My pony is being PTS on 31st August abd I feel really sad :(

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MrsC

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Hi all.

I don't post much as I read more than I post.
Just needed to talk to like minded people about my pony being PTS. Hubby thinks I'm being melodramatic about it all.
HoneyPony is a very old (30ish year old) pony with advanced cushings and I feel her time has come :(
I love her more than anything and want to do what is right and dignified for her. I made the call to my vet to get it all sorted and I feel sick to my stomach :(
Have any of you got any advice as to what to expect on the day? She is going by injection as I can't bear the thought of her being 'shot' :(
Please help! And any advice to my hubby on this thread would be wonderful!

Thank you x
 
awww im really sorry for you :( Big (((((Hugs))))) for you, and your pony.
Just a message to the Hubby. Tell him losing something you love more than anything could be the hardest things anyone could ever do. It's like losing a best friend or a member of your family and you need time and support (and lots of hugs from him!) to get you through this.
You must've done a great job with this pony for it to make it to 30years old! Again, Hugs for you, everything will be ok :) x
 
Unfortunately not everyone feels the way some do about their horses and could never understand that bond, you should feel sorry for him really, he has missed out!

You are making the best decision for her and it is a brave one. Enjoy the time you have left with her. Make sure that you give her everything she is not allowed to eat but loves and lots of love before the time comes. She will be given a sedative first and then the ketamine and it will be over very quickly and very peacefully, she will just go to sleep. Will the vet organise everything for you regarding her removal afterwards (I hate saying that to you because I'm sure you don't want to even think about it).

Give yourself time to grieve, it really is like losing a family member, you will eventually be able to take comfort in the fact that you did the right thing by her and gradually you will remember the good times with her without becoming upset, but this will only happen after you have grieved as much as you need to. Don't worry about people not understanding, just think of yourself and do/say whatever you need to if it helps you recover.
 
Hi,

Although its incredibly difficult, you're doing the right thing *hugs*

My mare was pts in January 2009- I'd had her for 20 years and she was a massive part of my life. She broke her leg in the field so the decision was made for me (she was 33 but in good health so looking back in some ways it was quite a relief as the decision would have had to be made some time)

I was with her when she was pts by injection and it was very peaceful. She was sedated first and it was over very quickly. I had her cremated and kept her ashes- I found this a real comfort. Also donated her rugs etc to an equine charity which was another sort of 'therapy' for me.

I miss her terribly- a year and a half later, but it does get easier.

Take comfort from the fact that you are doing the very best for your horse. Take care xxx
 
Anyone who has had to make that decision will be there holding your hand!

There's no easy way. I know you will want to be there with her, but may I suggest that you take yourself off and don't wait for the disposal, however you have planned it. For me that is the worst bit - after the first time, I promised myself I wouldn't put myself through it again.

And expect to grieve, it's normal, horrible, but don't try to pretend you're OK. No one else who hasn't lost a horse will understand, so look for support from your horsey friends.

And don't blame hubby too much if he doesn't understand, I expect your horse wouldn't really understand if it was the other way round. Just ask him to be there for you.
 
I think you have made a brave decision, the last decision we owe our elderly horses. We have also made the decision for our old lady, ours will be shot, as in our opinion it is the quickest and best for the horse. Has your vet agreed to organise the disposal of the body? It is best if you can have the two things organised one after the other. If I were you I would not be there for the removal, as this can be quite distressing, say your good byes before then. Remind your OH of how old your pony is and how long you have known her (probably longer than you have known him!) Nothing anyone can say will make it any better, but at least people can try and not make it any worse.
My thoughts will be with you on the day (we are looking at October for ours)
 
My mare had advanced cushings. She was 25yrs and I had owned her from when she arrived in the UK from Ireland as a 3yo and she ended her days back in Ireland. Cushings is progressive and I was often discussing with the vet if her time was coming. We gave her the best of everything including homeopathy and with a heavy heart I knew the time was drawing near. In the event, she happened to collapse one day in our garden and we knew her time was up so the vet came and put her to sleep by injection. It was over very quickly and the vet also shed some tears with us as he had just come from putting his own mare to sleep who had broken her leg in the field.

