Methods of PTS - DISTRESSING, please don't read if easily upset

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Benjamin, I'll do it! Haha.

This post is for people's stories of horses being PTS by injection, or by gun. NOT a post about which is best, just people's experiences. If it was good, say why. If it was horrific, PLEASE say why, not just "Oh it was awful" because thats no help to the people trying to decide for themselves.

I can't start as thankfully I've had no experience so far of either, but I hope someone else will.

Hannah x
 
I have had two horses destroyed by the huntsman.

Quick, efficient and the horse knew nothing. Body was taken away by the hunt.
 
When my old mare broke her shoulder she was PTS with an injection. It was the most peaceful thing ever. She didn't twitch or struggle, she really couldn't have gone more quietly. I know we shouldn't put human emotions on horses but I think she was actually ready to go anyway, being in her mid 30s, and so accepted what was happening to her - daft I know but that's how I like to remember it all. If (god forbid) anything happens to my current mare I would choose the same method again.
 
Just make sure everyone including the handler knows what they are doing -there was a horrible incident around here a few years ago.
Our local slaughterman sold his business and the new guys clearly hadn't got a clue. The horse's owner decided to handle the horse himself - and although he's competent, he's no spring chicken.
The horse moved at the last minute, the captive bolt grazed his face and he then pulled away and ran off round the yard bleeding. It took ages to catch him as he was understandably distressed, and they then had to get him in a stable, and call the vet to put him down by injection.
If the hunt will do it, they are by far the best people.
 
flamehead said:
Benjamin, I'll do it! Haha.

This post is for people's stories of horses being PTS by injection, or by gun. NOT a post about which is best, just people's experiences. If it was good, say why. If it was horrific, PLEASE say why, not just "Oh it was awful" because thats no help to the people trying to decide for themselves.

I can't start as thankfully I've had no experience so far of either, but I hope someone else will.

Hannah x
Click to expand...
hi, what few we have have been put down with the gun, its instantaneous and they'ye dead before touching the ground virtually, as long asits professionally done-
 
I had a mare pts by injection after a broken leg. She was a little stunned at first, the vet was there in half an hour (despite being New Years Day), sedated her and gave painkiller as I had to walk her to where the van could pick her up and then injected her. It was quiet and peacefull, she fell immediately and was gone before her broken leg touched the ground. No twitching or running afterwards. No experience with shooting but am not averse to it.
 
By gun, by hunt staff with compassion and dignity with me always holding them; not distressing to anyone although when she had been taken away, I cried buckets. Always been the same for me, I refuse to go to pieces in front of anyone, I grit my teeth and hang on until I'm alone again as it makes it so much harder for whoever is doing it if they have to deal with you too.
 
I've had three horses PTS, all by gun, first one was an emergency, the other two were planned. All dealt with quickly and efficiently but I was horribly distressed by hearing the shot with the first one and seeing the undignified winching of her body onto a lorry. Vowed never to be around for it again, as it achieves nothing for the horse or for me. With the second two I have said my goodbyes and handed over to trusted friends and professionals for the final moment and disposal.

Hope that helps in some small way.
 
As I put in my post, I would only have the injection with heavy sedation first so they are down and asleep before it goes in. I would also only do it with a horse that does not fight sedation and would slowly lie down as it took effect.

I have used both methods, depending on the horse. The advantage of the injection is that it is less messy and you can sit with the horse afterwards saying a quiet goodbye if you feel the wish, with Cairo he was just like he was in a deep sleep and very peaceful. With shooting, I have walked away and not looked back as I didn't want to see them lying there with blood and this can vary to the amount. I am not sick at the sight of blood, just didn't want to see them that way.

Cairo was injected and cremated, Breeze and Anna were shot and went to the hunt - Fleur was also shot - she would have fought being injected and going down terribly. For each horse I felt this was the right way to let them go. Anna and Breeze loved to hunt and they live on in hounds, Cairo is at rest in the grass which has gone on to feed Chancer and Farra so he lives on in them (or so we feel).

I can't say there is a right or wrong way, but knowing how the horse may react to the situation can help. Breeze went with her ears forward and alert - she was watching a horse going down the road, Anna went onto the lorry thinking she was going hunting, and went with a bucket of food. Cairo went sound asleep with a mouth full of polos - both exactly the right way to go for each horse.

When it comes to Chancer and Farra, I think it will be injection. They are both steady and easy going, and having had them sedated before, they easily accepted it and I am sure will go like Cairo, very peacefully.
 
Local knacker man, came out to yard, used the gun, took the body away, very quick, understanding and proffessional.
Led horse out of field, onto another field away from the other horses, he had a fuss, stuck his head down to much at some lush grass, my dad came to hold him, I walked away, bang, job done, probably didnt even take more than 3 minutes, body gets put on wench, dragged in and taken away.

