Morbid Q - What do you do with The Body?

The special ones are buried here on my farm. The not so special ones are taken by the deadstock people for whatever they make out of them and the greys go for glue, but 2 of the greys I own are special ones so they won't be turned into little Pritt Sticks.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
This was brought home to me when I had an elderly labrador pts at home, with her companions around her. They wer always very respectful of her and careful not to bump her old bones (she could be a bit cantankerous). As soon as the vet stood up, after saying the hert hd stopped, the Rottie, who was thrilled to see the vet, trampled all over the now dead lab, just as if she was a hearth-rug. It was perfectly obvious that Rottie knew there was no dog left in the shell.
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The very same thing happened to me when I had my most cherished dog pts at home a few years ago. One of my other dogs, who was with us when my girl was put down, lay there next to her while she was being pts and once she was gone she scrambled up and over my girls body to cuddle me :o She would NEVER have done that if my other dog had been alive. At the time I found it out of order behaviour, but within a few minutes it hit me and I also became very aware that the body of my old dog was definitely not her, she had moved safely into my heart forever.
 
I had to have a oldie put to sleep recently, Was disappointed in the vet as they did not arrange collection as had always happened before, So had to ring around and find someone to collect as this was a sudden pts not arranged.

Also be aware that the collection people expect payment on collection and dont send a bill so even for group cremation its about £270.

Its best to decide what you want before hand and have phone nos ready etc because it makes a distressing time even worse.
 
The choice is a very personal one some people want individual cremation, if you are prepared to spend the money why not?

Me personally, I just get the carcass wagon to come and collect as cheap as possible. for me once the horse is gone it's just a body, I don't want any hair, urns, shoes etc, as I have my memories and pics.

I wouldn't go as far as to drop one of mine and leave it at a slaughterhouse, although I completely understand owners of large yards/ hunter hire doing so.

I think it is something EVERY horse owner should prepare for.

Mine will be put down at home when the time comes, preferably by our kind and professional slaughterman.
 
Nicnac said:
Always bury at home. I have a friendly man with a digger who managed to dig a hole big enough for my 600 kg friesian last year and transport her across the field to her grave. Only problem is that after a few weeks the body decomposes and the top sinks so quite a bit of topsoil is required to level off the grave when it's a big horse.

I like keeping their memories close and am lucky enough to have the land to do this.
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Ditto this - we have four in our field, and have now planted trees on them. The sinking ground is a bit annoying though!
 
When my mare was PTS it was all so quick and traumatic that I didn't care what the cost was to have her privately cremated (that cost btw including her being PTS was just over £600... disposal, of course, was not included in my insurance)

On reflection, I wouldn't do it again; I ended up with a HUGE box full of ash which for two years I didn't know what to do with so it sat in the tack room. I decided to sprinkle her ashes eventually but for some reason kept about 25% of them incase I ever wanted to bury them in the garden.

When my boy goes I will have him cremated but wont ask for the ashes back... Saves on all the soul searching with what to do with a big box of ash :rolleyes:
 
Oberon said:
Burial is out - I don't have my own land and I wouldn't want to bury him on a livery yard.

Is there any restrictions on horses who have Prascend and Danilon?
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I rang the hunt to check this before taking one over to them and they were not bothered because of the low levels.

But then it becomes difficult again. AFAIK if they died by lethal injection then they are not used by either the hunt or zoo. I do stand to be corrected on this though.
 
I thought that the Vet would be the easier alternative but of course its not - but the knackerman from the hunt couldn't get out to us till later.

Having done both I think the last apple, rope to the man, turn away and bang and its over is much better for horse and owner.
 
Cahill said:
why do some of you not like the idea of burial/decomposing? surely that is the natural way of things?
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I love the idea of everything going back into life/being used. So love the idea of feeding to zoo/hounds, houses, I want to keep leg bones if I have the money... but since a kid there are two things that have stuck with me.

1. Eyes - I used to avoid eye contact at all costs because I didn't want people looking at my eyes 'til I knew them. For this reason I have all my organs down for donation except my eyes. So that's one part I couldn't take from my horses.