It is braver to make the decision before things deteriorate too much and before the winter. Horses are our everything and it is difficult for people to understand the emotional bond that has no equal. It is the saddest thing in the world and your grief will take as long as it takes. I miss my girl every day despite having others. Horses are our safe haven, our ones to run to and share our joys and pains.

I wish your horse peace, I wish you peace and be assured that you do a selfless and kinder thing than to hang on because you don't want to lose him.
Big hugs, so many people understand and know and never be afraid to use the forum when times are tough - we share your ups and downs here and listen on a bad day.

xxxxx
 
Take a snip of her tail before she goes hun. You can keep it under your pillow for as long as you need to and it will smell of her for ages and ages. If you're staying with her to the end, she will first have a sedative injected and she'll be pretty much out of it from that point -wobbly and eyes closed. The next injection is then given and she will fall to the ground immediately so have a friend to stand by you so that when you feel her start to fall, you can both push gently so she falls away from you. Have a towel or old sweater to wrap round her eyes before the 2nd injection if you can. She will fall with her eyes open and if her head ends up in a muddy puddle it can be distressing for the owner (not for the horse). It is all over very very quickly. I'm assuming you'll stay with her to the end to reassure her so don't, don't, don't lose it until she's gone or she will pick up on your distress and get anxious. Remember, this is the last and most precious gift you can ever give her hun. She'll live on in your memory and in your heart. Find a nice photo of her and frame it. There's a lovely website called hoofbeats-in-heaven I think, where you can post pix and a memorial, and light a virtual candle for her. Nothing really helps though in the first raw weeks, but time will take the edges off your grief and you will be able to remember her in her heyday. We'll all be thinking of you hun xxx
 
So sorry, sending ((((hugs)))).

I lost my horse a couple of months back, he was ill so like you, I knew it was coming. This means you can spoil her rotten for her last days. I took a lock of my boy's tail and I still well up every time I think of him.

I thought my hubby would think I was being melodramatic too, but when the day came I left him with the children and he took them to his sister's and then came up to the yard to give me some moral support. I was quite surprised and really grateful.
 
I lost my boy in January, he was also round about the 30 mark, he had never had any illness in the all the years I had him, then he was stuck down with cloic, I simply could not watch him in the pain he was in and my vet injected him very late at night in his stable as he took a turn for the worst, I was hysterical, but my mam and OH and sister where there to try and calm me, I wish I could have let him go the way you will be letting yours go, he went very quickly, and I cuddled him and covered his head with a coat, he remained in the stable over night and he was taken by the pet crem the next day, I could not bare to be there so my OH met the crem and saw him taken away.
I scattered him in his field, the place he lived for 19 years and never left, and he never will.

((((hugs))) I hope all goes well and you have some support,im sure you will spoil her rotten up to the day and love her literally to death xxx
 
Will be thinking of you and HoneyPony on the 31st August. You have made the right decision, albeit very hard. If you are able to keep her ashes or scatter them in your garden, I feel you would find this a great comfort. Take whatever time you need to grieve for your pony, and I am sure your Husband will support you when the time comes. Take care, and enjoy your remaining days with your beloved pony. xx
 
Hug.

My mare was pts a 5 weeks ago - arthritis & open/aggressive sarcoids. I made a memory box - photos, rosettes, her last shoe, plaits from her mane & tails etc. TBH I still can't bear to open it, but it's there for when I can.
Will you be there at the end - not every one can bear it. If you are try & have an understanding friend there with you, I was very grateful that a fellow livery was there & could give my son a hug (17 & sobbing like baby) as I led her in for the vet.
 
You are doing the right and brave thing and I will be thinking about you on the 31st. Having lost two both as emergencies I wish I had taken the steps that you have so that their endings were more peaceful.
 
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