would you be prepared to put your horse through, this?

Fairynuff

Fairynuff

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was looking up my old boss and found him linked to this equine clinic. This is one of the top equine clinics here in the north but looking back on what I saw and helped is it right to put any horse through this obviously painful and traumatic experience to then probably end up chronically lame and possibly in continious pain? I wouldn't put my horses through this and prefer to think that I would be strong enough to say 'goodbye'. What do you think?
http://www.forapani.it/portal/defau...1&idsottocategoria=1232&lang=ita&sez=immagini
 
I wouldn't put mine through a lot of things (colic surgery, kissing spine surgery amongst others) and definitely not through that but I got told off for saying that the other day so I suppose my answer is


'of course, better alive than dead under any circumstances' or some such tosh like that anyway!
 
From those pictures it's hard to tell exectly what is wrong with the horses (yes they're clearly injured but how badly I can't tell). I know a lot of the injuries look fairly major but horses can heal very quickly with the right treatment. I assume some of these horses have fractures, my own horse currently has a stress fracture on his short pastern bone and is on six weeks box rest, cross tied so he can't lie down. Yes it may seem cruel but he has adapted remarkably well to it, he always has hay to eat and the vet is confident he should make a full recovery, so I would say yes it is worth it. Bone tends to heal very well, tendons and ligaments aren't so straightforward.
 
Having had a pony operated on for a broken hock, I can't say no. She was, however, healthy in every other way, and once she had been operated on, was in little discomfort. She has made a full recovery, so it was worth it for us (despite the small chance of it really working, surgeon said if it didn't work, we could see if she would be field sound or PTS :()

Again, hard to see what was wrong with them, but if the treatment would be especially lengthily and painful, I don't think so. I haven't had to make that decision before, so I really struggle to judge it. You never know how you may feel.
 
jesstickle said:
I wouldn't put mine through a lot of things (colic surgery, kissing spine surgery amongst others) and definitely not through that but I got told off for saying that the other day so I suppose my answer is


'of course, better alive than dead under any circumstances' or some such tosh like that anyway!
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My old boy had a nasty colic 2 years ago and was recovered in said clinic. Thankfully the trip to the clinic managed to shake his intestines up and he trotted off the truck otherwise the instructions were to put him down if the only solution was the operating table. He was 22 at the time but had he been a 3 year old with a wonderful career in front of him, I may have thought differently. Im of the opinion that the vets are way too inclined to play god and that what would have been put out of its misery a few years back are now being kept alive for no good reason. The big difference is that here in Italy, there is no insurance so all vet/clinic bills are met fully by the owner so maybe there are less cases of horses being kept going when they should, in reality ,be put out of their suffering.
 
I have thought about this a bit Fairynuff, because as you know that my Brooke is getting a bit older now. I don't think I would put her through any sort of surgery now.
I think I would have to kiss her goodbye and be with her when she went.
If she was younger and it was something like a broken leg then probably not. I think it depends on the horse as well. She loves her stable so box rest wouldn't be a huge issue for her. Pain is though, she has lost a shoe and you would think she is ready for the knackers yard as she is hobbling around like the old drama queen that she is lol.
 
jesstickle said:
I wouldn't put mine through a lot of things (colic surgery, kissing spine surgery amongst others) and definitely not through that but I got told off for saying that the other day so I suppose my answer is


'of course, better alive than dead under any circumstances' or some such tosh like that anyway!
Click to expand...

No not better alive than dead - my point is that is completely depends on the age and health of the horse - a young healthly horse with everything going for it has a very good chance of getting through surgical colic and going onto enjoy life whereas I would not choose to put an elderly/already ill animal through the same operation.

I think the vast majority of horse owners and vets do have more common sense than they are being given credit for here as well!
 
I'd like to know more about the case before I pass judgement - sometimes it looks worse than it is.

I had a horse who caught her forehead and exposed her skull - no blood just all the muscle and skin pushed up under her forelock. I assumed it would just be a matter of the vet sewing her up but the vet was very guarded in his dignosis and said he doubted she would make a full recovery and would have muscle impairment and would have to be put down. Fortunately we were very lucky and she recovered without even a scar.

I do agree that you have to decide what is best for your horse and human nature makes us want to hang on to things we love for as long as we can.

Can anyone remember a few years ago on Look East, that horse who had his hoof amputated and a prosphetic hoof put on? How long did the poor creature survive? I can understand why the owner wanted to prolong her horses' life but surely the vets had a duty of care to this animal?
 
Initial thoughts no, but then until you are placed in such a situation and know all the facts (also depends on the horse) I suppose it's hard to one to call.

If I had to say here and now, then no I wouldn't, I'd have the poor creature PTS, horses don't understand things like we do, we understand that things/pain etc can get better and to put up with something is for our own good, where as animal doesn't know this, or do they? some may beg to differ.
 