Obviously very distressing for me and upsetting for my dad but I don't honestly think any other way could of been better for the horse.

I would have no problem in having it done this way again, I also feel like I could cope much better now should I need to have it done, or should a friend need me to assist them.
 
I have had 2 horses PTS :( my mare I did not get a choice in how it was done due to vet being total SH*t and cocking up big time,she was put to sleep via the gun I was so distressed by this point YO made me leave the yard. I had requested for her to be PTS at 11 am and it finally got done done at 5.30 pm which this point she was near on dead anyhows :(
My boy was my choice I opted for injection and it was so peaceful and after I sat with him in the field until the cremation company came to collect him. It was like he just lyed down and went to sleep. The only distressing thing was he would not let the vet near him and the vets began to talk my friend through the procedure to have to sedate him IV luckily enough we finally through food managed to get him sedated by the vet.
 
Ok, when I was younger my horse was shot, I wasn't there at the time, they took me out and when I got back it had been done, I didn't know it was happening and pleased I wasn't there. I am very squeamish and he was my life at 11 years old. It was done at a RS and I think that a lot of the horses were about. I just remember going and helping sweep up the blood, there was a lot but also as we were hosing the yard down it looked worse.

One of my horses has the injection at the vet, he was already very sedated and I was told to leave, apparently by the time I got to my car he was already gone.

I had a horse pts by injection about 3/4 years ago and it was horrific, the vets I used obviously did horses but were more of a small animal type clinic, basically they gave him an overdose of anaesthetic - but it was like dog/cat stuff. I did wonder when she came up to him with 5 massive syringes. He was very wired as my youngster had been taken away and he fought 4 lots of sedation. The first syringe went in - no canular was put in so she had to keep finding the vein, he then wobbled and dropped and then flipped backwards, the noise was horrific and I can still hear it, I think he broke his neck. The cremation man had already arrived and ran to assist the vet, he basically had to sit on his neck whilst she pumped the injections into the horse. By which time me and my friend had to remove ourselves, it was too distressing and the horse by that time didn't know anything. The vet then did come back to get some more syringes and I asked her if he had gone and she said yes she just wanted to be sure, I've known this vet since I was 8 years old, she then admitted that he still had an irregular heart beat. The next injection was his last.

It was a horrific day and it took about 45 mins from the vet arriving to him being dead.

Last year I had another pts at a proper equine clinic, canular was put in whilst he was being fed apples and sweets, walked him out to a lovely field, vet nurse had some yummy feed in a bucket, vet sedated him and then gave the injection, he went down very slowly and calmly, all in all it took about 2 mins and he was dead, with a mouthful of food, no stress, no thud, just like he was going down to sleep. I would use this method again, I just think that I used the wrong vet practice the first time and everything was so peaceful the last time.
 
Had my little mare PTS a couple of months ago by injection. Sedated first and then injected. Very peaceful - just went down quietly and very dignified. Had loads of feed and polos before. Knackerman took her away but we left them to it as didn't want to see her winched out and went back to the yard later panicking about whether her stable would look a mess with bedding dragged about but it was all perfect and although desperately sad felt that it was a good way to go as quick, painless and dignified.
 
I've always been with horses that have been shot, with knackerman or vet. The one the vet did was sedated first. All died instantly and with a mouthful of grass or a bucket of feed as a last memory.

I have however seen a horse have to be shot twice, but to be fair it was at an event, the horse had a badly broken hindleg and panicked as they tried to pull the screens round. The vet missed the mark with his first shot, partly because the horse was a strapping 17hh or so and thrashing about too much. It was distressing for all involved, but still over relatively quickly even if not instantaneous.

Never witnessed an injection, but if the vet was happier using that method and the horse wasn't needle phobic, then I'd probably go along with it although I do feel that shooting is better when it goes as it should. Would never use captive bolt though.
 
We had ours put to sleep with an injection when he had colic. He was already down on the ground and in the most terrible pain. It was a dreadful shock to us both when the vet asked for our permission to put him to sleep as I suppose we just thought he was going to get better.

We said yes and as the vet was preparing the injections the horse suddenly stood up with his ears pricked and looking off into the distance. He gave a huge neigh and then lay back down again groaning. It was really spooky because he really had been suffering.

The vet injected him and he went very quickly with no struggle or twitiching.

There is no option here other than injection.

Unfortunately he died on our lawn and the lorry that came to get him couldnt get into our drive. The neighbour had to drag him out with his tractor. I helped him to put the chains on but came in to the house so I didnt have to watch.

Also because he died on a bank holiday just before a weekend they took 3 days to pick him up and he was starting to smell and he was right outside our front door.

In hindsight I suppose we should have tried to get him out onto the road or something but I honestly had no idea it was going to be fatal until it was too late.

I still have nightmares about the whole event but the end was peaceful.
 
I've always had the hunt. Always had professional and compassionate treatment. As I've gotten older I've gotten softer tho' so with Milly I had a friend hold her, she was dead instantly and it was a decent way to go.

