Putting a healthy horse down

I am rather torn on this topic. I would consider retirement livery perhaps in her shoes. I do understand the sentiment that no one will necessisarily look after the horse as she does. I know of horses who are never seen by a dentist, their worming is scant if ever, feet are left for months, vaccinations not uptodate. Mine live in luxury by comparison with regular dentistry, worm control, physio visits always adlib forage and appropriate supplements. Would I trust a new owner to keep them the same? No I wouldn't because so many don't and it is often those owners that won't part with their equines because they state they fear a poor life for them in a new home!!!
Mine would go to retirement livery if necessary and pts a last resort.
 
Equine_Dream said:
If everyone thought like that then none of us would have our horses, unless bred by ourselves, and some horses would have some very short lives indeed!
Im sorry but I just dont think its right to play god and cut short the life of a beautiful healthy animal just because of your own selfish feelings. We're not talking about scrapping a car here. Its a life.
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I worked with horses when i was younger and came away from it because the actual horse industry is heartbreaking. My horse will be with me till his times up, having said that if i could nt afford him i would also pts. Admitedly mine is in his 20s so it would be really unfair to pass him on evan if i could. Is it really any different? ..the horse really would nt know too much about it and the horse does nt know how old it is.
 
luckyoldme said:
I worked with horses when i was younger and came away from it because the actual horse industry is heartbreaking. My horse will be with me till his times up, having said that if i could nt afford him i would also pts. Admitedly mine is in his 20s so it would be really unfair to pass him on evan if i could. Is it really any different? ..the horse really would nt know too much about it and the horse does nt know how old it is.
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Its not really about the horse not knowing any different though. A dead horse doesnt know anything. Its about the principle that its wrong to cut short the life of a young healthy useable horse for your own selfish feelings
 
I have to admit I'm a bit confused by some of the posts that suggest it is better to pts a horse than risk it being sold into the wrong home and not properly cared for. As I said earlier I've always bought older horses for myself, some that have changed hands several times but I've never viewed anything that wasn't well looked after, I've seen a fair bit of rubbish shoeing and a bit too much fat but nothing that smacked of neglect. We always bought 5 year olds for my daughter, a couple of ponies, that she outgrew and her first eventer which we sold when she went to university rather a long way away. We bought quality animals and ensured they were properly schooled, hacked out alone and in company and had excellent manners. They all went on to fab homes that kept in touch with us and when her lovely 14.2 had to be PTS I was contacted before it happened and told the circumstances. I have no problem at all in an owner making the decision to pts if the horse is for some reason a "very difficult sale" but to suggest it's not possible to find good homes for nice horses seems a bit odd. Most people don't have the experience, knowledge or skill to bring on young horses and frankly, most of the problematic ones we see all around us IMHO are the result of breeding from unsuitable stock or being started by the inexperienced. Where are we supposed to source our horses if no-one sells?
 
If the horse has severe issues whether soundness or behavioural then I have every sympathy as the owner is making a responsible decision. If the horse is sound and without any major behavioural issues, then sorry but I think the owner is unbelievably selfish. Yes there is a welfare crisis, but most responsible horse owners manage to find perfectly adequate homes for their animals. Her 'feelings' will result in an animal unnecessarily dying. It doesn't matter if she's struggling to cope, there are ways of managing without shooting a perfectly healthy animal.
 
Equine_Dream said:
Its not really about the horse not knowing any different though. A dead horse doesnt know anything. Its about the principle that its wrong to cut short the life of a young healthy useable horse for your own selfish feelings
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i don t think its selfish, I just think its an incredibly sad decision to make.
 
smellydogjack said:
A lady at my yard has caused uproar. Her life situation has changed and she can't really keep her horse. I suspect- after much deliberation, she has decided the only choice she has is pts. Said mare is 10, and a lovely horse, but she wouldn't trust a loan home, and she couldn't bare to sell. Que an uproar that she is cruel etc... from the rest of the yard. Part of me gets it. I get why she can't see through any other choice, I'm not saying I would do it. However part of me understands.

