to those with elderly much loved equines

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clairefeekerry1

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was just pondering really. would you ever consider having yours pts just because they are very old and you'd rather it ended on a good note rather than suffering. dont think i could ever, but, got me thinking the other day when one of mine, my treasured, beloved 30yr old mare got cornered and kicked a bit in the field. i have other horses, they sometimes get kicked, thats horses. but with her its gut wrenching. in fact, if its a cold night/wet etc its gut wrenching. she's perfectly healthy, as far as i know, and happy, as far as i know but i feel majorly over protective of her, i adore her and i know when it happens, i will be un consolable. sometimes, way back in my mind, i wonder whether it would be better to end it now before something awful happens. its very selfish i suppose, and dont think i could do it, but kinda think, at her old age should she have to deal with herd antics, bad wether etc etc. i'll add she;s perfectly happy, but just hate to think she'd suffer. what are your thoughts/experiances?
 
I know just how you feel. I have an old horse, 29. Currently looks absolutely fantastic. Has been kicked several times by one of the younger newer additions, and while I love the other one too, I could honestly kill him with my own bare hands when he does it. The old one likes company though so it would be hard to separate them all.

However, my friend older horse got very much 'ejected' from the herd, In the way that they would in the wild leave the old slow one behind, It was sad to see even though said horse was still ok in herself, she had to be only turned out with certain others or got bullied.

The PTS question is one I think of a lot. Something I heard at an ILPH seminar - better to do the deed three months too early than a day too late.

But how do you know? My horse was looking OLD this winter. In good health but stiff and just, well old. Less sparky. I was worried. But now, well a differencet horse has come back with the spring. Never had a bad winter til now. and to be honest it wasn't that bad, just enough to make me think a lot about the age and am already thinking about next winter. Which is silly.

I have seen people keep their old horses well beyond what they should have done - I don't want to be the one that people whisper about 'poor old thing should be put out of its misery' etc.

Why can't they just pass away peacefully in their sleep? Cowardly thing to say I know. I don't want my horse to suffer (ie colic or an immediate pts situation) . But how awful to make the decision due to not having qualtiy of life etc.
 
I've got a 27 year old TB mare who I've had for 20 years. She has been my horse of a lifetime and has been retired for just over a year. I don't think that I would have her put down unless there was a veterinary reason. She lives with 2 other mares, one is her daughter. I have said that if she starts getting bullied I will get a donkey or a goat for her to live with! My horses live at home and we have separate paddocks that I could partition off. I know wht you mean about worrying about wet/cold nights. We are just putting up a large field shelter which hopefully they will all be able to use.
 
this is exactly how i feel. prob very selfish but i'd just hate to think she was starting to find life tough etc. mine wintered okay, but this is the first winter i've fed a weight gaining mix to her, which i suppose could be the first sign. but now i see her in the spring grass, and i think again. the horse that cornered her was also mine and like you, i could have murdered her, but suppose thats horses
 
I think I would only have my 29 year old Cushings horse PTS for medical reasons.

He has his own paddock, next to my TB and they can kiss and cuddle and groom etc and their field shelter allows them to stick noses together, but the added bonus is that my TB cannot kick him accidently (I hope!) when he has his funny 5 minutes.
 
she doesnt get bullied, its quite an okay small herd, but sometimes when they go charging off, and she is trying her best to keep up, it really upsets me. she likes being with other horses and has always been bottom of the herd. have tried to seperate her with another quiet horse, but she prfers the herd, security i suppose
 
I learnt to ride on a pony that was finally put to sleep aged 52 - at a time when the oldest equine in the world was something like 54!! It was about 25 years ago, and all I can say is that he was a happy little shetland pony that had started his life driving along Great Yarmouth seafront and then graduated to our family...teaching every member to ride and we loved him. Don't think age....think quality of life and then you will know when he is too old - we had a long time before that answer came, but we knew when it was the time. Don' t please let the number dictate what you do...besides it may be wrong and many horses are years older or younger than you believe x
 
I am having thoughts on if to say goodbye at the end of this summer - my old lady HATES winter - she wants to be in her stable all day every day and last year she fell on the ice (she was being a nutter) but it made me feel so so ill - she went into shock and it was only down to my OH - coming up to the yard that she came out of it.

