What would "You" do??

It would honestly depend, if money wasnt an issue then i would try to save him, sentimental yes, but if he survived imagine how good you would feel...
 
I think the only realistic option is PTS. They aren't attached to him, nor he to them. His experience of them is going to be painful treatment, with no guarantee of success. As an old farmer friend of ours always used to say, when you have livestock, you have dead stock.
 
Sorry, was logged in under daughter's username! Poor little mite hasn't had a chance, has he
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Well, as long as he wasn't suffering more than is reasonable or fair, I'd have a bash. They bought him so they must have liked him. 50/50 odds...hmmm

What exactly are they doing for him?
 
3 x £120 = £360. Therefore probably worth giving the colt the 50% chance as it is bound to be worth more than £480 when ready to sell on if it recovers.
 
I know this is going against the grain of the post, but I would try. I would take it a day at a time and see how he goes. If it gets too much then I would have him PTS, knowing I had done my best.

Money doesn't come into it.
 
Is tet infectious. I know it isn't a disease as such, but the horse would now be carrying the bacteria and so could pass it on to other animals.
 
as long as it wasn't suffering, i'd throw money at it until it was better, because that's just the way i am. a life is more important than a few hundred pounds imho. if it's suffering badly and that can't be alleviated sufficiently with painkillers etc while it is being treated though, then i would go for the pts option, in the colt's best interests. poor little mite.
and i agree, i'd go and kneecap the idiot who bred it and never had it vaccinated against tetanus.
 
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Is tet infectious. I know it isn't a disease as such, but the horse would now be carrying the bacteria and so could pass it on to other animals.

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It can be transmitted through the infected animal's droppings apparently.....well so google says.
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I can't believe this thread. The money is irrelevant particularly if if is only 500 quid - you can all find that if you really have to - if you can't you shouldn't have a horse.

If there is a fighting chance of a long term good recovery then you have an obligation to do all you can simple as that. If everyone is talking about money then they don't deserve horses.
 
If you read the posts, the vet recomended that the animal be PTS. Other people have commented on the fact that the illness and treatment are painful for the animal, it has no idea that this may be relatively short term and that there may be a reasonable outcome (although this sounds unlikely in this case). The owner has a responsibility to ensure that the animal does not suffer any more than is absolutely necessary. IMO
 
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I can't believe this thread. The money is irrelevant particularly if if is only 500 quid - you can all find that if you really have to - if you can't you shouldn't have a horse.

If there is a fighting chance of a long term good recovery then you have an obligation to do all you can simple as that. If everyone is talking about money then they don't deserve horses.

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Money is only irrelevant if you have enough of it, not to really notice spending it on a vet bill. And everyone has their limit, some through circumstances, some through choice.
What's your financial limit for treating a horse of yours? £100? £10000? £10,000? £100,000 and remortgage your house? If you carry your argument to its conclusion, it doesn't make sense.
S
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I have just done a search for Tetanus in HH and one article says it is more like 25% survival /75% die.

I would still try to save him so long as the vet assured me he was not enduring prolonged suffering. I think you know yourself when you look at them if it is their time.

I would also like to think that regardless of value of the horse I would treat them. £360 is such small fry in the bigger picture of horses and all the paraphernalia they entail.
 
If he had a chance at life and had a decent enough life to look forward to afterwards I'd have to give him the chance. Maybe I'd change my mind if I knew more about tetanus, or if the odds were lower, but at 50/50 I'd have to give him the opportunity to live.
 
Most cases of tetanus are fatal. If treatment is attempted, the treatment can end up almost as bad as the disease. The horse may end up needing a sling to keep it up, as well as catheterisation. In such instances, the chances of recovery are extremely poor and euthanasia is recommended on HUMANE GROUNDS. Poor colt. Idiot owner. I'd pts asap to prevent more suffering.
 
Whichever would be the best for the colt never mind the money. If you only spent what an animal was worth then you would never take a cat or dog or rabbit to the vet for treatment. I don't worry what my horses are worth as I don't sell them anyway , my only worry would be suffering.
 
I'd have to be in the position really. My instinct is to give the little fella a chance, but it would depend very much on how comfortable he'd be and the chances of pulling through.

The money ie what he cost, what he's worth wouldn't be a consideration, but how much I could afford (which is slightly different) would be.
 
