older horse is this the right time...opinions pls

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Leono

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I have a 26 year old horse that I've owned since he was a baby and I was 12 when we got him. We've done everything from PC to dressage talent spotting.

He's my one in a million horse and I really don't want him to suffer even a day so I'm really struggling to make a decision.

He retired 3 1/2 years ago as 2 vets advised that the weight of a rider (amd im only light) was too much for him, though he is still walked in hand and does a bit of sort of lunging. He's definitely arthritic in a hind fetlock, and has some knee and fetlock stiffness in front. His teeth are still 100% so his weight is good and he is often mistaken for a much younger horse.

So a few weeks ago he struggled to get up after rolling, taking 3 or 4 attempts on a couple of occasions. Since then he has been better - I started making more effort with stretching exercises and work in hand. But at the back of my mind I am desperately worried that he will get stuck down and there will be nothing we can do.

For the last year or so he has totally stopped lying down. We think this must be due to a bad experience, but he has carried on rolling so this must worry him less.

Any advice or opinions appreciated.
 
I have one in the same stage - rarely lies down, will roll. Last time a vet was here to another horse the old boy got down and was making a pigs ear of getting up. I asked the vet if she'd watch him with me and possibly pts if he was upset. Normally when he takes a while he's perfectly happy, will sit up like a dog, or just lie there and eat grass, just occasionally he seems worried. She took a look, he got up and she said "Whilst he's still getting down to roll he'll be fine, they're not daft and they won't get down if they think they can't get up, they're flight animals and it's not in their nature to put themselves in that sort of danger. The risk is if he falls and can't get up, but he's not at that stage yet."

With my boy I've found that putting him out with a playful horse in a larger space has helped. He spends a lot of time playing and is keeping himself fitter. He's also better kept a bit warmer.

When it comes to deciding when is the right time, a month too soon is better than a day too late. He has no idea of tomorrow. Any time is good for him so it's a good idea IMHO to make it a time when it is convenient for you, whether in the meantime your vet would give you some ACP or similar so that if he does get stuck down you can dose him up whilst you wait for them to come and do the deed I don't know, it might be worth asking them what they do in this sort of situation.
 
Oh wow, I could have written that four months ago about my 28 year old horse of a lifetime. I also noticed that my Syd had stopped lying down in the stable, but that he continued to roll in the field. Syd struggled to get up from rolling one day at the end of May this year and I phoned the vet to get him checked over. The vet said that it was really important that Syd could get up and down comfortably and that he could lie down to rest. She suggested that I increased his Danilon from one to two or even three sachets per day to help him to be pain free for a short period of time while I came to terms with the final decision and made arrangements.

I bawled my eyes out and agonised over the timing, but I promised myself I would not let him go on for more than a month longer on the additional Danilon. So I took loads of lovely photos of him, and cut sections from his tail so I could make horsehair keepsakes. My husband and I took the children up to spend time with him in the field every evening after work, hugging him and feeding him huge quantities of extra-strong mints.

I arranged for Syd to be put to sleep on a Friday, so I could have the weekend to get myself back together again before needing to go back to work. He went over Rainbow Bridge on 28th June, and I haven't had a moment's doubt that I made the right decision at the right time. I miss him dreadfully, but on the other hand, I don't have to worry about him anymore.

I am crying again, typing this, but I wish you all the strength you will need to do the right thing for your boy. I had Syd for 23 years, over half my life, so I know a little of how you are feeling. We love them so much, but we have such a responsibility to make decisions for them.

Hugs.x
 
Thanks Jemima that's good advice. He is very playful out in the field and was turned out with another playful one. The problem was he was doing too much and kept coming in sound and then after an hour in his stable he was hopping lame and knackered. now he's with a quieter horse that he follows round all day, she marches off a lot in search of better grass and he follows :-) they're a cute couple!

goldenstar - He's on 1 danilon a day and this seems to do the job for his arthritis. He doesn't come out of his stable stiff, when trotting he looks happy, ears pricked but doesn't have the movement he used to.
 
How was the ground when he was trying to get up, wet from rain or nice and firm, if wet from rain he might have just not been able to get a Grip, take it he is barefoot so there is no shoe to help with getting a foot hold.
 
Garnet said:
Oh wow, I could have written that four months ago about my 28 year old horse of a lifetime. I also noticed that my Syd had stopped lying down in the stable, but that he continued to roll in the field. Syd struggled to get up from rolling one day at the end of May this year and I phoned the vet to get him checked over. The vet said that it was really important that Syd could get up and down comfortably and that he could lie down to rest. She suggested that I increased his Danilon from one to two or even three sachets per day to help him to be pain free for a short period of time while I came to terms with the final decision and made arrangements.

I bawled my eyes out and agonised over the timing, but I promised myself I would not let him go on for more than a month longer on the additional Danilon. So I took loads of lovely photos of him, and cut sections from his tail so I could make horsehair keepsakes. My husband and I took the children up to spend time with him in the field every evening after work, hugging him and feeding him huge quantities of extra-strong mints.

I arranged for Syd to be put to sleep on a Friday, so I could have the weekend to get myself back together again before needing to go back to work. He went over Rainbow Bridge on 28th June, and I haven't had a moment's doubt that I made the right decision at the right time. I miss him dreadfully, but on the other hand, I don't have to worry about him anymore.

I am crying again, typing this, but I wish you all the strength you will need to do the right thing for your boy. I had Syd for 23 years, over half my life, so I know a little of how you are feeling. We love them so much, but we have such a responsibility to make decisions for them.

Hugs.x
Click to expand...

This is very similar to my experience, I said good by to my 32yo on 24th May, its been hard, but she had a couple of weeks full of bute and lots of TLC.

I remind myself, it is better this way, then finding her stuck, unable to get up, and then having an agonising last few hours... It was the hardest decision I ever made, but I'm sure it was the right one.

((HUGS))
x

PS - if you want to pm me that's no problem x
 
many years ago i my 22 year old horse who i owned for 14 years slipped over in the field while i was there and had alot of trouble getting up and was quite distressed...he had been retired for a couple of years as he had a heart problem....i kept him with some friends, we all worked full time so the horses were turned out at 7am and got in by whoever was there first, usually between 6 and 7pm....it was winter and i made the decision to PTS as there was no one there all day and i felt he could go down early in the morning and if he couldnt get up he could be laying there all day....if i had my time again i would do the same, i never regretted my decision.....you will know when the time is right and it sounds like your chap is still ok, but its good to get everything straight in your mind so you are prepared for the worst.....good luck
 
My 24 yr old retired mare was on 2 sachets of bute a day and still hopping lame, the next step was pts when I got some magnet legwraps for her. 24 hrs after first wearing them she was sound and after a while we stopped the bute. Those legwraps gave her another 3 happy, comfortable, months, over the winter, until she had a stroke and had to be pts.
When we've been able to plan pts for elderly horses, we have done it at the end of October 1/2 term (I'm a teacher), so that they don't have to go through another winter.
 
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