So... when do you know when the end is near, and how

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itsme123

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sorry, I couldnt fit the title all in
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Our eldest pony is mid to late twenties and whilst I'm aware that he may have a good few year left in him yet I'm starting to think about the 'what ifs'. Its scaring the life out of me.

He is my daughters first pony, her beloved. He is all she talks about.

But, at some point a decision would have to be made, wether that be next year or in ten years time.

I've only ever had one pet PTS and it was THE most heartbreaking thing. Though peaceful and quick, I'm not sure I could do that with a pony that was standing up... watching it fall?
The hunt are next door, so i guess that would be the easiest and cheapest option as there'd be no travel involved just a stroll out of the field. But how much does it cost and whats involved? Do they still feed the meat to the hounds?? He adores hunting and gets so so excited when he hears the hounds, so perhaps that would be fitting for him? Would it be better to let his little companion see him?

Also, barring illness /pain, how do you know with an oldie that the time is right? I've noticed a change in him, he just seems 'old' now, but nothing that would scream to me that he'd had enough? When do you know? are there signs? I'm quite scared of not noticing or letting my emotions tell me he's not ready when perhaps he would be?

I'm aware that i've a long time ahead perhaps, but just want to be ready in my own mind as to the plans.
 
I always wondered how I would know when the time had come to put to sleep, people would say I would just know- which is a bit fuzzy, but they were absolutely right. The light had gone from his eyes, even in the last photos I have of him, I don't like to look at them because his eyes look empty (he was PTS a couple of days after the photos were taken).
Enjoy every day with your pony, he could be around for quite a while yet
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I went through the same sort of thoughts with my old mare who was my "horse of a lifetime". I knew that at some point I was likely to have to make the decision to have her PTS.

She was nearly 23 when she came in from the field with a very bad kick to her hock that had cut through to her tendon. She was very lame and in the hour it took the vet to arrive her hock ws visibly swelling and she was unable to even put her toe to the floor. Although she was insured I had it in my mind that it would be unfair on her to put her through another operation (she had already had three in the past) with a long recovery. In discussion with my vet, who knew her well, I decided to have her PTS at home by injection as the only alternative was to take her to the RVC for her joint to be flushed. Ironically I knew that the insurance would not pay as it was a decision made on quality of life rather than humane grounds although the operation would have been covered.

The criteria I had in my mind was to have her PTS if she either needed another operation or she was starting to struggle either to hold her weight or had trouble getting up and down. She was slightly arthritic but was comfortable on one Danilon a day.

For some time after she was PTS I questioned my decision but was happy that I would make the same decision again in the same circumstances. I think she was ready to go as she went down as soon as the injection was given.

Regards letting your pony's companion see him having found one of our horses dead in the field with her companions standing around her I would say YES. They were not disturbed by it and seemed to accept what had happened and moved on without any stress.

For what it is worth, I think you are being very responsible as it can be too easy to let our emotions cloud what is right for our horses. Having two friends who both had their horses PTS have more than two years of ill health with both of them, they both said that they just knew the time was right even though the vets were prepared to keep trying.
 
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You do just know. Everyone said that to me, and I couldn't understand it, but it was right. The sparkle had gone from her eyes, she just didn't seem "happy" any more, and she spent most of her time grazing alone. I called the vet to discuss it, he said she was ok, but not to leave it too much longer. A change of feed gave her a new lease of life, but after a couple of great months, she went downhill again. My decision was made.

I would let your pony's companion see him, as they accept it much better. If you're not comfortable with this idea though, it sounds as though it would be fitting for him to go round the corner to the hunt.

Enjoy the next few years with him
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My old girl was 37 when she was PTS, and my current old girl is 29 and still going strong!
 
Charlie,

having to have a horse/pony put down is a very emotional subject and if the pony is a child's pet it is even harder, but unfortunately we will almost always end up grieving the animals we love, so to preparing for it in advance when you are not too upset is actually a good thing.

I don't know how old your daughter is, but maybe it would be could to discuss the subject with her as well.

With regards of the practical aspects of euthanizing a horse, you have basically two choices PTS by injection or shooting, and carried out by a skilled person both are humane, so really it comes down to the owners perference. It might be a good idea too approach your local vet or hunt and discuss the situation.

How you dispose the body will depend on the method of euthanasia and your choice. If the pony is a pet and you have private land burial might be an option, but you will have to get the councils permission for that. Cremation is another option, but individual cremation and having the ashes returned can be expensive. The kennels are another option, and depending on what type of injection has been used it may be possible to feed the body to the dogs. (Basically, a horse put down with somnulose can be dispoosed that way).

