To put down or not? head and heart fighting!

I am currently rehabbing my horse, and due to work etc, it is not done daily! It is done at evenly spaced intervals in the week, which is all I can manage in the winter. Daily would be great, but it is not possible to hack out every day when you have a job :)
 
I think in your position I would give him a chance but set a limit on it.
It's coming into winter, the weather will be manky, riding is far less fun. Lob him in the field until spring, bute as required.
Then bring him back into work in the spring, if needed by sending him away to a walker if you can't do it yourself.
By the end of next summer you should be in a position to decide if he will stand up to ridden life, if not then maybe consider PTS.
 
Meanwhile, I have nothing to ride, cannot afford to keep another horse and am flailing back and forth on what is best for me and the horse.
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Haven't read other posts but as above,

Best for you = PTS
Best for the horse = slower life.

Not easy but fwiw my conscious wouldn't let me put down a healthy horse albeit one slowing down and needing a bit more tlc.
Can always find someone who needs help with a fitter animal, perhaps you could find a horse to share to fulfill your riding ambitions.
 
crikey - some of your answers make me feel like a heartless cow - which if I was he would have been PTS at the vets Friday morning, not having continued x-rays/scans to investigate furter or brought back home Saturday.

It might help if I re-iterate that he has CHRONIC TENDONITIS - as in very damaged tendons from years of flat racing and point to point. - this is not going to go away and at best only managed. On the scans one tendon is twice the size of the other, there are holes (vet doesn't know if they are old or new) and show years of damage. He has probably been compensating for months hence his back and hind lameness. He is on bute and that is obviously helping. He is a thin skinned thoroughbred and even with loads of rugs cannot live out as we are in a clay mud area and are not allowed the horses out much in the winter.

I take comments about horses being for life etc. and I agree and am one of the biggest animal lovers going but sometimes you have to look further and consider the bigger picture.

No decision is going to be taken lightly and I will only do what I believe is best for me and him.

Just a note - summer, winter - I don't melt and love riding in all seasons. ;)
 
Beany1800 said:
crikey - some of your answers make me feel like a heartless cow - which if I was he would have been PTS at the vets Friday morning, not having continued x-rays/scans to investigate furter or brought back home Saturday.

It might help if I re-iterate that he has CHRONIC TENDONITIS - as in very damaged tendons from years of flat racing and point to point. - this is not going to go away and at best only managed. On the scans one tendon is twice the size of the other, there are holes (vet doesn't know if they are old or new) and show years of damage. He has probably been compensating for months hence his back and hind lameness. He is on bute and that is obviously helping. He is a thin skinned thoroughbred and even with loads of rugs cannot live out as we are in a clay mud area and are not allowed the horses out much in the winter.

I take comments about horses being for life etc. and I agree and am one of the biggest animal lovers going but sometimes you have to look further and consider the bigger picture.

No decision is going to be taken lightly and I will only do what I believe is best for me and him.

Just a note - summer, winter - I don't melt and love riding in all seasons. ;)
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No animal is for life - and there comes a time when we all have to make the heart wrenching decisions to let them go.

You did ask for unemotional opinions- which is pretty much what you've had. Your intial post made it sound as if it was pretty much a done deal, because the time element of resting and bringing back in to work was rather too much hastle.

This last post of yours gives a more detailed explanation, however, of the issues.

If the tendons are buggered - with no chance of recovering then I would put him down.
 
It's a horrible decision for anyone to make - but it is your decision and yours to live with. If you can say hand on heart that you have tried everything and his only outlook is a field ornament that you cannot afford, then you and you alone have the right to decide on whether to PTS.

If your conscience is clear about this, then no-one else has the right to critisize your decision.
 
Really feel for you as I am going through somethign similar at the moment (20 year old horse with lami, on box rest but showing no improvement).
I think that you have to be realistic as there are so many factors involved in making a decision - and thats from a logical viewpoint, let alone letting emotions get involved.

You will make the right decision for your horse. And don't feel guilty no matter what the outcome.
I am coming around to the point of view that horses don't know anything about being PTS - they don't have any idea about what is going to happen. And whilst the pain goes on for us they will never feel any pain again and will never have the chance to fall on hard times. This thought will keep me going if I have to go down that road.
 
A lot of people on here are missing the point that you can get someone to pay you to ride your hunter to keep it fit, but you have to pay someone else to rehab a sick horse. The OP may not have that money. Perhaps her children's Christmas presents or extra maths tutoring come first, we don't know her personally do we, but so many people oh so quick to condemn.
 
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amymay said:
If the tendons are buggered - with no chance of recovering then I would put him down.
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That is what the first post said. It's what the word "chronic" used by a vet means. The poster also said that the horse had never been quite right in front but seemed happy enough until the back went wrong as well.
 
My horse has chronic damage to his suspensory ligament, but I am rehabbing him in the hope that he will become sound again to do something useful. I wouldn't have kicked him to the kerb after 5 weeks!

As mentioned above, if you want to claim insurance for this if you're insured, you do the the support of your vet.
 