She is really really well though at the moment - cantering off - ok bit disunited but at 25 she can be forgiven - but she has navicular and arthritus and is on one danilon a day. I really do wonder if i should put her through another winter - but then i feel guilty for thinking this - but then would feel guilty if she has a most miserable winter and she is pts over it.

As we all wish - why cant they just go to sleep and not wait up - but they never go peacefully do they?
 
Hmmmmm difficult one, although I have to say I could nt do it.

My old TB gelding is nearly 30, this time last year, he went down and could not get up, so called the hunt to come and do the deed. THey could not come straight away, so went home, and.. He was up and about and waiting for his feed!!!!!! one very close escape.

He is now, although underweight, eating, and infact becoming quite the bully, so deffinalty holding his own. THe only main prblem atm is the fact that his skin is not good, the top line is proving stubborn, and when he picks on the 5 year olds, he does not understand that it takes him longer to recover.

I think they let you know when enough is enough. I have to have my best friend ever ( my weim dog) pts in october, I said to my vet that I wished he could have gone in his sleep, he told me that very few animals do, as whn they look inside, mostly their main vitals are perfectly ok, it is the mind that gives up, not the heart etc etc. Heartbraking but true.

So although my boy is thin , he is happy and will stay with me until he decides it is time to say goodbye.

Good luck to all the oldies out there
 
We've got 2 old girls, both in there 30's. They're both perfectly happy in themselves, however both have arthiritis, but otherwise good health. One of them is a bit stiff, and did go down over winter, and couldn't get up, we enlisted the help of a local equine friend of ours and amazingly managed to get a 15hh cob up with just 3 of us, it was hit and miss and we didn't think we'd get her up, but she really had the will to get up.
We're just taking it a day at a time really, we want to get her through the summer, so she can enjoy herself, but we don't know if she'll make it through another winter, but as I said, we see how she goes, I think you know when the time comes, she was so determined to get back up when she went down that you could tell she wasn't ready to go, bless her!!!
But the two old girls are best of friends, trundle around the field together, scratch their backs, and they certainly know how to stick up for themselves with the younger ones!! :)
 
I am so glad that there are so many of you all having this dilema and I am not on my own with it.

My elderly lad is 29 now, had him 20 years, he has always been fit as a fiddle but last year he had a few episodes of spasmodic colic - he never had this before in 20 years and the last episode went on and off for a couple of weeks... I was umming and ahhing about what to do and almost, almost made the decision we all dread.

It seems as soon as I began to think that way the old bugger bounced back and (touches wood) is looking better this summer than he has in a few years.

I love seeing my old lad pulling faces at my mum (he really doesnt like her for some reason) and a few weeks back he got away from me and buggered off down the field... show the old chap still has his character...

I think he will let me know when the time is right for him and he has had enough... My last mare did when I had her pts due to melanomic disease.

Gem
 
I recently lost a much loved member of the family due to a twisted gut after 27 years of ownership, although gutted doesn't even begin to descible how I feel, I think that in time I will probably be relieved that I don't have to worry about her anymore.
I used to lie awake at night thinking about when to have her put down; do I risk another winter, I don't want to leave it until it's too late but also don't want to do it too early.
It turned out that I was left with no choice & she was healthy, happy & very shiney the day before, although a twisted gut isn't the nicest way for a horse to go, at least it was all over quickly.
It's horrible having to think about when to kill your much loved horse but it's a part being a caring owner.
 
Think my old lady reads this forum ! - today she has sprung out of the stable - cantered off (on the right leg for a change) - and trotted to me when i had to go and fetch her - yes go and fetch her -as she is usually waiting at the gate.

Her eyes are bright and shiny, her coat is gleaming and she went and eat the carrots off her hay rather than have her feed (cheeky monkey)..... :)
 
My friends 35yr old had us worried the bank hol weekend when she got cast in the field but like yours she certainly hadn't given up on
life. She looks amazing and only has some arthritis which is helped with danilon. The vet came to do her teeth recently and was stunned with
how well she is and that she'd hardly dropped any weight over the winter (totally sold on readigrass + fast fibre).