God only knows what I will do with Sienna when the time comes, she is like a child to me & like many I'm sure, I dread the thought of having to deal with this. I think I'd have her injected, she has no fear of the vet & that final bullet/bolt does feel like it might be a betrayal.
 
One by injection with my daughter holding him. She was very young - 16 - and insisted on being there as she felt it was her responsibility to be with him. Heavily sedated first. He went peacefully and quickly in his own field with people who loved him. No twitching and or thrashing around. Dignified and entirely as we would have wanted.

I would prefer the next time for the horse to be shot - as I would have chosen first time, but will probably have him injected as it is my daughers preference.

I trust my vet and believe next time will be just as quick and peaceful.
 
*VERY DISTRESSING GRAPHIC DETAIL*

Very early on a frosty November morning,i found OH's horse in field with his leg so badly broken it was nearly severed.blood everywhere :( He collapsed on the floor but kept trying to get up which kept tearing the leg more so i sat on his head to keep him down. The vet got caught in rush hour traffic (we were in the middle of town) and took an hour to get to me- by which point i was almost incoherant with grief but at least OH had managed to get back from work to be there too.The vet gave him the lethal injection, we waited and he said F had gone. We cried and started walking back to the yard to do the paperwork with the vet when F sat up, snorted and tried to get up. I ran and managed to sit on his head again whil the vet gave the 2nd lethal injection. Again F rallied and tried to get up. Again he was injected. In total he had 4 lethal injections, was still trying to sit up and the vet was nearly in tears as he didnt have any left.He didnt have a gun either. We started ringing round for someone with a rifle (our shotguns wouldnt have been powerful enough to do a clean, humane job) the hunt was an hour away. Finally F let go and died. We stayed with him for 4 hours waiting for the crematorium to collect him-just in case. His field mates all watched him go and his best friend screamed and screamed when he was winched in but settled once he had gone. The crem guy was so friendly- it really helped. He said he had had more than one "dead" horse stand up in the wagon :eek:

That is why i wouldnt have the injection without a gun standing by

:(

RIP Foxy (always remembered by the nickname Rasputin at the vets)
 
This is all sooo sad :( im actually near in tears lol i dunno what id do if i had to put my boy down, i think id actually cry for yrs and never leave my house! My friends horse was involved in a trailer incident and had to be pts and everytime i seen her we cryed, this lasted for like weeks ... Although i do no someone whos horse got pts then the next day she went to see a new horse :O not even joking with u's, she bought it a couple days later!
 
Darkly_Dreaming_Dex said:
*VERY DISTRESSING GRAPHIC DETAIL*

Very early on a frosty November morning,i found OH's horse in field with his leg so badly broken it was nearly severed.blood everywhere :( He collapsed on the floor but kept trying to get up which kept tearing the leg more so i sat on his head to keep him down. The vet got caught in rush hour traffic (we were in the middle of town) and took an hour to get to me- by which point i was almost incoherant with grief but at least OH had managed to get back from work to be there too.The vet gave him the lethal injection, we waited and he said F had gone. We cried and started walking back to the yard to do the paperwork with the vet when F sat up, snorted and tried to get up. I ran and managed to sit on his head again whil the vet gave the 2nd lethal injection. Again F rallied and tried to get up. Again he was injected. In total he had 4 lethal injections, was still trying to sit up and the vet was nearly in tears as he didnt have any left.He didnt have a gun either. We started ringing round for someone with a rifle (our shotguns wouldnt have been powerful enough to do a clean, humane job) the hunt was an hour away. Finally F let go and died. We stayed with him for 4 hours waiting for the crematorium to collect him-just in case. His field mates all watched him go and his best friend screamed and screamed when he was winched in but settled once he had gone. The crem guy was so friendly- it really helped. He said he had had more than one "dead" horse stand up in the wagon :eek:

That is why i wouldnt have the injection without a gun standing by

:(

RIP Foxy (always remembered by the nickname Rasputin at the vets)
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Bloody Nora!!

Gun is final, isn't it.
 
Guys please dont get in to anything other than stories of the actual PTS, if you wanna discuss it make another post.

To add to the numbers, Binky01s experience was wih injection, with no problems xxxx
 
I've had two pts by injection. They were sedated and then given the lethal dose. It was very peaceful although there was a bit of twitching. I was with them right to the end but I don't know if I could have coped with it if they had been shot. On both occasions it was a dignified end and I would choose this method the next time.
 
I have had 4 horses PTS.

All were shot by the same man who is extremely patient and professional.

They all had their heads in a bucket of food at the time and I don't believe any of them knew anything about it.

Whilst it is not particularly pleasant to watch I believe that this is the most instant way.

The one time it was urgent and not planned he was with us in less than half an hour. I would be reluctant to use anyone else though.
 
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