Stencilface said:
My horse has chronic damage to his suspensory ligament, but I am rehabbing him in the hope that he will become sound again to do something useful. I wouldn't have kicked him to the kerb after 5 weeks!

As mentioned above, if you want to claim insurance for this if you're insured, you do the the support of your vet.
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Damage can be repaired. Tendonitis is ongoing inflammation which in a horse of this age and history has a very different prognosis to tendon damage. Read the OP's first post again, the horse has been unlevel for far longer than 5 weeks. He is now postively unsound with a 50/50 prognosis of return to a level of work which is far below what the OP aspires to do.

Who in their right minds would take this horse on as a purchase or gift? And would it be fair to rehome it not knowing what its future may be anyway? Should she be forced to keep it because that's what some people on this forum would do? No of course not. If she has this horse put to sleep she can zip along to Ascot or Doncaster and buy another healthy horse capable of doing what she would like to do straight out of training for about 500 guineas and save that being put to sleep instead.

As far as the horse population is concerned, one ex racehorse has been put down. Does it really matter THAT much which one it is????
 
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cptrayes said:
As far as the horse population is concerned, one ex racehorse has been put down. Does it really matter THAT much which one it is????
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No, it doesn't BUT the original post by the OP suggested the horse had only actually been noticeably lame for 5 weeks and had just been diagnosed with tendonitis and the vets by no means had given a horrendous prognosis just that the horse would need time to heal and then a programme of stead rehab work to which the OP essentially said she/he didn't have time for (although did have time for competing etc etc) It didn't really seem to make sense.

We had a TB who is also a finer type and thin-skinned as it were. He blew both his front tendons racing and has the biggest bowed tendon you can imagine - in fact our vet likes to bring student vets along when he visits for vaccs so he can show them this TBs tendons as an example! He was treated when he was a racer, had gond know how long off the track and then they did return him to racing i think one last time and he fell. He has since just been a riding horse and we 'rescued' him when he was 19 as his owner had no place to put him anymore after failed loans. He is now 27, lives out 24/7 (I don't think he'd have it any other way) and he has never shown any lameness in his fronts (other than a bad episode with abscesses). I think time is the key.

IF this was my horse then i would look to turn him away for the winter and just see how he fairs with some rest (not box rest, just normal routine, field/stable etc) and then assess again in the spring and see how he goes with some steady work. If it was clear he was really in some pain then I would make the decision but I do think a time of rest can do wonders and I don't feel 16 is particularly old at all, even for an ex-racer.

The OP wanted opinions and thoughts, they have had that. I am sure at the end of the day noone else's opinions would change their minds if they wanted to go down one particular route anyway.
 
To the horse population as a whole it doesn't matter one jot which one is pts no; however the problem is when you have a strong bond with a horse it can be much harder to pts when it could be potentially retired or even return to work at a later date.

I don't envy the op one jot, and her predicament is that she doesn't know whether to let her heart or her head rule. My concern would be that if she does pts she might well feel guilt and regret, at least given a little more time it might help her to come to a decision one way or the other which is right for her.

At the end of the day people can only say what they would do in that situation, not what the op should do, and each individual is completely different.
 
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I think the horse deserves a little longer to be allowed to fix, footballers have more time off for injuries!

Whats the loss of one winter's riding? nothing imho! Yes you can buy another horse, but what's to say that won't break the day after purchase?
 
ok hands up not read all replies but my thoughts are - my heart is with you OP you are in a turmoil - ok some of us are happy to retire a horse of ( personally for me riding is not be all I just love my horse and mucking out lol) but for others riding is important. we are so different in our lives and thoughts Ok you could loan horse out to what??? you could retire him but how would that satisfy you. We are all so so different and only you can decide what to do and do it for the right reasns for you and him and you are important in this as well as horse . Lets face it how many horses do we see free to good home or companions going to what life. sold on ridden when cant be starved etc - what ever your reasons if you decide the time is right to say good bye stand by his side and be proud - at end of day as often said on here there are worse things that can happen to a horse than being PTS - be brave in your desision hun - i to will be making that decisisionsoon as Im moving in with my fella and cant move my lass - do I feel guilty no not at all she as known nothing but love and kindness for 5 years never a raised voice or whip and she was heading to the meat man and yes she is only 13yrs old . my heart goes out to you and hey I have a great shoulder to be leant on if needed :) x
 
I can totally sympathise.
We had an exracer who drained me emotionally & financially.
He had a torn cruciate ligament, not bad in itself but did not respond to treatment, we were faced with a field ornament who did not like being in a field. I had explained all this to the vet but he gave a good prognosis when starting treatment so we tried.
Go with your head, if you can say you have given him a good life and he is happy to the end thats whats important, so many exracers dont get the chance. and dont beat yourself up, young kids and horses etc are hard going.
 
thanks once again for all replies - it is facinating how the same thread is read differently by people prompting such a raw discussion.

Buddy was in so much pain in the field today he came in sweated from head to toe. He obviously did something out there to really twinge something today. If I don't touch him he is happy, as soon as I go to stroke him his ears go back and he shows me his teeth.

