PTS is this normal?

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emma_molly

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Due to liver failure, my pony was pts on sunday evening. she was only diagonsed a week before, her symptons got better but suddenly, on sunday she got worse and was head prssing, sweating, foaming from the month had irregular heart beat and could not eat. It is such a shame, we did all we could, gave her low protein, b vitaims, milk thistle yea sacc etc and vet come out nearly every day exepct last weekend. But sadley the vet said that she needed to be pts and she would not last the night. Obvioulsy its extremely hard for me, she was such a perfect pony, loving and beautiful and i am missing her soo much, so hard not seeing her when you look out the window. However, im having worries about pts. Becuase i have read on here and on the internet that PTS is peaceful. My pony had an injection, however it was extremley distressing, she banged her head seemed distressed and was making awful noises. And from what i have read on the internet im not sure if this is normal? I just want to put my mind at rest, that she was in no pain and did go peaceful, and this reaction is nomal.

Thank you x molly rip, love u miss u
 
Oh no <<<< hugs >>>> please do not stress youself as she is at peace now ... you shouldn't beat yourself up ... if you need any help please PM me as I cannot imagine what you must be feeling
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First of all I want to extend my condolences and im sorry to hear you have lost such a friend.
Unfortunatley I do not think there is a normal reaction to being PTS. I have seen 3 horses pts by injection and only one of those went peacefully in the terms of how we would wish them to go. I wondered wether it was down to the bodies reaction of the horse being PTS rather than it being administered wrong. Seeing something like that isnt easy, and you are obviously upset at the loss but think that you have done the best for your horse and she no longer has to suffer, Take comfort in your memories with her.
 
although I have never witnessed this myself I have heard various accounts which would point towards this being normal
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There is alot of debate about which method of euthanasia is better, and it's very much a personal desision.

I am sorry you've had to go through this on top of mouring for your pony, I expect the 'noises' you heard wouldnt have been her being distressed, and that she did indeed go very quickly and peacefully.

RIP pretty girl xxx
 
Thank you,
i was worried it may have either been administered wrong or it was a normal reaction. however, I trust the vet totally, and am sure she did everything right.
I just find it so hard to believe she has actually gone. will be releved when i get her ashes. We are going to plant a specail garden for her, so im sure that will help!

x
 
Two of my ponies died 2 years ago from liver failure within 3 weeks of each other, one we knew she was going as she was diagnosed over a year before but the other pony we had only found out 2 weeks before after we had had tests done. The first one just lay down and went to sleep but my little pony got severe brain damage very quickly, one day he was fine the next day he climbed(vertically we presume) a dry stone wall and crossed 2 fields(we initially thought he had been stolen). We managed to bring him back up to the yard but he just wanted to walk around and was barging through everything, gates, fences etc, he seemed to gain extra strength from somewhere - the vet came out and the decision was made to have him PTS. The vet said that normally it would take 30 - 60 seconds but because he was so ill he just fell over instantly, catching my mum in the process, it was so horrible and I'd rather he had just lay down....I miss them both so much and I really know what you're going through {{{hugs}}}
 
I am very very sorry to hear this and i can't even begin to understand how you feel. However I may be able to help by saying that having seen many horses in the past being pts by the injection I have not witnessed another reaction xxx
 
So sorry to hear you had to have your pony PTS ((((hugs))))

You did everything you could and having any animal put PTS is always distressing and I'm not sure there is a normal reaction. Could you ring your vet to talk it through and put your mind at rest?
 
I am so sorry for your loss, I lost Henry a few weeks ago, and I know how you are feeling.

I have had three horses put to sleep via injection, and two of them sounded the same as your mare, without going into detail. Only one was as 'peaceful' as I imagined it would be, and he was already sedated due to prior treatment. I think that as already mentioned, it's the body's response to the injection, and the horse is 'gone' pretty much instantly. I know Henry 'moved' as the vet was about to get into his car whilst I was in the stable with him and I freaked out big time.

Please feel free to PM me if you need an ear or a shoulder, and again, my heart ges out to you, I'm so sorry. I think the garden is a lovely idea. Henry has a garden, shared with my dog, and it really helps me.
 
sorry for your loss honey
i'm pretty sure the noises you heard were normal, every horse is different but from my own personal experience, my friends horse was like your mare
Yes, ring the vets, they will explain it to you and ease your mind slightly
but i cannot imagine how you must be feeling
sorry for your loss
(((hugs)))
Hannah x
 
Sorry to hear about your loss.

The first thing that happens with the injection is that the horse loses consciousness. There are several reflexes that can occur after this and before death which is what you saw - it is not nice and doesn't happen with every animal but the horse is unaware of it.
 
If the horse is heavily sedated first then normally its a lot more peacful to watch, I would always have then doped up to the eyeballs if being injected, and this is normal practice at the vets we use, but not at others.
 
mine was pts she was 15,3 and my vet told me that she would of gone before she layed down... my thoughts are with you as its not a nice thing to experiance i know for certain i dont want to go through that again..
 