I think it totaly depends on the horse. Every horse is an indervidual. As most people know my Lucy was as tough as old boots :p :D. When she had her lami attack the vets took one look at her and asked if we had the number for the kennels. She was so lame she couldn't even stand up. It took us 45 mins to walk her the short distance from her field to her stable as she would just move one foot and then try to lie down. It took 5 people to keep her on her feet and get her into the stable. xrays revieled she had rotation in all four feet :( :( :( If it had been anyother horse I would have had it put down there and then but i knew Lucy wouldn't give up so easily. She went on to have 9 more very active years. She even started endurance riding.
When Lucy fell ill last year and we thought she may have cancer i had desided if that was the case chemo was a big no no. I wouldn't have even put Lucy through that. But she was diagnosed with a very very rare illness and the vets gave her a less than 50% chance of making it to last xmas. Many people told me I should have her put down. But she made it all the way to July then I had her put down before she started to suffer. It broke my heart and i'm still not over it but i had to make the right choice for my Lucy.
I guess what i'm trying to say is it realy depends on the horse and your reasons for keeping it going. If it is simply because you can't bare to say goodbye then that is totaly the wrong reason. Every desition should be made for the horse even if it breaks your heart they must come first.
That said as others have said it is hard to tell from those pictures exactly what is going on with each horse. So can't realy comment on those cases.
 
i stand by what i always say "just because you can fix something dosent mean you should"



i wouldnt put my horse through a lot of things.... namely lameness which leaves the horse in pain for the rest of its life...
 
I think it depends on the situation, the horse, the injury, the prognosis etc. If the horse was unlikely to be sound afterwards or was just never going to be right I wouldn't - I don't see the point. However, if the prognosis was good and the horse would be able to lead a happy and useful life afterwards, I don't see why not.

With correct management and pain reflief there is no reason why we shouldn't take advantage of veterinary advances, unless there are special circumstances such as the horse hates Being stabled and would need 6 months box rest etc. Each case has to be taken on its merits. Horses are often in pain with various things - we don't PTS because they have a bruised sole or a cut or have pulled a muscle - all these things hurt. Horses may not understand pain in the way we do, but they are still capable of coping with it.

I'm not talking about horses with shattered legs being kept in a sling for 2 years so they can one day come off the sling and be lame forever. I just think each case needs to be assessed individually and it's impossible to say whether it is right or wrong 'in general'.
 
I agree with others that it all depends on the horse & what surgery they need..I have a tb gelding that I put through pastern arthrodesis because I was told he would make a full recovery & that he had lived with more pain because of the ringbone & the surgery would relieve this straight away..but we have a tb mare with a kissing spine & I would never put her thorugh that surgery as the vet said she would need every other vertebrae removed & to me that seems like butchery & a full recovery couldn't be guarenteed..
 
I don't think from pictures we always see a true story and certainly do not tell us the decisions the owner and vets have had to make.

I would like to think any horse owner would do anything they could to save their horse whilst trying to limit its pain and sufferring at the same time.

If anything happened to Archie, god forbid, I hope the decisions I made for him would be right and if he had some pain to go through to achieve a life of comfort and happiness afterwards I would put him through it. I think I would know when he had had enough and would have to deal with things minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day. Pain can be eleviated to a large degree with pain killers and anaesthesia so a horse shouldn't be in horrendous pain, IMO. Management also plays a huge factor in a horses wellbeing and what one owner could do for one horse another may not be able to do for theirs, due to commitments and so on but we must credit the majority of owners that their horses interests are at the forefront of their decision making.

I also understand every horse is different and their tolerances differ. Again, I don't think Archie would be a very good patient but if he was poorly then I think he would tolerate most things.
 
it def depends on the situation. i would hate to see my horse suffer and would make a decision based on the circumstances as many have said.
humans break bones and are often in full casts, in pain etc i know it is totally different to a horse but we dont get written off straight away! hope you understand what i am trying to say. i would def not let any of my animals suffer it would be a decision based on the circumstances.
 
If my horse broke it's leg and had to be cross tied for months for it to possibily make a recovery, she would be PTS.

Horses are designed to be horses. If they can't move without limping, or need to be kept immobile for months, I would rather PTS. Box rest etc is a bit different as they can at least have an area to move about it, but immobility on a horse which is designed to move around to work properly (digestion etc all depend on movement with horses) Is cruel IMO. As for the valuable stallion/mare thing, that is horrendous. A horse is a horse, it doesn't know how much it is worth :(
 
RudolphsRider said:
i think to wake up to see my horse, looking like that, lame, in pain ect that would be more upsetting then saying goodbye to be truely honest :)
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I actually won't look at the thread, had a cra-ppy day and seeing a horse in distress would just finish me off, but RR you have summed up my feelings exactly.
 
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