Pointless post but it's played on my mind all week.
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Her choice...obviously.
One can only assume she has thought it through and this is her only choice. Bit of a shame if its really just a case of her not being able to bear selling it if its sellable but what can you do.
I just a had a healthy pony PTS becuase her companion was being pts but she was elderly and it felt right. I dare say some would think that was wrong but hey no. ☺
 
Hepsibah said:
Wow. I'm going to have to be the person who goes against the flow here. How flaming arrogant can a person get! She is the only person who can look after a horse? Her horse is better off dead if it can't be with her? It is her horse, yes and it is her decision to make but what a rotten decision for the blimmin' horse! The horse only has one life and she's taking it for no good reason. vile.
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I agree with this.
If the horse is healthy, rideable and doesn't have any issues that make it dangerous, then pts is for selfish reasons.
 
fatpiggy said:
Can't bear to sell but will PTS instead? Hmmm. If her circumstances have changed, she should put the horse up for sale or through the nearest market and let it take its chances. No doubt the money she would get would be helpful. No-one turns down £££s if they have any sense?
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It's clearly not about the money, nor should it be. Letting it take it's chances through the nearest market is pretty irresponsible in my opinion. If it went to an unsuitable home where the rider got badly hurt, would the couple of hundred quid in your pocket be worth it? It's about being unable to guarantee the future of that horse. She might go on to have a wonderful extra 15 years, she might have a terrible 15 years.

Whilst I feel very sad reading about it, it's her horse, her decision, and a bullet in the brain however sad we might be about it is not a welfare issue.
 
I am very lucky. I found myself unable to do my horse justice over this last year, due to life changing circumstances. I am lucky because I have a friend who has taken her on loan for a year. Hopefully I will then be in a position to take up the reins again. The same friend will also inherit my horse should I spin off my coil before the horse. The understanding being that if my friend is for whatever reason unable to keep my girl, she will have her pts. My horse has known me and this friend since she was weaned. There is no one else I would trust to love her as I do. I completely get where this lady is coming from, and I wish her all the best, whatever the outcome.
 
This is such an emotive subject and people will always have different views. I own a rising 7 yo cob who cannot do anything other than a short plod around the block, he has danilon as and when needed so he isn't worth anything but to me he is special. If I found myself in a life changing situation I wouldn't hesitate to pts. The horse the op is talking about is still young and sound, therefore I'm going to sit on the fence with this one. What a sad situation to be in.
 
I think the owner is awful! How could she put down a perfectly sound horse? I am the first person to recommend PTS with problems, but not in this case. Why can't she loan it out and if it gets returned shoot it then, if she can't look after it.
 
Clodagh said:
I think the owner is awful! How could she put down a perfectly sound horse? I am the first person to recommend PTS with problems, but not in this case. Why can't she loan it out and if it gets returned shoot it then, if she can't look after it.
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Read the opening post.
 
AdorableAlice said:
Read the opening post.
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I have, it doesn't say the horse has any problems?

A lady at my yard has caused uproar. Her life situation has changed and she can't really keep her horse. I suspect- after much deliberation, she has decided the only choice she has is pts. Said mare is 10, and a lovely horse, but she wouldn't trust a loan home, and she couldn't bare to sell. Que an uproar that she is cruel etc... from the rest of the yard. Part of me gets it. I get why she can't see through any other choice, I'm not saying I would do it. However part of me understands.

Read more at http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/foru...ting-a-healthy-horse-down#jldicoYUFCy8vgc9.99
 
Without knowing the FULL details of this specific case, none of us can possibly know if the owner is being selfish, altruistic or just plain practical by planning/having the horse PTS.
 
Damnation said:
^^ This.

What is it with horses that turn grown adults into silly little playground children? Ganging up on eachother, bullying eachother?

