in this situation would you PTS?

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts, Im not sure that Im any closer to knowing what to do, am going to talk it through with the vet again first
 
Sorry to hear about your horse,have been in your shoes with an old pony,not same aliments. You have to do whats in your heart and look at the horse,you will make the right decision and with the owner as well.
Good luck,you seem more worried that you will be judged on what you decide.
You no your horse and sounds like you have got alot of information to work on.
Personally I look at it as...if there no real chance then do what you have to do.
Best of luck.
 
I guess I am worried about being judged, probably because Ive been one of the ones that have judged other in the past, Ive alwasys been a horse for life person and have gone to some lenghts to keep horses in the past, for example, my now retired cob went through 6 months box rest, 3 sets of surgery and 12K of vets bills and he hasnt come back fully sound (had a keratoma) I look back on the whole thing and I have to be honest, I made my decisions on the fact that I loved him soo much I couldnt bear to lose him, I know now that whilst he is happy and loved and field sound, living out his days as contented as can be - I didnt necessarily make the best choice for him, I promised my self that I wouldnt let myself get carried away again in future and that I wouldnt put a horse through ongoing treatment/discomfort on the chance that they might be OK, that I would need good odds, I would need to know we definitely had a good prospect for the future.

I dont feel that the future prospects for my TB are good enough to drag him through a winter, and on going treatment, which may or may not help, he has lots of other things to take into consideration, I guess you have to be cruel to be kind sometimes, its just not an easy decision to make.

I really do appreciate all the supportive comments, I hope I can be strong enough to make the right decision for him, whatever that might be x
 
I dont feel that the future prospects for my TB are good enough to drag him through a winter, and on going treatment, which may or may not help, he has lots of other things to take into consideration, I guess you have to be cruel to be kind sometimes, its just not an easy decision to make.
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PTS for health reasons is not cruel, it is actually a kindness as it prevents further suffering.

You know the horse and how he is coping, I'm sure that together with your vet you will decide what is best for the horse.

I'm so sorry that you are facing this difficult decision.
 
I've just had to make a hard decision like this.
My mare who has had behavioral problems since I bought her was PTS on Saturday due to a slipped disk in her back that was pressing down on her spine causing her whole back end to stiffen up.
She was in pain and I couldn't put her through another winter of it so I PTS :(
If you are having reservations about keeping your horse going through the winter then I would say go with your gut.. :(
Izzi x
 
Personally i'd want to know for sure the horse had ulcers and then i would treat accordingly. Has he been on treatment for ulcers at all (sorry of you said, after reading the replies i can't remember!)? With regards to the arthritis, that wouldn't bother me too much, it is manageable as someone said but because of how the horse compensates for the arthritis in the hind limbs it can mean they make certain areas of their back sore so a good few physio sessions can relieve the stiffness.

Firstly though i'd ask the vet to check for ulcers. What if it isn't ulcers but something worse (ie tumours) that are causing these problems? I don't want to paint a worse picture but if that was the case then at leats you would know for sure what the right decision was.

Whether you PTS or treat is your decision but i do agree grass and good hay is the best cure for ulcers but I can also see how it is difficult to keep weight on a poor doer on this diet alone yet feeding hard feed/cereals can aggravate the ulcers more.

I go back to my first point - get a proper diagnosis first and then decide what is the best course of action. At the end of the day it is yours and the owner's decision what to do, nobody elses.
 
I'm so sorry to hear this :( Everyone knows what is right for their horses, but this is a decision no one ever wants to make it.
I lost both my mares in the last 6 weeks. They were both put to sleep due to injuries and post-op problems. I miss them every single day and got the ashes from Empy back today :(
As much as I cannot bare the thought of Empy or Treacle not being here I know it was the kindest thing to do for them. They were my best friends and they were only 9 and 10 years old, with another possible 20 years left, I couldn't bear the thought of keeping them on pain killers in a field for the rest of their lives when what they knew was being worked and competing... it would have been an alien world for them.
It's the hardest decision in the world, but you know deep down when the time is right.
I wish you all the best
 
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