Old ponies, difficult decisions, help needed.

Having read your other posts, if the ponies with laminitis really cannot be turned out at all or even have a mouthful of grass and are not suitable to be ridden etc I'm afraid I would put to sleep as they have no quality of life.
 
If these ponies have hardly worked for 6 or 7 years there may be soundness issues just bringing them back into work anyway. If the laminitic really can't have even a blade of grass you're never going to be sure anyone else will be as vigilant. It's terribly painful - and I have a collection of oldies, and have had other ponies PTS - but in your situation I believe the kindest decision would be to have them put down.

You're worrying terribly about them now. You will worry a lot more if they go away to new homes. I think after so long with you, you have a duty to make that awful final decision rather than pass them on.
 
i think you are looking for someone to agree with you that you think you should PTS.

If they are happy in themselves with the current setup, could you get by if they weren't insured? I would do that first.
 
I don't think it's fair to keep ponies in a small dirt paddock without any form of excercise etc and if this needs to be done to prevent them from getting laminitis then I would PTS.

I have to say that I shocked as the original poster claims that they are struggling to fund these ponies, who they have had for years and are considering putting them to sleep but can still manage to afford to compete and keep competition horses.

Personally, I would put the welfare of these ponies, who have given this family years of service before going out and competing if necessary. With some work it sounds like two of these ponies would be able to be loaned out or at least found sharers.
 
What a dilemma! After reading all your posts, I think you would be quite justified in PTS, not at all because you wish to compete the younger/healthier horses but because it sounds to me as though the quality of life for the laminitics is in question and the other pony doesn't sound like a viable loan. I cannot understand where people think these loan homes are that want to pay good money to keep difficult horses/ponies who can be little more than companions when at the moment there are plenty of sound sensible animals for loan whose owners are struggling to afford them but are hoping to be able to take them back when things pick up
 
As regards loaning the ponies please ensure that before they leave your premises that each of them are both micro-chipped and freezemarked on their shoulder so that they can be identified in the future.

Also ensure that you see the original passport, driving licence and rates bill of the person loaning the ponies and photocopy them yourself so that there is no doubt as the true identity of the person loaning them. There are sadly far too many horses that disapear when they are loaned out never to be found again.

As regards the issue of Laminitis this can with carefull management be controlled but it is essential to determine what the trigger(s) for the condition is in each of the horses. It could be a number of different things and if for instance it is Cushings Disease then this can be controlled with daily medication (Pergolide).

Your elderly ponies have had a long and established life at your home and breaking them apart could be very traumatic for them at this late stage in their life. They have served you well over the years and the ultimate sacrifice you could make for them so that they could see their final days out with you would be to sell your competition horses so that you could keep the ponies in the style that they have become so accustomed to over the years.

The final decision is yours as you know the ponies best and it is very brave of you to discuss this on an open forum where there will be so many differing opinions.
 
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I have to say that I shocked as the original poster claims that they are struggling to fund these ponies, who they have had for years and are considering putting them to sleep but can still manage to afford to compete and keep competition horses.


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We are not currently struggling to fund the older ponies, I am simply saying that they do still incur costs, they eat £1000 if hay a year between them, there is also insurance/feet/feed/hay etc yet at the moment they do not do very much, and as a poster further down has said, it would be hard to loan them due to their age, lamminitis, cheeky streak not making them ideal childrens ponies and spearation factors when they have been with us so long.

Trust me, we wouldn't be eventing my chestnut if we neeeded the money for the ponies, none of them are on medication etc.
I think your statement was a little sweeping.
 
Well, I really do sympathise with you - not an easy decision to make. At the end of the day, you will eventually have to put them down anyway, whether now or in a few years time, and the things that will make you PTS are painful and unpleasant for the horse. If it were me, I'd not loan or send them away, not now when they are old and have had the same home for years. The older they are, the harder it is for them to be moved on.

At the end of the day, it's about the quality of their lives, not the length of them. If they can't go on grass and can't be worked and the only other option is an uncertain future in a loan home, I'd be looking to PTS. PTS is not a crime, even when it's a healthy horse, even though it feels like a great shame and a waste of life. What is a crime, is sending a horse on to an uncertain future of neglect and poor management (and yes, I class turning a laminitic pony out onto lush grazing as poor management).

