Quality of Life - what would you do? (sorry long)

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anon987

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First of all Hi to everyone, sorry this may be a bit long – you can have cookies and hot choc if you get to the end!

I think I am starting to face the worst dilemma of my life:(, knowing when it’s right to say enough is enough for my best friend.

My boy went bilaterally 1/5 lame early in the year and was diagnosed with coffin joint arthritis & unsymmetrical navicular bones in both front feet, he has subsequently had steroid & hyanate injections into the joints, a 12 wk course of navilox, cosequin joint supplement & of course bute. He also had heart bar shoes fitted.
Blood tests taken at the time of diagnosis also showed inflammation, raised liver/muscle enzymes, & anaemia. The anaemia was slight & was treated with a course HB formula, he had hepatosyl for his liver and now has milk thistle, the anaemia corrected itself but the liver enzyme remained raised.
Over time he got more and more lame (more obviously on one foot) until in August I had a chat with the vet who said it was just a matter of time really, and they would have done a loss of use claim then. At that point he was 4/5 lame.
I also had the farrier out around the same time, he agreed and suggested we try removing the shoes as they no longer seemed to be helping him. Within 4 days of doing this his sole dropped on his worst foot and he was barely weight bearing. Both vet and farrier came back out and with IV pain relief he had normal shoes put on. I know this is not normal practice but to be honest we have thrown the rule book out with him, and it worked, within days he was on 1/2 the amount of bute and looked sound.
He stayed sound (on bute) for 1 month (and we decided to try to switch him from bute to no bute, more natural) then suddenly went very lame on the other foot, this time it was a small abscess towards the back of his foot. This cleared up within a week and his shoe was put back on. Again he was sound and I decided it was time to try to reduce the bute down further and try to remove it.

Two days after removing the bute he is now showing lame again in walk and starting to trip /stumble again. So he is back on the bute from today. Either the no bute is not working for him or it’s not enough.

He is basically living in the sand school with limited hay / straw nets (he gets fat on fresh air) and has about four hours out per day with his muzzle on.

My real question is long term quality of life, he is very intelligent and food orientated, if it was a question of keeping him on bute to allow him to live out in a field and be a pony I wouldn’t hesitate. But to bute him just to keep him on resticted rations in the school makes me question whether I’m doing the right thing for him.

I know no-one can really tell me the answer, I have to come to that myself, but what would you do if he was yours?:confused:


Thank you in advance to anyone who takes the time to read and reply.
 
Difficult one.

I always said that if my old boy wasn't happy being out in the field retired and he was in pain.....I would PTS.

I never got to make that decision as I lost him suddenely to colic when he was still fit and active.

I think, as you have been questioning what you are currently doing, that deep down you know it would probably be in his best interests to PTS.

You have tried everything you can, and sometimes the final kindness isn't what we would choose, but what is right for the horse.

I wouldn't want to be in your position, but I *think* I know what I would do if I were you.:(

((((hugs))))
 
Its a really tough decision and, as you have said, one you can only make yourself. Is there no way that he could live out at all? Lots of horses seem to manage to cope (fatties included) and as long as you dont supplement his diet too much and are careful in spring time it may work...

I ended up having my boy PTS a month ago as he was in a similar position to your boy, although he could go out but wasnt settling in to not working and he was getting more and more unhappy and dangerous to do anything with so the best thing for everyone was to have him put down :( It broke my heart and I miss him desperately but I know it was the right thing to do.
 
We had a similar situation this year with a mare we'd owned for 22 yrs. you have to look at his quality of life. If he is in pain and will have to be on strict food rations and limited turnout for the rest of his life maybe the kindest thing would be to have him PTS. it is very hard and heartbreaking, good luck with whatever you decide
 
Thanks for your replys, and I am sorry to hear of your losses, I really feel for anyone who ever has to go through this.
I really wish i could just turn him out, but with the dropped sole which is a form of mechanical laminitis i think it would be too much for him. Even with his muzzle on he comes back in looking like a balloon now.
The farrier is due back again tomorrow so I am going to have a serious chat with him about his feet and what he feels the prognosis is now.
He's not dangerous to handle in any way, rather more depressed i would think, he tends to just stand in the school and switch off, which is what really tears me apart.
 
