A difficult subject re PTS

Indeed, it's not like some African wildlife scene with dogs tearing into a whole carcase! Quite frankly I'm surprised at how much some people on here are getting upset at the thought of their horse being fed to hounds. I really don't see any problem with it at all. Maybe it helps that I've helped a friend with the puppies he had for walking, and also helped feed them when the huntsman came round with some flesh for them.
 
Quite frankly I'm surprised at how much some people on here are getting upset at the thought of their horse being fed to hounds
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I guess some folk see their horses very fondly as an extension of their family - how many of us would let our dead relatives' bodies be butchered, however professionally, for meat? I guess we all draw the line in different places, depending on the situation.
 
evilgiraffe said:
Indeed, it's not like some African wildlife scene with dogs tearing into a whole carcase! Quite frankly I'm surprised at how much some people on here are getting upset at the thought of their horse being fed to hounds. I really don't see any problem with it at all.....
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Who mentioned anything about dogs tearing into whole carcases? :confused:
Maybe you haven't had or wouldn't have a problem with a pack of hounds eating your horse but please respect the sentiments of those that do.
 
Gosh, i always thought i knew the answer. If my horses were to break a leg or be in serious pain I would have them shot. Where I am the vet is at the very least 1 1/2 hours away unless he actually is on call at one of the houses out my way. We are pretty "out there" though.

If i can wait for a vet i would have always chosen injection but i had no idea how painful and stressful it can be!
now i dont know what i would do!

I dont think i could stand to see either done on either of my horses, i think the sound of the gun would be a shot in my heart though and absolutly destroy me.
 
My share was pts in the summer by lethal injection. She was already heavily sedated, she had colic and the vet was trying to medicate her through it. She was already down when she had the final injection and it was over in seconds, very peaceful and very quick.

It was a very traumatic evening for both her owner and myself, and it helped to beable to sit with her for a few minutes to collect our thoughts and see her at peace. If she had been shot I don't think we could have had this time with her.

Whist I wasn't her owner and it therefore wasn't my choice I would have done exactly the same as her owner and I would have hated the thought of her going to the local hunt. Not that I would critisise anyone for doing that it's just not the decision I would make.
 
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MM1s 1st pony Taffy was PTS by injection a couple of years ago, quick and painfree, but he was ready to go he was 32 and in poor health for a while. One of old lovely older horses died quietly one night in his sleep in his stable, we did let the other horses come and say goodbye, they all had a sniff and a whicker, and they knew he had gone. When its Crystals time I hope whatever method is quick asnd as painfree and dignified as possible for her.

When my old lad went the local huntsman blew Gone Away for him, as we had so many great times out with the hunt, I thought it was a lovely gesture on his part to give my lovely old man that kind of farewell.
 
For those with bad experiences of injections can I just add it is really down to the vet and not even their skills as much as their sympathy. We have had rather a lot of horses PTS (well you do with 40 when you keep them all into retirement).

The worst experience I had was with a vet who I would always choose to operate on my horses but has no personal skills. He fiddled for ages with a catheter, no it didn't worry the horse but left me unhappy because he didn't explain his problem was the horse had virtually no circulation left and therefore he wanted to administer a large dose quickly.

The best was when we had a very old pony who had gone down in his stable and was lying eating hay occasionally but obviously was never going to get up again. None of the horse vets was available but the senior partner for small animals came out and insisted in sedating the pony with a small injection so he didn't even feel the main one .

The worst I have seen is a quick ( and I mean seconds) look of worry if the horse is still standing when injected. Our vets use enough of the heart stopping drug to ensure that deatrh follows quickly after the horse is sedated.
 
crinks said:
When my old lad went the local huntsman blew Gone Away for him, as we had so many great times out with the hunt, I thought it was a lovely gesture on his part to give my lovely old man that kind of farewell.
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Oh, that's lovely. I would be in floods of tears if that were me.

On a (just about) related note - you can now get Gone Away as a ring tone for your phone! It was in this week's H&H :)
 
Come on guys (india and evilgiraffe), don't argue. This is a useful, sympathetic thread. It educates us and for those of us who haven't faced this yet, it encourages us to clarify our thoughts before we are faced with the situation.

If petty arguements begin, it will probably be closed. You both have a point, you just disagree. For what its worth, I'm not at all comfortable with the idea of hounds fighting of parts of my mare, even if her carcass has be properly butchered and cooked first, but I realise that I'm just being sentimental, so I don't have a problem with others choosing to send their horses to the hunt kennels.
 
Agreed, Stella. Though I still think people being over-sensitive and easily offended by other people's points of view doesn't help either. I stand by my earlier post that people should not read disrespect into posts where it was plainly not intended.

India, for your info, my original post was more in response to Wally's and yours rather than yours alone, so don't flatter yourself that that was the case.
 
Apologies to all those who may have been offended or upset by my posts - as stated right at the start of this rigmarole, no offence or direspect was intended.

Back to the thread topic - definitely a gun and the hounds for me. Although when I convince OH to let me have a horse I may well change my mind and go all soppy. I once met someone who carried around a small amount of her horse's ashes in a phial around her neck - is it just me or is that seriously peculiar?
 
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I do not wish to personally get involved but I have wanted to say this many posts back.

