maya2008
Well-Known Member
Random question, for those who use the local hunt, do you take the horse there? I’ve used vet before and seen the knackerman do horses on the yard I was on at the time - just never known anyone use the hunt.
Interesting comment from vet re cost of living
- Thread starter spacefaer
- Start date
TPO
Well-Known Member
Yes I was, apologies for not wording it correctly. My brain goes faster than my fat texting fingers ? yes, I did mean prolonging the life of horses that are suffering in some way or reaching their natural end and for want of a better expression are "done".
marmalade76
Well-Known Member
QUOTE="maya2008, post: 14945762, member: 136120"]Random question, for those who use the local hunt, do you take the horse there? I’ve used vet before and seen the knackerman do horses on the yard I was on at the time - just never known anyone use the hunt.[/QUOTE]
They come to us.
They come to us.
Snowfilly
Well-Known Member
They normally come out but a friend has taken taken some of his old hunters to the kennels before now, all plaited up and gleaming with their hooves oiled, often the first time in a few years they’ve been smartened up. They think they’re going hunting and they seem to enjoy hearing the hounds.
rabatsa
Confuddled
Our local hunt do not have the equipment to take away after shooting but do have if you take them over to the kennels.
poiuytrewq
Well-Known Member
Farrier bills are my real struggle. I’ve got to the point I have to consciously think about it a few weeks before he’s due and be really careful not to spend needlessly.
Hay and straw are free, I hate straw but can’t justify or afford to buy in bedding.
The two I would spend on vet bills wise are insured. They other 3 I’d only spend minimal amounts on tbh. That said one cost me £600 recently because he had a thorn in his eye! So it’s difficult to put a cap on vet bills.
Hay and straw are free, I hate straw but can’t justify or afford to buy in bedding.
The two I would spend on vet bills wise are insured. They other 3 I’d only spend minimal amounts on tbh. That said one cost me £600 recently because he had a thorn in his eye! So it’s difficult to put a cap on vet bills.
poiuytrewq
Well-Known Member
I took one once for someone else, it’s an idea that would have horrified me previously.
The horse bounced off the lorry happy as anything to be on an outing, A lovely guy took him off me gave him a pat led him round a corner and he was gone.
I honestly think he went really pleased with life!
Errin Paddywack
Well-Known Member
Our hunt come out to us, they have a wagon with a winch for large animals. I have a couple times taken a sick lamb over to them rather than wait.
LEC
Opinions are like bum holes, everyone has one.
Horses are actually very salty. The hunts try not to feed that much horse as hounds don’t like it. Most horses will just be incinerated. Hence farm animals are usually free to be picked up and a charge for horses.
Goldenstar
Well-Known Member
Knackerman and local hunt are options for those who meet resistance from vets .
Just do it if you meet resistance .
There’s never a welfare issue with a dead horse .
Some Vets will treat to the detriment of horses welfare as an owner you have to be aware of this .
I have fallen into this trap myself I won’t so again .
Just do it if you meet resistance .
There’s never a welfare issue with a dead horse .
Some Vets will treat to the detriment of horses welfare as an owner you have to be aware of this .
I have fallen into this trap myself I won’t so again .
Goldenstar
Well-Known Member
You can do either, at our hunt you can leave them in stable at ours and they sort after you are gone if you don’t want to be there .
Errin Paddywack
Well-Known Member
Our hunt are part of the fallen stock scheme, costs me £20 per sheep inc VAT to have them collected, no extra charge for putting down. Not sure what they charge for horses.
Shilasdair
Patting her thylacine
I agree entirely.
Vets have very different ideas than I do as to how long a horse can be lame for before it needs to depart this mortal coil.
spacefaer
Well-Known Member
Salty??? How would they be saltier than other mammals?
Where have you got this information from?
I'm intrigued
SEL
Well-Known Member
I think you have to give yourself some lines in the sand that when you hit you know it's time.
My oldest could go through winter weight wise with just a bit extra but his joints hate mud and the weather gods can't promise me lovely frosty days vs bogs
Snowfilly
Well-Known Member
I don’t know about salty but having a few friends who grew up in France and ate horse, apparently it does have a very distinct taste.
The Fuzzy Furry
Getting old disgracefully
It does, but I wouldn't say salty.
More gamey like short hung venison .
honetpot
Well-Known Member
I never discuss it with anyone but my daughters and husband, by that stage you already know what has to be done, and I am just telling them that its going to be done. Even when I had them in DIY, I had stables at home and a summer field, so they went 'home.'