The horse isn't suffering, its well looked after, butt out.
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I don't consider being put down on the whim of the owner to be well looked after. I would feel the same way if it were a hamster or a golfish rather than a horse and there is no bullying going on here at all, I was under the impression we were grown ups discussing a moral issue which is relevant to us as a group because we are all horse owners/riders. Also, there is no butting in being done as it is a third party opinions thread on a public forum so your insistance that people who don't agree with you on this are silly little playground children has no merit.
 
9tails said:
The age and health of this horse is the issue for me. If the horse is unrideable then fair enough, but if she's rideable I really don't understand it. There is at least a good 10 years of work left in this mare.
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I've only quoted this one post due to the last sentence, but this post is in response to many I have read.

Yes, there are plenty of potentially good years left in this mare, but the responsible thing is to look at the entire future of a horse when you buy it or are faced with a situation like this horses owner...not just the next few years.

It's all well and good saying that this is a rideable and young horse that could easily go on to someone else, but what happens if that person decides to sell when the horse gets older? I've recently taken a 17 year old from someone I know and have known for years, it's why he came to me, the owner knows me and knows that this is the last home he'll ever have. Not everyone selling an older horse knows or even sometimes thinks about the future of that horse. Of course there are homes that keep horses until their dying days, but there are also lots of owners that don't.

If this owner has this healthy horse put to sleep, she is saving it from the possibility that in 2, 5, 10, 15 years time, it will end up sold again, maybe into dealers as it gets older, maybe sent through the sales, maybe left in a field and abandoned. This isn't just a possibility, it's a very real reality as it is happening to horses, numerous horse, right now. Up and down the country right now, there are horses in very poor situations...most of them having been sold by one or more owners over the years.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with selling a horse, of course there isn't...but I am saying that there is nothing at all wrong in making a decision to protect a horse from an uncertain future.

For everyone saying the owner could loan the horse...she may not be in a position to sort things if it falls through and she needs to take it back suddenly.
She doesn't want to sell it? Maybe it's nothing to do with her not thinking anyone else could look after it, but just that she'd have no control over the horses future and would be powerless if it ended up in the wrong home/hands.

I find it incredibly sad when any horse has to be put to sleep and it seems especially sad when it is a healthy horse, however, me feeling sad doesn't help the horse and we don't live in a rose tinted world where the welfare headlines and rescues are all about other people and other horses. No...we live in a world where the welfare crisis is very very real and quite simply, a heck of a lot of horses end up in awful situations and I'll stand up now and say that none of mine will leave my care. Not because I don't trust anyone else to care for them or because I don't think there are good homes out there, but because there are simply no guarantees that even the best of homes won't fall into troubles and leave my horses at risk.

Put simply...putting to sleep a healthy horse, as sad as it is, would allow me to sleep at night. Looking at the sheer numbers of horses in the welfare system, if any of them went to other homes, I would always be concerned about where they were.
 
smokey said:
I am very lucky. I found myself unable to do my horse justice over this last year, due to life changing circumstances. I am lucky because I have a friend who has taken her on loan for a year. Hopefully I will then be in a position to take up the reins again. The same friend will also inherit my horse should I spin off my coil before the horse. The understanding being that if my friend is for whatever reason unable to keep my girl, she will have her pts. My horse has known me and this friend since she was weaned. There is no one else I would trust to love her as I do. I completely get where this lady is coming from, and I wish her all the best, whatever the outcome.
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i think that sums it up nicely.
 
The words - life changing situation, hold the clue as does - after much deliberation.

There is far more to this than meets the eye and I really hope the owner does not read this thread. The original poster is on a livery yard with the owner and the decision to post the comments on an open forum was ill thought out at best.

The opening poster continues to state - "I suspect" and "que uproar from her fellow liveries". What a shame brain, gob and judgement failed to register before posting. Liveries at their very best.

It is time admin pulled this thread and gave the owner the dignity of making her own decisions without ridicule and rampant assumption.
 