Tragic times like this are probably not the best to discuss the kindest way to PTS, you would find a lot of differing opinions here. Suffice to say my experience is that when dealing with horses with very acute conditions the reaction you have described is not unusual, and it must have been very upsetting for you.

Hope you can concentrate on the happy memories for the future and put the sadness of the last few days behind you.
 
So sorry to hear that your pony was PTS. At least she is pain free now. I have had 2 horses PTS by injection. All horses react differently, so please talk it through with your vet and they will reassure you that what happened was quite normal. Try not to think about the end of your pony's life, but try to think of all the happy times you spent together. (((((((((((hug))))))))))))
 
Hi hun, I'm sorry for your loss, but I am also sure that you have made absolutely the right decision.
I have been nursing for 30 years and seen many people get better before they get worse, as your pony did.
I have also seen many animals, including horses being euthanased. As has been mentioned in previous posts, they are all different, but please be sure in your mind of one thing, your pony did not suffer. She would have been completely unaware. The noises that you heard would just be the air coming out of her lungs. Any movements are just spinal movements: twitches and completely involuntary:the pony is unaware of it, though it can look horrible to us.

It is a nasty thing to see, and I am becoming emotional as I remember the day I had my old mare PTS. You never forget.
However, for just now, please try to think about all the fun you had together, and know that you did the right thing for your pony, the last loving act that an owner can make.

Love and hugs.
 
really sorry to hear that you had to go thorugh a nasty experience, its hard enough to deal with on its own.

i had my mare put to sleep 8 weeks ago after a horrible ordeal. we even thought she was finally on the mend and then she litterally just imploded with air and was like a balloon all under her skin which made her very distressed and colicy.

she was exhausted when the injection was given, but my vet had trouble finding the vein despite her heart rate at 60bpm. she proved she was a fighter until the end and got up about a quarter of the way into the injection, had some wheezy breathing and eventually got down again and she was able to go in peace. she also had a couple of ear twitches and a few short 'breathes'. weirdly enough this didnt freak me out, it was almost a comfort that i was by her side until the very, very end and was 'seeing her soul off' to a better place
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it was the hardest decision in the world to make but i had no choice, she had started to lose the fight, and she never loses.

you have to remember that you gave her dignity and peace, and she knew she was loved.

you did the best thing, even if you it feels like its killing you! take care and feel free to PM if you need to chat.
 
We lost our beloved pony nearly two years ago... and in some ways it feels like only yesterday.
The pain you are feeling is very normal. When a life ends we tend to go over and over it again and again in our minds. It is all part of the very painful healing process...
But trust me, you will gain more strength as each day passes and gradually you will be able to smile again.
The words spoken on this forum, I hope, go some way to ease your worried mind....
RIP dear Molly.
 
So sorry to hear of your loss. I would call your vet for the scientific explanation if that will make you feel better.

When I was put under anasthetic for an op once, apparently I was crying and wailing and talking gibberish when I was under, but I did not know anything about it - must have been distressing for my loved ones to watch tho!
 
So very sorry for you loss.
As said above, the actual body reacts to being 'shut-down'.
However, the horse is unaware and already 'gone' at this point so please don't stress yourself with what, altho destressing to witness, was just bodily reactions, not anything that your girl was aware of.
 
Sorry your experience was so distressing.

I've had two horse pts - both by the bullet though, which was instant.
 
So sorry to hear of your loss. We lost the big girl at easter and in some ways it doesn't matter which method you choose, you will always think you could have done better. You can't do better than give them an end to the suffering and in the way that seems kindest at the time. This is the price we pay for having the love and fun in our lives that our horses bring us. In a little while the memory of the end will become less important and the rest of your horses life will be what you remember.
 
Very sorry to hear about your poor pony
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But you did everything you could. I read in a magazine that some horses do shake and twitch after having the injection, but the writer assured the reader that the horse was in no pain, as they were pretty much out of it by then, but it was just the body shutting down
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So sorry for you xxx
 
So sorry to hear this.

However, the reaction is normal. The body has two different nervous systems, the one you can control and the one you can't, the latter ensures your heart keeps going and regulates heart and breathing rate.

The one you can't control can also cause involuntary spasms, tap the top of your knee and it should kick out.

When animals pass on, they can spasm involuntary. You will see hundreds of animal rights videos of dead animals thrashing in the slaughterhouse which they've librelly described as being alive.
They're not.

Your mare was brain dead when she was spasming, unfortunatly for you it was distressing to watch, but I assure you she felt no pain.
Some are known to 'breath' after injection, again this is controlled involuntary, the horse is not alive and gasping for breath, it is simply the muscles of the ribcage spasming.

I hope that sets your mind at rest, you did the right thing for her. I was in the same position with colic once, although was lucky enough that my mare just dropped down. Never nice, whatever the reason nor the means.
 
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