What to expect with BEVA guidelines euthanasia?

[flaxen]

Has anyone lost a horse to chronic injury under beva guidelines euthanasia and can tell me what to expect if it happens at a vet school referal.
Its been 5mths since my pony suffered a serious skull injury during a fall out riding and has been deteriorating ever since. Hes had over £4000 of treatment since begining of december of which has made no difference. Hes now being referred to see the specialist that ive been in contact with since it happened as a last resort for him to see my pony in person rather than by video to see if theres anything at all he can think of.

I suspect it may be the end of the road and time to call it a day and have already been told he meets the beva guidelines for euthanasia. The specialist is 150 miles away so bit of a trek but would take him to the moon if there was any chance he can be fixed but if he decides its time id rather not have to stress pony out by travelling him home again.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

The guidelines are there to ensure that the horse/pony cannot be 'fixed', when the owner claims for the death of the animal. This is to prevent insurance fraud. The guidelines do not stipulate how the animal should be pts, that will be something for you to discuss with the vet, if it comes to that.
I'm sorry that there isn't a better prognosis.

 

[wench]

Its only really if it breaks its leg etc. I'd doubt "planned" PTS, even in your case, will get a payout.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Its only really if it breaks its leg etc. I'd doubt "planned" PTS, even in your case, will get a payout.

It is for incurable illness/accident. OP has already been told that the case meets BEVA guidelines, presumably by either the vet or the insurance company.

 

[galaxy]

I had a straightforward payout with the nfu. My boy had been ill with chronic diarrhoea for 3 months which was under some sort of control medically but we had not got to the bottom of why. He very suddenly took a turn for the worse and the vet said that he would colic within 48 hours so he was put down that afternoon. On post mortem he was riddled with melanomas. My vet rang the nfu and told them it met beva guidelines, filled out the forms for me and I got the full payout.

My impression is that the guidelines are only met when it is done for the welfare of the horse (rather than someone just choosing to have the pts for the payout). If your horse is suffering to the point with no posible treatment that keeping them alive is not humane then I expect you will get the payout. However if he could live in the field for the rest of his days then I expect you won't. However as the vet has said it meets beva I think you'll be fine. In terms of where and how it happens, that should not be any concern to the insurance company, that is for you to decide.

I hope it all goes as well as possible

 

[be positive]

I am very sorry that he is still no better, I remember your post following the fall and thought, like everyone else probably did, that he would soon get better.
I think you are best to contact the insurance company before you take him, let them know this is probably just a case of confirming the worst, he sounds as if he meets the guidelines and it would make sense if you could, if it comes to it, make the decision and not bring him home, as long as the vet is able to confirm he is never going to improve, or will continue to deteriorate there should be no problem with the payout, I would not use the term chronic when you speak to the insurance, as far as you are concerned it is still getting worse and changing, it came from an accident so I would class it as being an injury that may not still be in the acute stage it certainly is not yet chronic.

 

[vam]

I would check with your insurance company before you do anything. I was told after mine was pts that he would meet the guidelines (his knee was a mess when the vet looked inside) however on contacting the insurance company i was told that as it was outside the 12 month claim period for that knee it was excluded from cover so there for i wouldnt be able to claim. If i hadnt had rung them on the same day he was pts i might have said more and persued it but i didnt, just cancelled my policy. I dont think they had an issue with the planned pts but it has to meet the guidelines and be within the claim period. Other companies might be different but i doubt it.
Sorry your going through this x

 

[Jo1987]

I can't help with regards your question I'm afraid, but just wanted to say I'm so sorry to hear about your pony, it seems such an unfair thing to happen. I really hope the specialist will be able to help.

