Morbid post: How did your horse die?

How did your horse die?

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I lost my lovely cob Toby nearly three years ago - he had a raging temp that didn't respond to anything my vet tried, got him into the vet hospital and he was dead by the next morning. I think the vets were as shocked as I was and as nothing showed up on his post mortem we are all still no closer to knowing what caused it.
 
My old boy (32) was walking across field crab-like lunchtime one day - he'd been OK at about 9/10 ish when my friends saw him. We think he may have had a weakness & fractured or cracked his pelvis (always had a "wonky" bum - muscle less defined one side than the other). Vet came out & said we could give him mega painkillers overnight & see how he was but as he lived for food & now wasn't really interested we decided the time was right so vet doped him to stop him trying to walk & stumbling about & while down sleeping he was pts with a gun (free bullet) by knackerman so very quick.
 
Not mine but a couple of summers ago I was at a yard, went to get my horse in and saw another woman's 35 yr old arab mare in her field with her skin literally hanging off. Another pony had jumped their 6ft fencing and kicked her shreds and the poor old mare could not get away. I got her in and started to clean her up until the owner and vet came.

The mare had to stay stabled due to the summer heat, flies and wounds etc. The owner had booked a 3 week holiday with her kids and could not cancel so we looked after her. Mare had begun to recover but just a couple of days before the owner came back she had colic. We found out the farmers little girl had been getting into the chicken feed and feeding the mare! (although could have been the stress etc). We tried so hard to save her, but in the end the vet had to PTS by injection. We could not get through to the owner as turned out she lost her phone on holiday. She arrived on the yard to say hello to her girl 10 minutes after PTS :(

Poor girl, we planted a tree in her field. The owner was so distraught she hasn't been back in 2 years.
 
Also not mine but a girl I used to work with, found her gorgeous gray horse lying down in the field one day, all four legs completely paralyzed. He was put down as he could not get up. Post mortem showed nothing :(
 
My boy was PTS by injection with suspected neurological problems, he had gradually been getting more and more dangerous which I think would have soon resulted in either him killing himself, myself or someone else, so in the end decided that being PTS was the best decision.

He was 17 so decided against investigative work into the suspected neurological problems as didn't want to put him through that and also if they had been postitive the various 'treatments'. He had had a very tough life in his younger days, so my decision was made just that little bit more bearable by hoping that his last years were spent being happy! Very difficult decision as on the outside he looked a very fit and well horse, but obviously had been so badly treated that he could never get over it or as suspected some kind of brain or spinal tumour.
 
My arabx mare was pts 8 years ago due to cushings related laminitis - she was only 13 so not old age related. The pedal bones rotated in all 4 feet and dropped in her fronts and she was in a lot of pain so it was the only option. I just heard yesterday that my friend's pony is getting pts next week after fighting laminitis all winter - his most recent xrays came back to show the pedal bone in his off fore has dropped. Brings it all back to me.
I have been on the same big yard for 15 years so have seen a lot of horses and ponies go over that time.
Enjoy every precious moment with your horses.
 
I sadly lost my precious boy a year ago come August, I lost him to Severe Colitis, taken ill suddenly and I lost him a week later after trying everything in intensive care, thankfully I did get to say goodbye I stayed with him the whole way through as it was the least I could do for my precious boy, I got to tell him how much I loved him as I did everyday anyway

I was grateful and so glad and happy we were a team and that he was going where all the best horses go.

I am happy in the knowledge that I managed to say goodbye to my best friend, without that I dont know how I would've coped.
 
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my 17 yr old boy was PTS last summer after 4 months of chronic unexplained diarrhoea. Post Mortem showed he had melanomas throughout his intestines. The ones under his tail had got a lot worse in the weeks preceding his death.

Would never buy another grey.
 
