot of horses pts, compared to many HHO members, in most cases there has been no real choice to make, the vet has advised that it only the only possible outcome of an illness/accident. For the oldies who haven't had an accident etc, we have made the decision, in conjunction with a trusted vet, that it would be unfair to put them through another winter. So as I am a teacher we have arranged to do the deed on the last Friday of October half-term holiday. Giving the horse as much summer weather as possible, before the Autumn storms (well it used to work like that) and giving ourselves the weekend to recover before having to go to work on the following Monday.
I think if you know your horse well and have its best interests at heart (which most owners do), you will know when is the right time.
 
Wagtail said:
The decision has always been made for me in the past (broken legs, colic). However, my most recent one was the hardest of all. She was my horse of a lifetime and my soulmate. She had battled so much (broken shoulder with massive tendon injury, relentless episodes of laminitis, Cushings...). Then finally, when I thought we'd beaten it all, she redid her shoulder injury by doing the splits in the field. I saw it happen, and I sort of knew then. But thought I'd give her a few days in to see if it was just a tweak as she had reinjured it on numerous occasions and it only was bad for a couple of days. But this time she did not improve after 3 days. I called the vet to assess. I realised I would never dare turn her out again as the shoulder was so unstable and the thought of finding her with her leg just hanging was actually a real possibility, as confirmed by the vet. Also, she would need several months box rest, which considering she was on very meagre rations due to her laminitis, would not have been fair on her. So I asked the vet to do it there and then. I could not have booked it in and planned it. It had to be spur of the moment. It was exceptionally hard because she was so happy and perky at the time and I felt like a murderer. But she had no future, no chance at all of just being a horse. It was the right decision, made at exactly the right time, not too soon or too late. But the memory of the actual event is incredibly painful and it plays over and over in my mind.
Click to expand...

You are not a murderer, you did the best for your girl - I don't know I ever could have been as brave as you and I would have been wrong xx
 
Sometimes alot of soul searching happens. For me it was 6 months of arguing with self. 6 months of lonely tears. Sobbing cause i knew. I spoke with no one till after months of battering myself I spoke to my vet. There were so many reasons but all came back to her sight and her stress levels. When you know your horse you will know when its time. Im believer better apeace through a quiet dignified death than pain an turmoil. Hugs to anyone facing this. Such a hard decision that tears your heart apart. X x x
 
Battytwoll said:
You are not a murderer, you did the best for your girl - I don't know I ever could have been as brave as you and I would have been wrong xx
Click to expand...

Thank you. It will take me a long time to come to terms with it. But I do know it was the right thing to do. Doesn't stop it hurting like hell though.
 
babymare said:
Sometimes alot of soul searching happens. For me it was 6 months of arguing with self. 6 months of lonely tears. Sobbing cause i knew. I spoke with no one till after months of battering myself I spoke to my vet. There were so many reasons but all came back to her sight and her stress levels. When you know your horse you will know when its time. Im believer better apeace through a quiet dignified death than pain an turmoil. Hugs to anyone facing this. Such a hard decision that tears your heart apart. X x x
Click to expand...

I completely understand the arguing with self bit. So many times I thought it was time, but my lovely girl kept rallying. So many tears before the event. Probably as many as there have been after.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top