I spoke with RoR's equine management and training today who have suggested a thermal imaging scan which will give me an idea of where he is in pain and where the primary problem area is and which is compensatory - this will hopefully give me a better idea.

I am not looking at pts after 5 weeks cos I dont have the time or inclination to rehab him - I am worried he has reached and gone beyond his pain threshold and it is not improving an ounce and might not. I have looked after a previous horse on 100% box rest for a pelvis fracture whilst working and training - I am not work shy. Believe me pts is not the easy way out but infact I believe the harder decision - I will do what is best for the horse and him alone. :o
 
If the horse is in distress then its a whole different ball game - hope you get an answer one way or another from the thermal imaging and advice :)
 
cptrayes said:
As far as the horse population is concerned, one ex racehorse has been put down. Does it really matter THAT much which one it is????
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Maybe not to Joe Bloggs down the High Street but if I were the owner of this horse then it would matter a great deal to me. To be frank the decision is that of the owner and no-one else's. With the information given I know what I'd do if it were my horse and it obviously wouldn't be the same as what you would do CPTrayes. I believe in looking after my horses to the best of my ability and giving them every chance of success (including life) even if that success may not turn out to be the sort of success I had been expecting.
 
beany hun be strong brave and kind - you are very much in my thoughts - loving mum who knows her horse - as said Im here i have great shoulders and also understand - for different reasons - what you are going through - give your lad a hug from me tomorrow and stand there and just hug him - big hugs to you both xxxxx
 
Beany1800 said:
I will do what is best for the horse and him alone. :o
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Good, and FWIW your second post cleared things up. Hope you can get him out of pain quickly, if nothing else. Have you spoken to the vet again today - perhaps metacam or something on top of the bute for a couple of days?

Would be interested to know how thermal imaging goes if you decide to go that way and get the chance to tell us :)
 
spring feather sometimes hun we make decisions that people may not understand - my mare is 13 she is a stressful mare due to past and now she is partially sighted - me and fella decided to move in together and I know I cant and wont move her- she knows yard sights smells etc - do I sedate and move her to stress her furrther or bring in field and stand proud by her side and say good bye - im chossing the bringing heri n from the herd she loves and saying good bye - am I wrong who knows but I believe I will be doing best for my beautiful soul mate my friend and yes I hae been critercised by many but hey my lass comes first :) x
 
Beany if I had a horse that was sweating in pain (due to the chronic problems you described in your OP) I would PTS no question. It is actually the bravest and hardest thing to do.

Those who keep chronicly lame horses going usually do so because they can't bear to do the difficult thing.

To others,In the OP it says this horse has been unsound in front a long time, but much worse last 5 weeks.
 
amymay said:
I think your horses deserves to be given a chance, so no, now knowing what your vets have said I would not put him down.

Owning a horse can often mean that there will be a period of time where injury or illness results in the horse having a significant period of time off. This is the situation you are now in. You can't empty a bullet in to his head just because it's inconvenient.

So in my view I would follow the recommended advice of your vet and give your horse every opportunity to recover.

If after that period of time he is not recovered then obviously you review your situation.

Family life is no reason to put a horse down.
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I couldnt put it better myself!
 
I'd also put down a horse that was in pain and sweating up, providing he wasn't comfy on bute.

I feel that there is also a difference between giving a horse a chance to come right and keeping a chronically lame horse going.
 
foxy1 said:
Beany if I had a horse that was sweating in pain (due to the chronic problems you described in your OP) I would PTS no question. It is actually the bravest and hardest thing to do.
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Not in my experience. I find it very easy to have a horse put down when it's in tremendous pain and where there is no positive outlook.

Those who keep chronicly lame horses going usually do so because they can't bear to do the difficult thing.
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As said no it's not difficult at all for me to have a horse killed when it has a bleak future however when a horse has an unknown future combined with a 50/50 chance, that is good enough odds for me to proceed with further treatment options.

Everyone is different and what rests easy with some people may not with others. The OP asked for opinions and many have been given. It seems like the horse has taken a downturn this evening so this adds a new slant to the owners dilemma.
 
Spring Feather said:
Maybe not to Joe Bloggs down the High Street but if I were the owner of this horse then it would matter a great deal to me. To be frank the decision is that of the owner and no-one else's.
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Of course it is.

Spring Feather said:
With the information given I know what I'd do if it were my horse and it obviously wouldn't be the same as what you would do CPTrayes.
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You don't know WHAT I would do in this situation. I have not told anyone what I would do in this situation. The only thing you know is that I support the OP if she decides to have the horse put down, and you can safely infer that I dislike the self-righteous self-congratulation of people who think that not wanting to keep a horse as a paddock ornament means that the owner is a bad person.

What I would do myself if I owned that horse is something that you know absolutely nothing about.


Spring Feather said:
I believe in looking after my horses to the best of my ability and giving them every chance of success (including life) even if that success may not turn out to be the sort of success I had been expecting.
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Good for you. You do that because it makes you feel good about yourself. I hope that it does not mean that you are in the ranks of other people who look down on others for whom it does not make them feel good about themselves to keep an unsound horse alive.
 
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