As to how you will know when the time is right, I think you will, they usually tell you when they had enough, it's just up to us to be honest with ourselves so we don't keep a horse going because it's too painful to loose it. In the meantime, make your plan and then forget about it, enjoy the years (hopefully) that your golden oldie has left.
 
Well its a hard one...

How old is your daughter? You could start to prepare her for the inevitable no matter how long off it may be.

My own experience - elderly section A similar sort of age to yours and retired, more due to no-one of the right size being around to take him on than anything else. He was still behaving "disgracefully" on the odd occasion a small child came and got a little ride on him. Really he just started a very slow decline. He had always lived out then struggled to keep condition on one winter despite being unclipped due to retirement and heavily rugged. The following winter he came in at night which he loved, for the first time ever mucking him out was a joy, he'd always wrecked his stable before when he'd had to come in. Certainly he kept condition better but was just older and slower. We reached the decision that was going to be his last winter, he could have a lovely summer of pretty much unrestricted grazing (he was laminitic) and then PTS before the following winter.

In the end, he was PTS on 9 April following a particularly nasty bout of colic. It was very sad of course, but looking back there are no regrets that we should have done things differently. My kids came and said goodbye, then left before he was PTS. I think its very important that kids know what is going to happen beforehand, even if its less than an hour before as it was with us.
 
I think for me it's when you can see they are not happy any more, ie never eating, no energy, just stands there, doesn't want to interact with you and other horses, where they seem distant!?!?

My instructor still owns an anglo arab that is 37!!! and still going strong, she is just happy she pulls like a tank up the lane to get turned out she runs around with the other horses, shes always neighing when we leave her behind when we go for a ride!!! The only thing is she has to have SOOO much food bless her ha ha she still gets through it though, even though she has no teeth!!!

She was still hunting at the age of 30!!! ha ha but we had to stop riding her coz although she's as sound as a pound she trips in walk, but only walk!!!

But she's happy and we wouldn't want to take that away from her

xxxxx
 
If they start loosing weight, have difficulty eating, loosing interest in life, start to get bullied by other ponies, generally "not coping."

Someone said that if they have trouble getting up and down is time to say good bye. A horse that cannot easily get up from the ground is going to be very stressed as they are flight animals. Some horses will stop lying down as they realise they cannot easily get up again. The person who told me this had one pony that reached 45 so you might have longer to wait than you think!
 
You'll know. And you might even have the decision taken out of your hands by colic or injury - try and have an action plan ready, just in case.

If you can bury at home, the hunt won't charge you a lot to nip round to yours and put him down, then you can let all his friends see him and say goodbye (this, IMO, is a MUST) and then bury him - or let the hunt take him and as long as he isn't full of drugs, feed him to the hounds.

You see I couldn't bear do that, so it was injection at home in field with a friend there and bury. I talk to her often and that's what worked for me. I wish we could have got her better but she's had enough - though not that much that she begged to leave. The vet was absolutely in agreement and all went as well as it could have on the day.

I hope, though it's hard, you get to make the decision. That way, for the pony at least, there is no terrible pain or critical injury to suffer beforehand. It'll be a sh!t day for you and your daughter, but I suppose it's a small price to pay for the wonderful years and fun we have had with them.

My heart still aches over a year on, but the kids, whose beloved pony she was, coped way better than I have. Don't worry too much for your daughter.

Forgot to say, don't mistake the early spring grumps (roll on summer) for a decline - ours always crawled out of winter then bounced through til the next one!
 
It's very hard. We had our daughter's pony taken from us with colic (she'd already recovered from surgery once and her chances of surviving it a second time were poor). It was difficult, because she'd had pain relief and was as lively and feisty as always, but the vet gave us the devastating ultimation - surgery with little chance of making it, or pts. It was very unexpected; she'd been so well. In any event, it was a shared decision between daughter (early teens) and myself.
 
thankyou so much everyone, it's given me some pointers on what exactly to consider. Daughter is 5, and as far as she's concerned he's small therefore he's a baby and he'll grow and they'll get bigger together... it's so so hard to explain to a small child that pets aren't forever.

The hunt is literally next door, so it seems the easiest and quickest option. Pony gets wary when new people come to the field so as awful as it sounds I think he'd like to think he was going for a visit to another yard... Obviously the decision could be taken from me and I need to remain flexible.

I'd love to bury him 'at home' but we don't own our own field yet... so unless we've found and purchased one before then then it won't be an option.

But this has certainally given me lots to think about....
 
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