I have just put my horse down - for very similar reasons. And his quality of life was just fine. However, I couldn't keep him sound - nor could I afford a field ornament.

The most heartbreaking decision I have ever made - but I'd do it again tomorrow.

Make the call.
 
I have a horse with navicular and arthritis, he is on bute all the time but still uncomfortable. A few weeks ago i made the difficult desicion the kindest thing to do for him was to have him PTS before winter. He is being PTS this friday and i know it is the best thing to do for him. I have been able to put him in a large field with lots of grass to enjoy his last few weeks.

If you feel your horse has a poor quality of life i think the desicion has been made for you, however heart breaking it is. I am devastated about my horse, but i had to put his welfare before my feelings.

So sorry that you are in this awful situation.
 
I had to have my lovely mare pts two months ago. She was on bute with arthritis in both hips. She had started looking depressed, I hated to see the look on her face when we took the other horses out and she relaised that she wasnt going out for a ride. I talked it through with the vet, as we have long cold winters here and made the decision on what was best for her. If she had been happy and we could have kept her pain free we would have kept her. I dont envy you having to make the decision as it was the hardest thing I have had to do
 
It's a terrible decision to have to make, we had a similar problem with our pony who had arthritis and a heart problem, he had to occasionally have bute but was still managing to go out most days. We had decided that it wouldn't be fair for him to go through another winter, then back in May I found him one morning unable to weight bare on his back leg and therefore unable to walk out of the stable. We called the vet who gave him very strong pain relief injections but unfortunately it made no difference and by the next morning he was in so much pain he was trying to rest his bum on the stable wall to take weight of his legs. It was one of the sadest things i've seen and I felt that maybe his pain could have been avoided if we had made the decision sooner.

Really difficult one but once they're gone you no there's no suffering anymore.

Best wishes for whatever you decide.
 
Massive massive ((((((((((((hugs)))))))))))))) to you. I know how you feel. I faced this delema with my wonderful mare Lucy just afew months ago. In Nov last year she was diagnosed with a very rare illness. The vets gave her a less than 50% chance of making it to xmas. The worst news of all was the only poss treatment was steroids and Lucy was a laminitic and had in the passed had rotation in all 4 feet. Lots of people told me to have her PTS and probably anyother horse I would have but I had owned Lucy for 12years. I knew she was a fighter and wasn't ready to give up yet. We started the treatment and Lucy had to be treated like a lami pony due to the steroids. We had our ups and down and the treatment cost a small fortune but Lucy went on for another 8 months. In July I went on Holiday and I recieved the worst call of my life afew days in. My vet phoned and told me Lucy had gone down hill very quickly. She had lost alot of weight overnight and she was very unsteady on her legs. My vet said she wasn'r suffering and she could try to make her comfortable till I got back from holiday. I then made the hardest most heartbreaking desition of my life. I desided even though I couldn't be there I had to let my best friend go. :( I couldn't ask her to weight as I didn't want to cause her any suffering. So on the 3rd July with the sun on her back my little angels battle was over.
It was a horrable desition to make and i'm still not over her loss to tell the truth. But if I had my time over again I wouldn't do anything diffrent (except maybe not go on holiday)
I guess what i'm trying to say is you know your horse the best and you will know whats best for him. His quality of life must come first and you will know when that is going.
More (((((((((((hugs))))))))))))) to you. You must do whats right by your boy. We are here if you need us and feel free to PM me if you ever need someone to talk to. xxxx
 
if he is not enjoying his life, you have to make a decision.
Now is the time to remember it is about him and not your heartache.
If you do decide to pts, it is the last kind think you can do for him.
Personally i would be booking the vet for a weeks time and having him pumped full of pain killers and let out in a field full of grass to enjoy himself and get the pleasure of seeing him have fun as final memories.
Good luck for what ever you feel is the best, only you know your horse and can made the decision
 
If he were mine?

Would book the vet for Monday, pump him full of every painkiller going, turn him out in a field with grass, and then do the deed on Monday after a weekend of carrots and pampering. xxxx
 
If he were mine? He would of gone to the big field in the sky long ago.

Hope you are brave enough to make the right decision. (hugs)
 
In all honesty I would say pts. I had my lad pts last year as he wasn't paddock sound and he became dull and withdrawn, even with the 2 bute a day I pumped into him, in his final week he wasn't 100%, yes brighter and it made me question my decision, however he had ulcers and couldn't regularly have bute so I followed through with it.