2. Burying. I'm not claustrophic in the slightest and buried alive etc has never worried me... but it's a bit in limbo. I've always wanted to be cremated and want the same for my animals. There's no rational explanation but it feels like freeing them up to move on... which is completely irrational when I don't particularly belive in anything after this life. There's also the fact that I couldn't stand the images that would be conjured up with burial, not so much with animals, but with humans once they're gone they're gone, with burial they're still there. I like the thought of nothing tying them here, rather than walking over a body which I know is there in varying states.
 
When the time comes I'm going to have my boy cremated - but it will be a mixed cremation with other horses. I don't want his ashes back.

I am, however, going to cut some tail off and create a bracelet with it. They are lovely to look at and will be a nice memento of him :)
 
We've got 4 buried in the field. My old pony went down a few weeks ago and had to be PTS. The vet didn't have the gun with him so it was done by injection. Because of the weather and how waterlogged the fields are there was no way we could bury her with the rest, so she went off to the kennels for cremation. Maybe because it was the following day she was collected, it definitely wasn't "her" who was picked up, was just a carcass. My Dad and I helped the lad from the Hunt as she'd gone down in an awkward spot, half in and half out of the stable. Not half as bad as I'd thought it would be.

I did chop a piece of mane off though to bury in the field with the others. Now just have to wait for it to dry up a bit so I can get to the spot to do it.

ETA: my old cat is on the mantle piece. She hated going outside when she was alive, so she's staying with me in a nice warm house :)
 
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Well as you know I lost my mare of a lifetime before Christmas.


I will always have them individually cremated. What I have learnt over the last 6-9 weeks is well ...........................actually I cannot say on an open forum as it could be view by he parties.


I could certainly mention one company not to use but again not here.

If individual is your choice then:

I would always now recommend you use a company on the ACCPP website for your own assurance. Details on this web page .
http://horse-care-and-advice.weebly.com/in-memoriam--cremation-of-your-horse-or-pony.html

Some don't connect with ashes being their horse.
Some like to send horse to hunt.


Its down to personal choice, but I always say plan ahead don't wait till too late when you wont be in the right frame of mind.

I still have my mares ashes from 1995 when she was pts and my pony 2007 now my other mare. Along with cats they are in loft. My plan is when my ashes are buried I want all the caskets put together
I also have always had a donor card, I have ticked take anything its of no use to me.
 
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Bodies mean nothing to me, they are just empty shells and really I do not care what happens to them, but feeding another animal like hounds makes good use of them. I hate the idea of great volumes of fuel being used just to destroy something that could serve a purpose.
 
I totally agree about having a plan , I do I always do I always do it the same way it's almost ritualised for me now it does make less stressful.
 
I had my beloved mare cremated after being pts by injection. I kept a piece of her tail.
I opted for a group cremation. The collection company were very kind and I left them alone to collect her.
I was there for her when she was pts and I think it would be hard to be there just for the sedation as for me the whole thing was over so quickly and thankfully peacefully.

I have friends who opted for individual cremation. I think they have regrets as they moan about the size of the ashes tubes and having to keep them in the garage. That wasn't for me.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
AFAIK, your choices are individual cremation/'group'cremation or burial at home, if you are not near a water course.

I can't personally see the point of individual cremation. I don't want the ashes back, it is simply the shell of the horse which has gone. Now if someone could get me the horse back.............
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Agree - we had a token of ash to bury when we lost our young horse suddenly to colic. Thought it would help give my daughter closure. With my old girl I don't want anything back. I will just keep a lock of her tail and the happy memories
 
For me personally :

this is in no way disses people for doing it this way but..............

I would NEVER send mine to the zoo or kennels. The idea of them being eaten and ending up as dog $h1T is not for me. It makes me cringe at the thought. But each to their own .......................

I am doing a wheel cover with my two mares of a life time its awesome.
 