My boy was 15 when he was PTS by injection at the RVC after been rushed in with displacement colic. I was on my way to collect him when 10 minutes away I was called to say he had relapsed. When I looked at him, I made the hard decision to let him go. There were other things going on that I had struggled to control and with that in mind to operate didn't seem fair on any of us. I still feel a little guilty that I didn't fight harder, but a year on I know it was the right choice for him and for me. I do miss him though.
 
goodness, over the years we've had many go, for a variety of reasons. Here are a few:

One staked through the heart when he jumped a hedge team chasing and didn't give it enough room, vet pts.

One came in from the field with a smashed fetlock, shot.

One had a heart attack and died on the bridle path whilst being ridden.

Little lead rein pony pts by injection after severe lami and drugs just weren't keeping her pain free any longer, very very sad and a tough one as we had to 'pre book' it and wait a couple of days.

One pony went on loan and the family left him in a field whilst they went on holiday. He fell into a ditch around the field, and lay on his back until he literally drowned on his own internal fluids. I'll never forgive them.

Two racehorses recently - both whilst racing. One jumped on by another horse and broke his pelvis, was pts on the track. One trampled by another horses and broke his fetlock. pts after the race.

One horse came off the gallops one morning, seemed lame, was led to the road so could be picked up by a lorry but collapsed, and then died. Post mortem revealed shattered stifle. No previous problems.

Retired hunter, pts by huntsman, he just couldn't get up easily anymore and one day went down in his stable and we knew that was that.

My mare a year or so ago, very bad impacted bowel, no hope. Pts by injection at home.

One horse had his neck ripped to shreds in a horsebox by someone else's rig. No muscle left. pts by huntsman in the lorry.

One team chaser, took off over a huge fence - had heart attack mid air - hit the ground dead. Luckily dad was not hurt at all. Very shocking, took him ages to get his head around it, but the sort of instant death many would wish for I'm sure.

It sounds like a lot but we are talking over 30 years and we do have broodmares, racehorses, kids ponies and hunters, so over all we think we have been lucky. It tends to go is spates for some reason though.
 
mattilda said:
I have had horses for 30 years and been around them longer and have never witnessed or heard of a bad field accident except for on here. Worrying about it won't help you or your horse although I know that is easier to say than do.
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I'm in a similar situation... I've been around horses all my 28 years. We've had 2 put down (hunt did it for us) due to old age. One was 28 and had chronic arthritis and we couldn't keep him comfortable any more. The other was 48 (yes, I do mean 48!) and had seemed happy and content up until 3 days before he went, then he had a sudden, severe lameness. When the hunt took him away they said his hock had disintegrated. :( . My first pony died in her sleep one night aged 34.

My friends horse broke his leg out hunting in a freak fall (spooked as he jumped and cocked up the landing) and another friends horse dropped dead of heart failure when he was being led out to the field.
 
My boy basil died from colic and a heart attack due to him being on bute for 4 years (before i got him) colic was to much for him heart bless him he was the best horse u could of wanted

had to put up some pics sorry if they huge

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I chose to have Ted put to sleep after a 12 month battle with Lymphangitis. He had suffered from Lymphangitis for around 8 years, but usually the bouts were 8 or nine months appart, but the last twelve months it was every other week.

A joint decision was made between me, Ted (who quiet frankly had had enough! and I was not going to watch him beg!) and the vet.

Lou x
 
so far I have been lucky enough not to lose one of my horses.My old horse whom I sold as a 3yr old died as a 4yr old from a neurological problem.He had been ill through the week with a virus and just literally went funny over night thrashing around his box and seemingly blind.There was nothing the vets could do for him so he had to be pts. I have seen several horses die through accidents in the field. One years ago was chased around a field and went through a post and rail fence staking herself.The vets arrived quickly and tried their best to save her but she died within about 30 minutes. Another was kicked shattering his knee and was pts in the field. The saddest one was an old racehorse who had been kicked.He was brought in and the wounds treated but a week later he laid down in the field and his leg broke at the stifle as he got up.Needless to say his leg was literally just hanging and it is the most awful thing to have to see.I have seen several pts through old age as well. The oldest one being 50.
 