 

[Nightmare before Christmas]

I had this argument with insurance, I had a horse that 'had' to be PTS but because i chose to for his welfare rather than he needed destroying for a broken leg, neck etc they said no it didnt fit under. Yet the vet practice said it was the best thing and tried to fight my corner. They failed. I got my vet fees back (2k) but lost the value of a 12k horse. If he was covered for LOU i could have claimed that and had him destroyed quietly after, but that wasnt an option

 

[Louby]

I really do think which insurance company plays a big part in this. I had a horse PTS as she needed colic surgery but had been being treated for ringbone and sidebone and was in the middle of a LOU claim. I was with NFU then who said whichever I decided they would back, and would pay for colic surgery, LOU, both or PTS if I chose. We chose PTS as the vet wasnt convinced she would realistically come through it due to other complications so she was PTS. NFU were fantastic, then on the other hand I was insured with another well known company with my boy who had reoccuring tooth infections that had spread to his bone, long story cut short but treatment wasnt working, he was in pain and the vet said taking the teeth out wasnt a cure and that all we could do is open his face up and treat from the outside in but that basically I was just prolonging the inevitable and causing pain, stress and suffering along the way. I didnt bring him home, he was PTS that day as he deserved better than to suffer that. The insurance said he didnt meet BEVA guidelines as it wasnt destruction on humane grounds?? They did say if I would have treated him, in other words make him suffer for a month or two, then they would have paid out for destruction then if it didnt work. I had letters from the vet but they wouldnt budge. I find it unbelievable at times that they would rather pay full vets fees plus PTS rather than PTS costs in these case and cause suffering and distress along the way. Needless to say Im not insured with them anymore.

 

[smellsofhorse]

My horse was pts before he reached the beva guidelines.
He was nearly there and I wanted to do it sooner before he suffered.

You know your horse and take advice from the experts.

 

[smellsofhorse]

Its only really if it breaks its leg etc. I'd doubt "planned" PTS, even in your case, will get a payout.

I did.
It was planned after decisions withy vet.
It was not about the money but about doing the right thing and having them agree I did it for the sake of the horse and not for me or my pocket.
Nfu did pay our after a consultant looked into the case.

 

[flaxen]

My pony had a rotational fall in october and following a work up turns out his has fractured the back of his skull right where the nerves and blood vessels insert into his brain. He had also had a bleed in this area big enough to make him anaemic on blood tests. He has neurological and behavioural issues and is deteriorating despite treatment as the new bone being laid down is affecting the nerves/ brain stem. He wouldnt be able to be turned away in a field as he doesnt settle out and just paces the fence line and since his fall has also been aggressive turned out with a friend and seriously attacked her so thats not an option either.

 

[lornaA]

I had a hell of a job getting petplan to accept that my youngster was put to sleep under the beva guidelines even though the vet college said he was. He had a broken back at the time and his ribs were hanging off his spine. It was very upsetting and is the reason I will never insure with them again. They kept writing to me saying that his injury didn't meet beva guidelines. Eventually my vet phoned them himself and had stern words with them. He was disgusted by then.

 

[Elbie]

To meet the guidelines the horse needs to be suffering from an incurable disease and be in incurable pain. So, for example while a horse may have chronic arthritis which isn't curable, it would need to be suffering to the point where it is in excessive pain. The guidelines are there for insurance but I think vets are supposed to follow these guidelines anyway.

I work in equine insurance and it is hard as sometimes horses are put down for 'humane reasons' but there are treatment options available, it's just that the owners decide not to put the horse through any more. It is tough and you can see why people do it but in terms on insurance it isn't covered.

OP - in your case that this has been treated for an extended period of time with no effect and your vet says BEVA is met, if the referral vet confirms there are no other treatment options available then there is a good chance BEVA is met. Especially when you've had primary and referral vet confirm it. Sorry to hear that your horse hasn't been getting better though.

lornaA - they would've asked their referral vet for an opinion. Only a qualified vet can make that decision and if they weren't sure BEVA was met they would've referred it to their vet for his opinion. I'm suprised he didn't call your vet to discuss it in the first place as that would be standard practice