Everyday is a bonus, I love her as much as if she was my own and she's given us alot of joy over the years xx
 
I had two of my old horses pts together about 18 months ago. They had been living together for a few years and were like an old married couple. Both of them had various ailments, not life threatening but debilitating, and neither of them had come through the previous winter well, although they picked up in the summer.

To be honest, I could have afforded to keep them going, fed, housed, vet attention etc etc, but my two main reasons for having them pts were (1) I didn't want to leave it to the point where either one was so ill that they HAD to be pts and (2) as horses they have absolutely no conception about "tomorrow" or "another winter" or even "next spring"!:)

The gelding was in a slightly worse condition than the mare, but I thought if I had him pts first, I would probably find myself making the same decision about her just a few weeks or months down the line. I had a long chat (well, several actually :o) with my vet and my OH, and set a date.

It was awful in the days leading up to it, and I had several sleepless nights, but the actual day was wonderfully sunny, we took them out onto some really lush grass and let them stuff their faces for a few minutes, and when the first one went down, the other one didn't even notice. It was the most peaceful deaths of any horses that I have witnessed (sadly I've seen a lot due to my job over the years). The vet said it was the nicest ones he'd done as well. Yes, I cried my eyes out later on, but I know it was the right thing to do, and like I said, they had no idea what was going to happen.

Both horses had lovely lives and gave me huge amounts of pleasure over the years. I firmly believe that it was, in my case, the right thing to do at the right time.
 
We have decided to put our old boy down in the autumn. He is a 3/4 TB and 31 and we have had him for 15 years.

The previous winter he came out the winter looking better than ever. Last winter he was wintered out (as the year before) in a better sheltered field with rugs (rugless the previous year) and he looks awful. He is eating loads and is in great form. The issue with him he has lost all his muscle tone and has dropped loads of weight. I feel that his gut musn't be working the same as he is certainly having no problems eating. I always said when he wasn't happy I would put him down.

We now feel there is no way we would put him through another winter and will give him the summer, although the spring grass is not putting any weight on him.
 
My old boy is a 25yrs 17hh TB and everytime I think he's struggling he rallies with a spring in his step. This winter though he found tough going, his legs look quite fragile at the moment and I think I can't take him through another winter.

However I am not at the stage of thinking this is it. The decision will very much depend on him and all the while he is bright eyed and interested in his surroundings he'll keep going.

I do think it will be a case of his body giving up before his mind though as 17hh is a lot for frail legs to support.
 
I think if I win the lottery I will open a retirement home for all your oldies, down here where the winters are milder and shorter. We'll do lots of big paddocks (I mean BIG) with water running through, copsed areas and enormous barns they can go in and out of (air conditioned for the summer) and let them enjoy some sun on their old bones!
 
My old riding school used to have quite a few of the oldies put down before the winter set in, when they were happy and safe before the winter made them suffer. was awful to have 5 or 6 go in one go, but best for them i think xxxx
 
A difficult topic. If an oldie is obviously sick or injured then I think the decison is more straightforward than if they just get old slowly.

I currently have a 35yr old pony I have owned for 25 years, she is pretty deaf (although can still hear a food bowl from the end of the field), and and every winter I hold my breath to see how she copes, and touch wood she has lost some condition but been generally fine, this spring she has put it all back on well and looks great. However I know the big decision can;t be too many years off.

My last horse I had PTS at 23, he had been a steeplechaser and an eventer and had had 2 years retired 24\7 in the field as happy as larry. He had some old injuries but nothing really wrong with him, however at the start of one winter he just decided to stand in one corner of the field and wait to die. It was really heartbreaking, and after giving him 48hrs to see if he would start eating and moving and a visit\chat with the vet we had him quietly PTS. I was devastated at the time, and still well up now (and it was 12 years ago), but I know in some ways he had decided for me.
 
I battle with the dread of PTS my oldie on an almost daily basis atm, he had a freakish accident in December which triggered Ataxia & neck problems. He already had problems with one hind leg from an earlier accident a year before. He's only 25yo so a lot younger than most of the posters horses, but he's always be a mad one & lived life to the full.