My mare ran into a tree head first and broke her neck.

She died instantly.

It was terrible losing her that way but at least it was quick.
She was 8 months into her pregnancy too.
 
I have had quite a few horses in the 40 years I've owned them and lost 4 to illness or injury.

My first horse Tallboy was PTS after being kicked in the field which broke his leg completely above the knee. It still upsets me after all thease years to think about it.

The second was my daughter's pony Henry would was PTS after we found him one morning lying in a field. He was not his usual paddock, he had run through the fencing into another. She had ridden him the night befor and he was fine but must have suffered a severe colic attack in the night. It was too late to save him.

The third was my beloved Solomon who I had as a foal of 6 months. He was not a well horse throughoout his life and suffered from numerous problems. He was PTS at the age of 10 and was such a lovely clever horse. I miss him so.

Lastly, little Albs who was brought to replace solomon. Again despite a 5 stage vetting when I brought him he very quickly got one illness after another. He was PTS 2 years ago suffering from a fractured pelvis ( no idea how that happened) together with kissing spine, bone cysts, severe COPD and a digestive problem.

It can be a tough love owning a horse. Some, like people have a long and healthy life and some just seem to get everything going. My current two are tough as old boots and that's in spirit too! Horse owing can be a lottery, some you win, some you loose.
 
I often find myself obsessing about what may happen with my horses, dog, cat etc. I have lost 2 horses in the past.

1st was my elderly cushings/lami first pony. He had a seizure which was fairly mild but he didn't seem quite the same afterwards and was already looking and feeling his age. We decided if it happenned again we'd have him pts. I was about 15 at the time and came home after being out with my friends to find the vet there and him mid seizure about to be pts (this was before mobile phones). It wasn't as horrific as it sounds, the seizures weren't full blown fits. I'm just glad my Dad noticed immediately he wasn't right and that I turned up when I did so I could say goodbye. He was buried in a lovely spot in the field. RIP Josh, what a fantastic first pony.

2nd was my Friesian. Again, he was well into his 20s, although he could have been older, we never knew his exact age. He had been unwell for a while and we were trying to treat it. One day he was down and couldnt get up so we called the vet and he was pts there and then. This time I wasn't there. I was a real mess and I knew that he would pick up on it so I said my goodbyes and left the yard. He knew my Dad just as well as he did me, if not better as he was around the farm all day - so Dad stayed with him. I've had a couple of comments from people since saying "I owed it to him" to be there til the end but I know I did the right thing. Dad is a farmer and not fazed by anything so the last thing my horse would have known was a calm friend talking to him, not a sobbing wreck who would just have upset him too. This time it was a bullet and he was taken by the hunt. I don't really know why, there wasn't much time to think about it and I just wanted his suffering to end. In hindsight I wish it had been like my pony but ultimately that's just for my own selfish reasons. RIP Blackjack my beautiful boy.

But in March of this year I lost my beautiful 12 year old niece to a horrible disease - it does put things into perspective. With our horses we are lucky that we are often able to decide when enough's enough so I try to just enjoy them while they're here. Family, friends and animals. I'm confident that when the time comes I'll know what to do. Big hugs to all of you xxx
 
In horse hosp for twisted gut, drip put in artery by mistake instead of vein, successful operation only to collapse and die few hours later due to artery bleeding on the inside and cutting airway off! I'm still gutted after all these years!!
 
After 3 months of fighting Laminitis my vet told me there was nothing else they could do and his bone would come through his sole.
My vet couldn't give me a timescale but did say that when it did happen it would be extremely painful so I made the decision to put him down that day as i didn't want him to be in pain just because i couldn't let him go.
It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make but everyone had done everything they could and part of being a responsible horse owner is doing the right thing for your horse and not necessarily for yourself.
He was only 6 and the most wonderful, gentle and special horse in the world. He was my best friend.
I led him to his field and after 3 months of box rest let him have a final run around and munch of grass. The vet injected him under his favorite scratching tree.
I thanked him for being him as she injected, and he went down and just looked asleep.
Horses don't always get killed in horrific accidents or die in pain or alone...some do, but sometimes we as horses owners can be there for their friends when the time comes. It can be peaceful and quite.
Yes it's something that crosses all horse/pet owners minds but it's just because you love them so much you can't stand the thought of losing them but one day they will die, we all die but all you can do is live the life you have together for the time you have together and hopefully your happy memories will get you though the loss.
 