My old girl was PTS last October. I made the decision the previous Easter and then just had to select the right date. She was put down by injection, went absolutely peacefully and gently, and was removed for cremation (group). It all cost less than £600 and I was more than satisfied with the care and kindness and level of service I received from all parties. I kept a small swatch of each of her mane and tail, a couple of her teeth which had fallen out in recent years, a bag of fur she shed the previous spring and a full set of shoes from many years back. I absolutely didn't want her ashes back - its the size of a small suitcase and then what do you do with it? I have the bits I wanted - they look like what they are and remind me of her colouring and feel. A box of gritty ash is nothing like the living animal. Ultimately, I intend to have some of her fur incorporated into an artificial diamond and then she will be beautiful again.
 
It's individual choice at the end of the day. OP, I think you've been through a lot recently, you don't have to make any final decisions now, just find out the option and see how your feelings change over time.
 
Instead of spending an extortionate amount of money on some ashes that may, or may not, be the remains of your horse, why not donate the money to a horse charity in his name? Or sponsor a living horse that isn't as lucky as your's obviously was?
 
oldjumper said:
Instead of spending an extortionate amount of money on some ashes that may, or may not, be the remains of your horse, why not donate the money to a horse charity in his name? Or sponsor a living horse that isn't as lucky as your's obviously was?
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I think that's a lovely idea :)
 
When my OH's sisters mare was found dead in the field, we had a cremation company come to pick up her body and then she had a group cremation. I think OH's sister would have liked to have had the mare cremated on her own and then had the ashes back, but as she wasn't paying it was up to the MIL, who didn't want to pay out £500 for it, which I think is fair enough. Neither would I.

As far as I can remember, the service was good but I remember the lady who came to pick the body up made a comment to OH sis about the pony, which would have been funny, but not in these circumstances. Can't remember for the life of me what the comment was so I suppose this is an irrelevant part of my post lol.

Major downside was that there was already a whopping great body in the lorry so as she was pulled in, their stiff legs were all knocking and getting caught on each other. Wasn't a nice sight at all :( the lady did actually tell us that they never normally do group collections (unless you were unfortunate to need 2 bodies of your own horses picked up) so was a bit peeved off that they done so this time. But I am also a believer that the body is just a shell of the horse, they're not themselves once they're dead.

I'm not sure what route I would take with any of my three, would depend on the circumstances I suppose.
 
The most important thing for me is that I have a lock of both my boy's mane and tail plaited up and in pride of place at home which still smell of him, along with his shoes. Far better imo than a great big box for me to keep stubbing my toe on!

Tbh, being the untrusting sort that I am, I would never be 100% assured that it was him that I had actually had back anyway. A lot of money for little or no return I think.

He hasn't gone, I just can't see him anymore x
 
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Agree with billie still a body that i used to hold and what carried me. However the cost is rather high to cremate. I heard the body can also be turned into fertiliser i guess once burnt, i like that idea back into the soil.
 
cloe1993 said:
This post has made my bottom lip go a bit wobbly, but that just pushed me over the edge lol. Lovely words :o
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And reading yours made my breath catch for a second! :o Tbh, it was something that someone said to me at some point during my dispair after he had gone. It was probably the best comfort out of all that was given.
 
cloe1993 said:
This post has made my bottom lip go a bit wobbly, but that just pushed me over the edge lol. Lovely words :o
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That got me too.

I opted for vet and collection by a local man. My lovely YO arranged it all for me so I was there at the end and then we just left (my husband thanked the local man as we left as he was stood round the corner ready but I just got in car). I didn't have anything back. I don't know or want to know what happened to the body but my boy is asleep on the hill where I last saw him.

I was also comforted by their being another horse at the yard who went the same day (long standing issue and it just seemed right time).

I did wonder if I'd regret not keeping his ashes but I don't (and his name was Ash and my Ash was a beautiful white pony, not a tub of dust). I plaited and took some bits of his mane and tail in the morning as I was grooming him (poor lad :)). I have a pendant made from some of it and it gives me comfort. And I have his shoes made into a doormat and his headcollar hanging in my hall. And a million memories.
 
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