I think also that if there is a chance of this poor little thing making it, then i wouldn't grudge the 4 0r 500 quid vets bill, regardless of how good he will be or what he will be worth. I don't know what the treatment entails for tetanus but i agree that if the pain or discomfort cannot be managed throughout the treatment then i would have him pts. I have an oldie with squamous cell carcenoma, he has had cryogenic surgical freezing to remove the tumours. i have promised that I won't put him through anything too invasive or nasty, as sometimes the treatment is worse than the disease. The treatment has worked well so far but i won't do any more. Much as it will break my (and my little boys) heart I will do the sensible thing. Not a financial decision, but a compassionate one.
 
I completely agree with BoF; the cost wouldn't be the issue; doubtful it wouldn't be much anyway. The issue would be that I would not put the horse through unnecessary suffering, as the end will likely be the same either way. I'm all for giving a horse a chance, but the odds are steeped too high against the horse, in this case. If it were mine, it would be put to sleep immediately.
 
having seen tetanus twice i would put the chap down , unless he was caught very early was in prime condition with a top class vet he doesnt stand an earthly of surviving , its a horrible disstressing illness for the horse and not pretty to watch , first one i saw was a tearling tb cross colt bought by first time owners from a friend , he develped first signs a week after he arrived , a staggering gait over sensitivity to stimulus and the classic third eyelid , they were at a complete loss , i called the vet and he was put to sleep immediatly , best thing for him , they hadnt got a clue
second horse was a valuable event horse he,d got a small cut out training , nothing much , i was working as a trainee groom at rather well known yard , anyways it turns out a booster had been missed , with so many horses coming and going its understandable but the owners were extremly upset at time and fired the head girl .. the horse was in the very early stages and treatment was advised by the vets , so they moved all the other horses , closed off his windows and doors to minimise movements outside that would distress him , only one person handled him , me , oh and the vet of course i hand fed him every hour , offered him water , he was sedated and given masses of some drug i don,t remember the name , the vets consuted leahurst who advised not moving him , anyways to cut long story short he worsened , watching him stagger widly round a box crash into walls totally unable to swallow and terrified to try , the look on his face was torture , i NEVER want to see that again it was worse than colic or botulism both of which i,ve seen , the horse recoverded , it took 4 weeks of intensive treatment a huge amount of money ( no idea who paid but i know the insurance didnt cover it because he should have been vaccinated and they considered it negligence he wasn,t )
to sum up, the vaccination costs about £45 including visit , people who don,t bother should see a video of a horse suffering with what is a totally preventable diesese , or come round and chat to me , i,d sort em out
tracy
 
I would pts. If vet is recommending it he must feel it is the most humane thing to do. And I am not averse to spending a fortune on my animals in veterinaryfees as long as I feel they are not suffering or have a good chance of recovery .
 
I do look at things from a different point of view and everyone is entitled to theirs
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Personally i would do everything i could for it, if it had a chance. It did not ask to be in this world, humans helped bring it here and have a duty of care - to life and death. I don't put a price on any life but horses are not a commercial animal to me. By commercial i mean i don't buy/sell or buy to compete.
Horses suffer daily in human hands. Suffering is not good but if it had a chance of a normal life after treatment i am sure it would be glad to have got through. Many of our horses were recommended to be pts. We have one that had a massive cancer. He was in a lot of pain - only in that area - the treatment of over 1 year was painful and he did suffer. I was put under a lot of pressure to have him pts. My vet urged me to so i went to a different vet. He was given less than 50% chance of getting through an op safely. If there was 1% i would have taken it. He had the op, was in extreme pain for a few days. He fully recovered and is living a happy healthy life. He goes to shows winning many coloured classes/championships. And came 10th in a county show out of 35 horses.
He is very happy to be alive. We have many stories similar.
Basil was recently very ill with Salmonella. The vet told me he was going to die and suggested pts. I was determined to give him a chance down to hand feeding him. He is now happy and recovered and putting weight back on and saw his 2nd birthday last week, which the vet said he wouldn't.
I always give a chance no-matter how bad the illness, if there is a chance of survival. I have had horses pts. I don't make them live a life of agaony. I would never go as far as keeping a horse alive for the sake of it, i do know when the time is right - they tell us. But not being commercial - includeing those who have horses for competeing - i do put life first.
We don't kill people with tetanus.
As for worth that people put on horses lives. We have had and currently have the most worthless horses/ponies their is. But do you know when we have worked with them we have 100's of people wanting them. At local shows people ask if we are takeing so and so and say if we are its not worth them entering.
Many of them we take to shows had a death sentence hanging over them.
We have got two through tetanus! Not our own, but people we help.
Before i am jumped on i did say i have a different perspective and it is my life, i do understand other peoples points of views so please understand mine.
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