I lost one with a brain tumour. I also had to PTS a 7yr out of racing with chronic lameness issues and the final one was a 17hh 5 yr old ID from Ireland who was seriously dangerous and it was the kindest thing for him and anyone who had to look after him. All tough decision and I wasn't there when it happened. I didn't want it to be my last memory of them.
 
My first horse died of a heart attack whilst I was hacking him, he was 26yrs old but was very fit and well. Managed to get off him before he collapsed. Was horrendous for me but with hindsight I was pleased he went that way.

Lost my mare two years ago with laminitis, had her PTS by injection and it was very quick and peaceful.
 
My lovely ish mare was only 6yrs........it was the only morning I had someone else turn her out and I was on my way to a 2 day course for work.
She used to always have a roll soon as the headcollar came off, get up, have a buck and a kick and gallop off to the other end of the field, it was just this time she was too close to the fence when she kicked out and she 'shattered' her hindleg (hit the fence post).

The vet was brilliant as he talked to me over the phone explaining that the leg was 'unrepairable' and no money in the world would help - he asked my verbal consent to pts.

When I arrived 3 hrs later I saw her laying in the field, I am so pleased I trusted my vet to make the decision for me as I had never seen such a badley 'smashed up 'leg and would have fely sooooooooo guilty if I had made him wait.

The girl who turned her out took it really badly as she felt it was her fault - although it certainly wasn't..............
 
Only lost one of my horses, my 4 yr old TB mare Pippa. She broke her leg in the field on christmas day 1989, we had just eaten our dinner and I had a phone call from one of the other liveries.
I was only 18 and loved her so much, I gave up horses after that for a year.
 
I have lost three, one broke a leg while jumping and had to be put down, one had grass sickness he was put down and my old boy who was 28/30 dropped dead of a heart attack while doing xc, he went doing something he loved and never suffered it was all over with in half a minute
 
My first pony Cindy was PTS in early 80s from suffering mad staggers,she was about 13.
Sirrocco (put him on out loans,to a fantastic home,but sadly uffered seroius bout of colic and was found dead in stable,he was young,only 8.I cried my heart out.
 
We have had everything except ridden accident (and travelling accident - that sounds horrific fiihunt) but then we have kept multiple horses for 35 years. You cannot do anything to guard against the unexpected but you can plan for it. Make sure that you know what exactly what to do in the case of a field/stable accident. Check that there is access to wherever your horse is kept for the animal collection people to get their wagon. Decide in advance whether you would prefer your horse to be pts by injection or bullet and who you want to do it. Tell your YO (or other responsible person) what you have decided, so that if the worst happens when you are on holiday/in hospital/otherwise uncontactable the horse can be dealt with promptly. Then take sensible precautions to avoid accidents e.g. only use field-safe headcollars for turnout etc and put the subject to the back of your mind and enjoy your horse.
 
My mare got beat up in the filed and ended up with a wruptered spleen - this was 16 years ago (the only horse i've had die on me thank gawd) and at the time there was only one vet who could do the operation in Cambridge, down side was she wouldn't load - she was getting so stressed trying to get her in the lorry she was almost dieing there and then as the poison was travelling into her organs must quicker because she was stressed so I made the decision to try no longer and put her to sleep, hardest decision i've ever made but it was right for her and still chokes me now when I think about it.
 
In 30 years, I've had three.

One went blind at four years old of a very, very rare retina disintegration and was shot.
One had kidney failure, also rare, and was shot at fifteen.
One dropped dead of a ruptured aorta at six years old out on a hack.
 
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