Clodagh said:
I think the owner is awful! How could she put down a perfectly sound horse? I am the first person to recommend PTS with problems, but not in this case. Why can't she loan it out and if it gets returned shoot it then, if she can't look after it.
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Well, given how expensive it could potentially be to do that, it may be out of the question with her life changing situation. We don't know the facts, but I do now how much it costs to have a horse put to sleep, even if it's shot and that's not with having to arrange to have it returned from a loan home first.
 
smellydogjack said:
A lady at my yard has caused uproar. Her life situation has changed and she can't really keep her horse. I suspect- after much deliberation, she has decided the only choice she has is pts. Said mare is 10, and a lovely horse, but she wouldn't trust a loan home, and she couldn't bare to sell. Que an uproar that she is cruel etc... from the rest of the yard. Part of me gets it. I get why she can't see through any other choice, I'm not saying I would do it. However part of me understands.

Pointless post but it's played on my mind all week.
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Haven't read every post on this but personally I think this is the height of narcissism and I love the quote "she couldn't bear to sell". Why not, is she so arrogant that she thinks she's the only person on earth who can look after a horse properly. If she sold her the next owner might look after her a whole lot better for all she knows - bet the poor mare would be willing to take the risk! What she's doing is cruel, cutting the mare's life in half at least. It's not love for the poor horse, just some sort of selfishness that's motivating her. Sell the poor animal and give her a chance at life, and get over herself.
 
Hepsibah said:
I enjoy this sort of debate. It makes me think and has been known to enlighten me and change my viewpoint. :)
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Agreed. I used to be vehemently against it, then read something I had written one day when I found an old diary at my parents house about the first welfare case I was involved with as a child and it was like a light went off. The worlds not perfect and there won't be a perfect future for every horse, just because we want there to be.
 
Irish gal said:
Haven't read every post on this but personally I think this is the height of narcissism and I love the quote "she couldn't bear to sell". Why not, is she so arrogant that she thinks she's the only person on earth who can look after a horse properly. If she sold her the next owner might look after her a whole lot better for all she knows - bet the poor mare would be willing to take the risk! What she's doing is cruel, cutting the mare's life in half at least. It's not love for the poor horse, just some sort of selfishness that's motivating her. Sell the poor animal and give her a chance at life, and get over herself.
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I think there are a lot of assumptions in this and no regard for the fact that "couldn't bear to sell" might not have anything to do with narcissism.
 
I have been in this position. The decision was certainly not one made "on a whim".

I am not going to sum up my reasoning (or the events) again.

However it ensured the horse would not be passed from pillar to post (which I considered realistically to be the likely outcome if sold), and it ensured that I, for my own sake, would not have to spend the years worrying and wondering what became of him.

I think that unless a person is able and willing to offer a person such as the one mentioned in the OP a fully-fledged alternative in the form of taking the horse on and guaranteeing for its welfare out its life, they should keep their unhelpful opinions to themselves and instead offer some compassion.

You never know whether you yourself will find yourself in a similar situation in the future no matter what your current circumstances are.
 
_GG_ said:
I think there are a lot of assumptions in this and no regard for the fact that "couldn't bear to sell" might not have anything to do with narcissism.
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I'm responding the OPs original post and giving my opinion. And yes to me it's narcissistic. We are clearly told the owner couldn't bear to sell, therefore she's putting her own feelings of attachment to the horse ahead of the mare's welfare, so her feelings take primary importance ahead of the horse. That to me is narcissistic I'm afraid, and it's also insulting to all the great people out there who might buy the horse. For instance the mare could be bought by somebody with plenty of land and have unlimited turnout that she may not have now, or she could go to a better rider, naturally a better situation for the mare.

Why don't we all take a look at this from the mare's point of view for a minute, not the owners. She's ten and a lovely horse, so on what planet is it a better idea to put her to sleep rather than sell her!? It reminds me of the Egyptian Pharoahs having their slaves buried along with them. So this woman can't keep horses any longer, grand, let somebody who is able to take care of them.
 
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