Never, ever again. Update on last night

So sorry you went through this - it must have been extremely distressing for you. Your horse is now at peace though.
I have heard of the odd horse taking a few minutes to go, but nothing like this - I would certainly be asking questions. x
 
Choking back tears reading that so can't imagine how u r feeling, my heart really goes out to u! You done best by ur mare and comforted her, as others have said she won't have been aware of what was going on, she will just have been glad u were there

Treasure ur memories and in time u can look back and fondly remember the good times with her

This won't b worth anything to you now but I'm now certain that no horse of mine will ever be pts by injection and I can only thank you for that, it's hard talking about the subject but ur honest account will have helped people like myself who were never quite sure what call to make when the time comes

Nothing anyone says will take away ur pain right now but hopefully u will feel btr soon, thoughts r with u
 
So very sorry to read about your pony. I have been present and holding the heads of upwards of 12 horses over the years who have been injected, and have never, ever experienced what you (and some other posters) have been through. Every horse was sedated first, and then euthanised, and each horse went down immediately and peacefully, and were dead when they hit the floor.

This sounds like a botched job, I'm afraid, and at the very least you should be recompensed for the trauma you have suffered. I would be contacting the vet practice.:(
 
You poor soul - a distressing time under any circumstances without this happening. You obviously cared deeply for your girl and comforted her to the end - what more could any horse ask for? She was a lucky girl to have you and I hope all your memories of happy times bring you some comfort x
 
What a traumatic heartbreaking ordeal for you...your pony sounds like an amazing friend and in time you will beable to look back with very fond memories and a smile. At the moment you must be in shock at how awful the situation panned out...I had a very similar experience with a very much loved family dog who we had had from birth...he was my best friend for a very long time and when the time came I have never cried so much. In fact even typng this has made me fill up and it was over 10 years ago now. He took about 40 mins to go...just as the vet thought he had gone suddenly he took a big gasp of breath...it was truly heartbreaking and left me in a daze for several days... just dont think my brain could cope!
I hope you dont dwell to much on the ending...the chances are he probably didnt know much about it but certainly when you are feeling less fragile I would be talking to the vet...sounds like a right royal c*** up which has been deeply upsetting.
 
So sorry to hear this, it sounds absolutetly dreadful, PTS is terribly hard so to have this happen aswell.
I had all my pts with injection and the only one that fought it slightly was the one that was sedated before hand. My last horse was shot after she severed her leg, it took ages for the vet to say her heart had stopped with the shooting.
I hope you can forgive yourself, you have nothing to forgive yourself for though, you were there to the very traumatic end for your pony.
thinking of you.
 
Heartbreaking for you :( I am so sorry that her end wasn't as peaceful as you had hoped but please remember she had 26 wonderful years with you and in the grand scheme of her life it really was a very short time.

Hugs to you xx
 
I'm so sorry.

Some of them do fight the drugs very hard. It's not something that the vet can predict, sadly. I'm sure she didn't really know what was going on.
 
Sorry to hear you had such a bad experience. My old lady was pts last week and was injected. It could not have gone better, and the Vet was so so nice, he even sent me a lovely card this week.
 
I'm afraid to say that I do fear veterinary error here. My vets always insert canula and give a full bottle to a pony 'just to be on the safe side', after all you cannot overdose in this situation. Talk of subsequent 'injections' concerns me a little.

I know OP that you will be very distressed at the moment but I do think that your vet owes you an explanation for this terrible situation.
 
I'm so sorry to hear this. You are absolutely right - no horse should have to die like that - and no owner should have to go through that experience. Try to take comfort from the fact that you were with her and that helped to calm her - you truly did do the last thing possible for her.
Then, in a few days, when you've had time to gather your thoughts, give the vet's practice hell. I'd be very reluctant to pay for that service!
RIP, old lady.
 
I'm so sorry, both for your loss & how traumatic it was. I've seen the injection go wrong too, but please don't blame yourself, the vet clearly has made a mistake, which is not your fault. Contact the surgery on Monday & ask for an explanation, because imo errors like that need serious investigation. Again, I'm so sorry x
 
Whilst it sounds like a total botch job, (what did he actually give her???) my only thing to say to try and comfort you somewhat is that the drugs she will have got will have been like an anaesthetic so she would have not been as aware as a normal horse and the effects won't have been as bad, still not nice at all.
 
She really loved you, didn't she? That lovely little mare.. she was willing to endure the ultimate sacrifice to stay with you, even though she knew it was her time.. so sorry her end wasn't how you wanted it, all we can say now, is she's now at peace.... try not to dwell on what happened, she wouldn't want you to remember her that way, hun XX
 
I am so sorry to hear that you and your mare went through this. I also would not be paying that bill.
The Old girl is at peace and eventually the 26 years of memories will become more imprtant than the last few hours.
 
Lipislave said:
So very sorry to read about your pony. I have been present and holding the heads of upwards of 12 horses over the years who have been injected, and have never, ever experienced what you (and some other posters) have been through. Every horse was sedated first, and then euthanised, and each horse went down immediately and peacefully, and were dead when they hit the floor.

This sounds like a botched job, I'm afraid, and at the very least you should be recompensed for the trauma you have suffered. I would be contacting the vet practice.:(
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Agreed - and you have my greatest sympathy OP. Was the pony sedated first? For anyone who has to have - or wishes to have - a horse put down by injection PLEASE discuss with your vet what s going to be done. Sedaton first is essential!! My vet always does this and it has always been VERY peaceful and quick.
 
Yes my horse had to be shot twice. THe vet lied to me and said it hadn't gone wrong and that they always shot big horses twice! It wasn't until years later that I found out from someone that was there at the time what I had always suspected, that the vet had cocked up. I would have injection every time. I think the vet must have got the dosage wrong or injected the drugs in the wrong order for it to go wrong like that.

I'd write
to the veterinary ombudsman to get the vet in question investigated and write to the practice manager explaining your feelings and tell them that they will be questionned by a higher authority.

So dreadfully sorry for you xx
 
This happened to my horse at Liverpool. The vets hadn't told me what could happen after the horse had 'died' and when I went to see his body he groaned and moved. It scared the hell out of me. I wrote to Horse & Rider magazine 'ask the vet' and got a massive reply from the vet explaining all about it and they said its called agonal gasping and nothing to do with agony and it comes about when the horse is unconcious and the air is leaving its lungs, and the reflexes as each organ shuts down makes the animal move.

It really reassured me and I realised that my horse was dead and I was just ignorant of the facts. It made me angry though that I should have been warned and I think all vets should tell their clients that if they want to be present after the horse has died (by whichever means) then this could happen so they are prepared for it.
 
applecart14 said:
This happened to my horse at Liverpool. The vets hadn't told me what could happen after the horse had 'died' and when I went to see his body he groaned and moved. It scared the hell out of me. I wrote to Horse & Rider magazine 'ask the vet' and got a massive reply from the vet explaining all about it and they said its called agonal gasping and nothing to do with agony and it comes about when the horse is unconcious and the air is leaving its lungs, and the reflexes as each organ shuts down makes the animal move.

It really reassured me and I realised that my horse was dead and I was just ignorant of the facts. It made me angry though that I should have been warned and I think all vets should tell their clients that if they want to be present after the horse has died (by whichever means) then this could happen so they are prepared for it.
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Yes, this happened to a horse that was put down here. She continued to make deep gasping noises for about five minutes. It is a common occurance and does not mean the horse is still alive. I guess it's similar to the jerking movements after a horse is shot.
 
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