It's sad that you can not talk about something that has been a part of your life perhaps for over twenty years without someone wanting to add their often misguided theory of what you should or should not do. I have two in their twenties, both I have known since they were three, both this time of year could pass for being in their early teens.
I used to when I was younger ask the old vet, and he was old, it was £18 call out and that included the first half hour, what he thought in September about the old horses condition. Then I realised no one likes to give bad news, and I was thinking that I always tell people the truth about death, even if it is wrapped in sensitive language, then most vets were men, and perhaps not as skilled at dealing with upset people and would rather avoid if they could.
Now when I take an animal to the vet I tell them what I want done, and if they come out its a bald no' I am not paying for them to go to the vet school', having no insurance makes it easier for them to justify.
I am still angry that the vet who wanted to x-ray my dog, just to check ??and brought it round from anaesthetic and had it crying with pain before they would PTS. Next time I am taking a red pen to write on the consent form, PTS.
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LEC
Opinions are like bum holes, everyone has one.
My hunt kennels master friend who knackers a lot of horses - 2-3 a day. Her words were salty. With 2-3 horses a day you would think hounds would be well fed but nope they don’t feed them much horse at all. Maybe once a week if running out of dead farmstock.
spacefaer
Well-Known Member
So no scientific evidence then ?
2-3 horses a day doesn't mean that they can all be fed to hounds - nothing that is full of bute or antibiotics for instance.
(Ans I'm truly not sure what a "hunt kennels master " is. It would usually be the huntsman who deals with the flesh round, while the Masters are less hands on)
LEC
Opinions are like bum holes, everyone has one.
I know perfectly well how hunting works. This is a small hunt so masters also butcher as well which is what I was trying to explain. Not just the kennel staff. They do everything. Shoot the horse, butcher the horse, incinerate the horse.
All I did was try to explain why horse meat wasn’t routinely fed to hounds contrary to popular belief. Maybe my sample of one anecdotal discussion about it wasn’t enough…. But have at it to widen the data…..
ycbm
Einstein would be proud of my Insanity...
I have another one ? . The explanation I was given was that they don't feed much horse meat to hounds because it "sours them" but I have no idea whether that meant upsets their temperament, their digestion, or they like it so much they won't eat their kibble after having horse instead.
.
Pearlsasinger
Up in the clouds
spacefaer
Well-Known Member
And I've never heard anyone who's actually eaten horse meat ever said that it's salty either. Gamey, yes, or strong, but never salty.
I actually asked our huntsman this morning. He said that horse flesh has to be hung for at least a week as it's very rich but he has no problem in feeding it regularly. This is a huntsman with 30+ years experience.
clinkerbuilt
Well-Known Member
Like a gamier beef. Did not notice saltiness.
Maybe they just don't want to give the hounds a taste for it.
honetpot
Well-Known Member
I would imagine it is fairly hard to process a horse on a regular basis. I got a 500kg bull back from the butcher, boned, cut, minced and packed, with out the bones it filled two medium sized chest freezers to the brim. Chopping up the small livestock is probably a lot easier, and easier to store and handle.
lme
Well-Known Member
Just read this thread and found it really interesting. I'm in a similar position to Paddy555 - too many horses (in my case mostly not in work) to make insurance practical, but (unfortunately) mine aren't at home. I only PTS on welfare grounds and so far, cost of living hasn't impacted vet treatment or breeding plans. Based on past experience, I now I tend to ship mine off to the clinic if they have a slight lameness issue. Just so I know what I'm dealing with. I don't like box rest, and am quite happy to give time off in the field if needed, or retire, but also happy to go high tech if that is going to give a better outcome (not just save time). Not sure I'd do a colic surgery as I've done that in the past and all it did was prolong the inevitable but I am happy to get specialists involved when needed (which recently has been quite often).
Lois Lame
Well-Known Member
I used to give our two dogs kangaroo meat. The first time they had it, they went nuts over it. There came a time when they decided it wasn't the be all and end all and I gave them a rest from it.
I'm wondering if hounds like horse meat for a time but, like us, they get tired of the same old same old. So much better to eat a varied diet after all, so it sounds reasonable.
I'm wondering if hounds like horse meat for a time but, like us, they get tired of the same old same old. So much better to eat a varied diet after all, so it sounds reasonable.