FWIW my father was a vet and he used to say he'd rather put a kitten to sleep than see it turned out on the streets to starve. I very much follow in his logic on this subject. I realise not everyone agrees but that's how I consider I can best care for my animals in the event of financial hardship, which is unfortunately part of life.
 
If these ponies were mine I would have them PTS. I have been there, some years ago now with an eldrly shetland and my old 14.2 pony. It is heartbreaking but it is also the kindest thing to do for the ponies. If they are loaned out and something goes wrong then laminitics will end up having to endure a lot of pain unneccessarily. That IMO would be just awful. If you love these ponies, and I think you do, then please do the last kindest thing for them , PTS at home in their familiar surroundings, this is what I would do if they were mine.
Best Wishes
Jill
 
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If you can easily afford to keep them then why not just carry on as you are?

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simply because, I don't think they have the best quality of life they could, due to their conditions...laminitis etc. Its not all about cost, but also the welfare of the horse, not just physically but mentally as well!!
 
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Well, I really do sympathise with you - not an easy decision to make. At the end of the day, you will eventually have to put them down anyway, whether now or in a few years time, and the things that will make you PTS are painful and unpleasant for the horse. If it were me, I'd not loan or send them away, not now when they are old and have had the same home for years. The older they are, the harder it is for them to be moved on.

At the end of the day, it's about the quality of their lives, not the length of them. If they can't go on grass and can't be worked and the only other option is an uncertain future in a loan home, I'd be looking to PTS. PTS is not a crime, even when it's a healthy horse, even though it feels like a great shame and a waste of life. What is a crime, is sending a horse on to an uncertain future of neglect and poor management (and yes, I class turning a laminitic pony out onto lush grazing as poor management).

FWIW my father was a vet and he used to say he'd rather put a kitten to sleep than see it turned out on the streets to starve. I very much follow in his logic on this subject. I realise not everyone agrees but that's how I consider I can best care for my animals in the event of financial hardship, which is
unfortunately part of life.

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Thanks Kit, alot of what you said has made sense, as you say, loaning at this age, having had them for so many years at home, might be difficult especially as they are not going to be great childrens ponies, might be cheeky, we might look to see if there is a local home for the show pony as he is the younngest, recently went on loan locally and would like/NEEDS to go back into work, its finding the right place that is vigilant enough with his laminitis.

As you say PTS is not a crime, but I think as owners we sometimes think it is, especially if they are mainly healthy, and no they are not on deaths door, but there is not alot we can do with them and quality of life is just as important as physical well being!!

Im going to hack the mare today and see how she is, has no shoes, so might be footsore, will have to see! thank you for your reply.
 
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If you can easily afford to keep them then why not just carry on as you are?

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simply because, I don't think they have the best quality of life they could, due to their conditions...laminitis etc. Its not all about cost, but also the welfare of the horse, not just physically but mentally as well!!

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please don't think I'm having a go because I'm not.

I am all for PTS if necessary. My Sweet Itch cob will be pts if I'm unable to look after him rather than rehome him even though is is only 11. I could not risk him not being taken care of properly as his SI is so severe.
I also have a laminitic pony so I know so understand what you mean about their quality of life. Mine was due to be pts just before Christmas by his previous owner as she felt his quality of life was compromised but I've taken him on for a last chance and so far he's sound. He lives in mud/dirt and on soaked hay. He has a strip of ground that goes round the perimeter of my field (using electric) and that keeps him occupied. Theres no grass and I just put small piles of hay out to keep him and his 2 companions occupied and moving...
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Is there any way you could do something like that..

For a change of scenery mine get walks out every now and then or taken as a companion to a show
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simply because, I don't think they have the best quality of life they could, due to their conditions...laminitis etc. Its not all about cost, but also the welfare of the horse, not just physically but mentally as well!!

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Your lami ponies have not had "normal" lives for a while now. Don't forget though that no domesticated horse is kept in its truly ideal environment, and that there are plenty of horses in london/ the police/ the lipizanas (sp!) etc who adapt to either no turnout or only an hour a day...what I'm trying to say is that whilst it is not ideal, your ponies might actually be happy living the lifestyle they do. Inly you and the people who care for them will be able to tell if they are happy or fed up, not a bunch of forumers like us
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