I do not have a problem with my horse going to hounds but I do have a problem with the way so of you approach the subject, it may not be intented in the way that it comes across and im sorry if im miss reading in the slighest. But its coming across to an owner that loves her horses dearly that I am in some way cruel to wish this fate on my horse. Im just a girl from a hunting background where this is the norm to me.

(I'll get off my little soapbox now :) )
 
charlotte+jill! said:
I do not have a problem with my horse going to hounds but I do have a problem with the way so of you approach the subject, it may not be intented in the way that it comes across and im sorry if im miss reading in the slighest. But its coming across to an owner that loves her horses dearly that I am in some way cruel to wish this fate on my horse. Im just a girl from a hunting background where this is the norm to me.
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I'm truly sorry if I'm one of the posters your refering to. I've stated from the beginning that my thoughts regarding a horse going to the hounds are purely personal. I don't condemn or think any less of a person for choosing this method of disposal, it's just that I personally prefer burial or cremation.
 
broken leg

I once saw a big draft horse get hit by a car in Moab, UT. The horse had been tied to a tree, but got free and walked out into the road. The driver was looking the other direction and hit horse right at the knee. The horse was distressed, sweating and shaking while the owner tried to comfort her. All he wanted was a gun to put her down. A friend brought the owner a gun, but the cops took it away and arrested the friend for bringing it. Meanwhile, the vet was on the police radio asking if the owner had money to pay for the injection. This went on and on for about one hour while the poor horse and owner suffered. By the end of it the bystanders were so upset they threw money at the vet when he finally showed up.

I sat with that horse as she was PTS. Although she went down and seemed frozen, she was not dead for quite a long time. I could see it in her eyes. Then, the next day as I was riding my bike, a tow truck passed me with that horse hanging from the back. It was on its way to the dump. I'll never forget that image.
 
This thread was going rather well, please don't wreck it guys by arguing over details.

Those horses who have hunted all their lives tend to go to the hounds, it's a sort of tradition in the UK. Those of us who want to burry cannot anymore, you have to go for cremation if you want the ashed back, personally I wouldn't, It's all a matter of choice, nobody is right or wrong. We can still burry on our land as we have no other means of disposal, no hounds and no incinnerator.

Things like this are bound to get heated as it is such an emotional subject.

Please refrain from personal attacks. It's not helpful.

I'm afraid I have trimmed a few posts as the comments aired werenot helpful to anyone!
 
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Levigal said:
I once saw a big draft horse get hit by a car in Moab, UT. The horse had been tied to a tree, but got free and walked out into the road. The driver was looking the other direction and hit horse right at the knee. The horse was distressed, sweating and shaking while the owner tried to comfort her. All he wanted was a gun to put her down. A friend brought the owner a gun, but the cops took it away and arrested the friend for bringing it. Meanwhile, the vet was on the police radio asking if the owner had money to pay for the injection. This went on and on for about one hour while the poor horse and owner suffered. By the end of it the bystanders were so upset they threw money at the vet when he finally showed up.
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What a sad tale, Levigal.I am at a loss to understand that vet ?.. and the police ! The poor owner, at least she had the humanity of the bystanders to support her. Brilliant show of disgust in throwing money at the vet.
In contrast, 2 horses from our yard were seriously injured in a road accident last year. Police and ambulance attended quickly, but vet was a 20 minute drive away. The ambulance crew actually tended to the horses as best they could to lessen their suffering whilst waiting for the vet, who literally 'flew' to get there and end their suffering.
 
When Falcon's time comes, (if he's still with me) I shall have him shot etc and his ashes buried in a casket in the beautiful field where one of the YO's horse's ashes are buried. It is a beautiful and peaceful setting with a pond and a bench, trees and wild flowers when they are in season! I couldn't bear the thought of him being fed to dogs.
 
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Samantha1980 said:
Here are some video clips of 2 horses being PTS. Not nice to watch but it might surprise some with how quick and calm it all is. http://www.sharkonline.org/?P=0000000528/
Please ignore the top part and scroll down to Humane Horse Euthanasia.
It does not say but Im assuming this was done by lethal injection.
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Samantha, thanks for putting up that link. The humane deaths brought tears to my eyes, but it is what I would want for my mare (hence the tears at the thought of her). I deliberated for a while about if I would watch the other videos, the written descriptions of them were bad enough :( Anyway, I decided not to open them.
 
Personally i would always go for the hunt option. I quick death and a disposal of the body that has some use to it.

It shocks me that so many are against sending the corpse to the hunt, but thats just me. But most people seem to forget (or don't know, esp. the foreign riders on here) that bury your horse is actually illegal in most parts of the country. You can't bury large animals as it can, and does, pollute the water system.

As for injection, I've seen horses fight it before and i would never put my horse through that. Some one on here wondered why it wasn't like aneasthetic for humans, but then what people don't realise there is that people do fight aneasthetic too, my sisters boyfreind ended up being strapped to the bed during the operation and in recovery afterwards because he literally faught the aneathetic and ending up punching 1 nurse and a doctor. He didn't do it deliberatly, it was just instinct.
You'd be suprised how ineffective sedation can be if an animal fights it. We were trying to get the stiches out of my dogs leg and after three times the normal dose, 3 of us holding him down and my dad getting his hand bitten by a noramally lovely dog, we still didn't manage to get all the stiches out cause the dog fought it so hard.

Oh well each to thier own, As long as the horse is put out of it's sufering quickly, thats all that really matters.
 
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