By the time I walked back to the lorry - I took him to be pts at the vets, I felt like a huge weight had been lifted, he had no idea what was happening and still had a mouthful of mix.

I also have a youngster that has had collateral ligament damage to both coffin joints, some bony spurs, and other changes in his front feet, he also has had surgery to both stifles for OCD, he has had the best quality of life that I could give him on box rest for 1 year, however I made the choice with the vets to then suck it and see, he was turned out before he should have been he leaps about and gallops with my other horse, and he has made himself like this, self healing really. However, I only did the 1 year of box rest to give him the chance as he is now only 5, if he spiralled downhill again and he had to compromise on turn out and being a horse and being in pain I would pts straight away, however much it would break my heart to lose him.

Horrible time for you and I really hope you manage to come to a decision for both of you. Hugs
 
(((hugs))) We put our beautiful boy to sleep in July for a similar reason - he was 12. He was retired to the field and seemed happy after years of on off lameness due to coffin joint problems and collateral ligament problems. He went very very suddenly very lame. He had been having the odd bute. All of a sudden he was still not sound on 2 bute a day. He looked sad for the first time. The vet came and we had some serious pain relief for a couple of days which gave him a lovely last few days. He was PTS as he could not continue on that level of relief and we could not bare to see him him sad.

There is no right or wrong answer - you will know when he tells you the time has come.
 
I really feel for you as we are facing that same decision at some point with Sid.
He was retired two years ago, at 10 years old, after being diagnosed with boney spurs, coffin joint damage and god knows what else. His xray is being used for teaching purposes its that bad.
BUT at the moment he is field sound, happy as larry living out 24/7 and not on any pain relief - he is taken to the vets every year for an xray and examination and a discussion about his life quality.
To be honest every day he has is one more than we thought we'd get and the day he has to be on regular pain relief to keep him sound then he'll be pts. It will break my heart but the quality of his life is too important to me and hubby - I couldn't bear to watch the light go out of his eye.
To be honest if your boy was mine I'd let him go. If you can't turn him out to live like a horse then I think its time to say goodbye and set him free.
 
I agree with everyone else here, from what you're saying your boy is telling you it's time. I am so so sorry that you're in this situation, as it must be the most heart-wrenching feeling in the world! Huge Hugs to you and your boy.

I cannot begin to imagine how it must feel, I am lucky enough to own two very healthy and happy veterans at the moment, but I have told myself over and over that when the time comes, no matter how much pain it causes me, my boys will be set free.

As others have said, it doesn't seem as though he has any quality of life at present, as he seems to be going through the motions. If he cannot be kept sound enough to go out in a paddock and enjoy his days, I feel that decision has been made for you :-(

I'd go with what others have said, call the vet, arrange it for Monday, arrange enough painkillers to let him go out and enjoy his last few days in the field with his friends, pamper him like mad and know you're doing the best you can for him.
 
Thank you all very much for your replies, and although I sit here in pieces at the thought of losing him I do agree in my head with what you are all saying.

I didn't want to make the decision too early but would far rather do that than leave it too late, and I think this last few days has just bought it home to me, before that we were always waiting for one thing or another to improve. That and writing it all down, somehow that always straightens things out in my head.

I have sent a text to the vet updating them & outlining my concerns now, and am waiting to hear back from them.
 
anon987 said:
I didn't want to make the decision too early but would far rather do that than leave it too late,
Click to expand...

My vet said to me (while I was crying down the phone at her agonising about letting Lucy go) "Better a month to early than a day to late" I have kept this with me since loosing Lucy. I would have given my soal to have had the chance to say goodbye but I would have never forgiven myself if she had started to suffer. As others have said you need to be brave for your boy. You need to make the best desition for him. (((((((((((((((hugs))))))))))))))
 
Oh hun. So sorry. It's heartbreaking.

You have tried so hard, but it sounds as though there is nothing left to try. His body just can't take it.

If he couldn't live as a horse, i.e. happy in a field, or happy in a stable if he is that sort of horse, then I would have him put to sleep. It would hurt me like hell, but he would know nothing other than lots of nice things to eat, lots of attention, and then just sleep.

Hugs to you.
 
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