He does tend to walk quaters in due to the Ataxia, but it varies in degrees he also finds turning left more difficult due to the arthritic changes in his neck but he can do it. He's always boxed walked slightly & always done it to the right so it's no wonder he finds left more difficult.

Having said all this he is in wonderful condition fab weight, mega shinny coat & very happy. He love's going out, can graze & roll, when he's tired trotting around can be an effort but most days he's still happy to leap around:rolleyes:.
He has his own paddock as he likes to groom his friend & unfortunately this does make his neck worse, so he's banned from hagging out with him. He's not bothered by this tbh.

I live every day as it comes, atm he's very happy & not showing any signs that he's ready to go. I keep being told that i WILL know when the times right but im so frightend that i might miss it. However i know this horse inside out so i very much doubt i would.
It does make you feel very much on your own when having to think like this about our beloved friends, but it's is a comfort to read threads like this & know that others are going through the same.

It's never a straight forward decision.
 
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Yes, it's hard. My 33 year old shire x TB, has been in the family for most of my life. He's a dear horse and he's been retired from riding for 6 years. In the last year his arthritis has got really quite bad, and he's now on 2 butes plus 2 scoops of zerobute every day to keep him ticking over.

I have always vowed that I will never let him suffer, and although he's very slow, he has a sparkle in his eye, his body condition is good, and he's alert and loves his routine, and loves his food. Unless you see him walking he looks amazingly well. He hurt his shoulder a few months ago after he fell over badly in the field, (the vets gave me more bute and he was 4 a day for a while) but his lameness has slowly got worse and worse. I can't pick his front feet out normally because he can't bend his knees. So it takes two people. One to hold each leg straight out and off the ground, while the other cleans out his hoof.

Yesterday's heat seemed to affect him and for the first time I could tell he wasn't happy. I phoned the vet up, and they are coming out on Wednesday to see him and me and we'll discuss the PTS options.

It's very, very sad and I have known it was coming for a while, but he was well enough and happy enough and we were managing his arthritus to a certain extent to be able to live a comfortable retired life. Yesterday I saw a change and knew the time is is about right.

This is my boy as a young man:
polo6.jpg


in his prime
polo8.jpg


just over a year ago
polospring2009.jpg


this was taken recently
polo1.jpg
 
He is so gorgeous. So sorry, he has clearly had a great life with you. I think you just know when the time comes.
 
we have a 30yrs + mare she is looking good at the moment and full of the joys.. but we are lucky enough to rent some land so she can have her own paddock so doesnt get bullied by others .. if we had to move I would have her PTS if she couldnt have her own paddock she would get bullied otherwise :( also if she looked unhappy or dropped weight or had trouble getting up :(
 
I posted here on Monday, and said that I thought my old (33yrs old shire cross) boy looked like he'd had enough. Even though he was in a brick stable and out of the sun, he was slightly sweating, had slightly laboured breathing and his arthritis suddenly seemed much, much worse and I could see he was unhappy, uncomfortable and in pain. He was being sprayed with cold water throughout the day, which helped relieve his body temperature, and I have all the painkillers and meds to relieve his arthritis the best we can, so an emergency vet visit on Monday would not have been fruitful, unless it was to PTS and although it was nearly time I needed a couple of days to think about. I phoned his vet on Monday and told them what was happening and arranged their visit for Wednesday, which they agreed was a good plan.

Well, The vet came yesterday late afternoon, and the weather is now a lot cooler, and my old boy didn't look too bad at all. His heart and lungs sound fine. His coat condition is good, but the vet saw that he was obviously very stiff and hobbles around. He no longer looked unhappy and uncomfortable though, and was eating and being cheeky. The vet confirmed it did not look like he has laminitis, but the severity of his lameness is because his joints are failing which is what I knew, but some people on my yard had been saying it looked like lami.

The vet said that in his opinion he is not at the stage where he has to be PTS immediately, and it is ultimately my decision.
I think I'm going to play it day by day. While this cooler weather is here, he'll be alright, but if we get another hot snap I think I'll have to do it before then.

Sad, Sad days. :(
 
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