Looking after elderly horse

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Cobowner123

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An elderly lady at our yard had an equally elderly mare. Previously beautiful dressage horse but she had kept it stabled 24 hours a day after laminitis at 4 years old, and in pretty squalid conditions. She was painfully thin and losing muscle badly. No-one was really invited to have anything to do with the horse and RSPCA had been called twice - but were happy the mare was cared for. Two years ago, the owner had a fall and broke her femur. Turns out she was 85 so although she recovered, she has never really got back to the horse care and we have looked after her since with the owner paying the bills (well some anyway). The owner has not been looking after herself and is currently in hospital with malnutrition, so bill payment has been awkward.

The horse is now 29 (possibly older). Her blacksmith stopped coming so we asked ours to do her, and given that she never goes out or ridden we asked him to take her shoes off (owner agreed). She had a suspected abscess so we poulticed for days and blacksmith said to stop as nothing was coming out. However the horse is now very stiff and doesn't want to do any more than come out of the stable while she is mucked out. We have the usual livery yard issue with everyone having an opinion with some saying she should be PTS immediately, others coming up with their own suggestions (of course!).

My issue is:
- If we call the vet, they wont treat her without the owner's permission/presence - which we cant get (they insisted on the owner being there before when she cut herself).
- Unlikely that any vet bill would be paid as bills are not getting paid, despite owner saying she has money aside for the horse, and I cant afford to pay
- If things got worse and we felt it was time to PTS, will a vet do this without the passport and without any likelihood of payment? And how do we may to dispose of the body? I am only working part time and dont earn enough to keep my horse without using savings, so really cant pay all this for another
- If she was PTS how do I tell an very ill old lady that her baby has gone??

Feeling like we dont know where to go from here. If we call the RSPCA we know they will probably take her and PTS - so presumably cover the costs - but I dont want people feeling that I was neglectful as we have cared for her for 2 years as best we can, putting weight and muscle on her so that people comment how well she looks (apart from the walking) and her bed/teeth/feet etc all are so much better now.

Looking for anyone who has been in this position or knows the law etc around this. Please dont make nasty comments if you dont have anything useful to add - you will not help and we have done the best we can

Thanks
 
How incredibly sad for the horse. And for you too.

The horse never goes out of it's stable other than to be mucked out. Since laminitis at 4??

I'm afraid I'd be inclined to turn it out for an hour, ring the knacker man and have it pts and sod the consequences.

You've done right by this horse for the last few years but it sadly has no quality of life. I'm sorry I'm not trying to be mean and apologise if it comes across like that. I'm biting down so hard on my tongue it's practically bleeding. I'm truly sorry you are in this position.
 
I really hope this horse has not been stabled 24/7 for the last 25yrs... :(

Either way it is a sad situation, but someone needs to advocate for this poor horse. The cheapest way to PTS would be the knackerman, they would shoot and then take away the body. It's a tough situation, but someone needs to talk to the owner and explain that the horse is not in a good way. Hopefully she will be able to understand and give permission.
 
AandK said:
I really hope this horse has not been stabled 24/7 for the last 25yrs... :(

Either way it is a sad situation, but someone needs to advocate for this poor horse. The cheapest way to PTS would be the knackerman, they would shoot and then take away the body. It's a tough situation, but someone needs to talk to the owner and explain that the horse is not in a good way. Hopefully she will be able to understand and give permission.
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That's what I was trying to say so thank you.
 
If they’re not already (and they probably are) social services need to be involved in this - anyone can report an individual they have concerns about - Google your county + ‘report a vulnerable adult’.
 
poiuytrewq said:
Poor Horse, Poor you. What a hideous situation. Whats the likelihood really of the owner actually leaving hospital and being well enough to see the horse even. Does she need telling? (is that awful?!)
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This was my thoughts too.

Surely as care givers of the horse the vet should be able to attend on welfare grounds. Anyone on the yard need jabs doing and happy to share a call out to keep the cost down?
 
An abandonment notice is quite easy to do, then the YO can take charge of the horse and have it PTS. It would be nice for the lady if she was in agreement, but for the horses sake, I don't think it's essential. We did something similar many years ago. A few of us sorted an abandonment notice (which the YO signed, but didn't have anything to do with it apart from that). The horse wasn't pts, but sent to a rescue. The owner even tried to get it back months later. The rescue said if she paid the livery bill accrued she could have him back, but of course that didn't happen.
 
Poor horse - so she’s been kept in a stable 24/7 for 25 years?!

I find it unusual that the Vet won’t treat an ill horse without the owner being present. Could you get something written up and then signed by the owner to say that you are responsible for the care of the horse and can make decisions regarding the veterinary treatment? Alternatively ask the owner if you can have the ownership transferred to you (make sure you pay £1 to make it legal) and then you can make decisions.

Currently it sounds like PTS might be the best option, as this horse has no quality of life. The only other thing I would try as a last resort would be to get some anti inflammatories (Bute or Danilon) from the Vet as my guess is she ia arthritic and very stiff and then as soon as sh is more comfortable get her out in a paddock as much as possible, starting with a few hours and then increasing. Beware of giving her too much grass too quickly though as her gut won’t be used to it - a bare paddock with access to unlimited hay would be better. Short hand walks to get her moving will also help once she is moving more comfortably. I haven’t read everything but get her teeth looked at if you haven’t already and then start her on some calorific mash feeds such as Spillers Super senior mash to try and get some weight back on. It will be an expensive journey to potentially get her back to health which may or may not be successful at her age but if not successful I would PTS. Well done for looking out for her!
 
About 20 years ago a very old pony was kept at the same place as my horse. We used to look after the old pony as the owner never came out. Anyway a few years passed and one day the pony was down and clearly colicing. I rang my vet and frantically tried to locate the owner. I knew the pony would be pts and desperately tried to get the owner on the phone to tell them. I still remember the stress of this many many years later. Anyhow the vet arrived and said she was going to pts as it was her duty as the pony was suffering with no hope of recovery. Just as she was pts I got the owner on the phone and the vet took over the call. I also had my young daughter with me, it was a nightmare. But thank God for my vet. I actually paid the vet when the bill came. I couldn't be bothered speaking to the owner again and didn't want the vet out of pocket waiting for the owner to pay.

OP I think you've done a great job improving this old horse's quality of life, but I think things could go south any day. Then it's a really stressful situation you may find yourself in. I'd try to involve the yard owner or RSPCA to take over and pts if needed.
 
Everyone is saying pts and I do agree because his QOL is poor, but I think the horse is owed a few hours out in a field with the sun on his back at the very least before the knackerman arrives.

You've done great with him OP and it's very sad but you can't continue him being stabled as it's really not in his best interests.
 
Sorry to hear of this situation. It all sounds very sad, but good on you for looking after the horse. It is a shame that the owner has never made arrangements for their horse in case something happened to them. You could ask the local BHS Welfare Officer for some advice. They also have a 'Friends at the End' service, which may be useful.
BHS (British Horse Society) Tel: 0247 6840 517 24/7
 
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