Does anyone else find this horrifying????

I friend of mine had a big dog that she rehomed. The dog was fine with everyone, even children, except for her toddler.

At first he would only growl at him and he was easy to tell off and would leave well alone, he would just move to another room. But even as the boy got out of his toddler years he was still the same with him. Always growling and snarling etc.
Eventually the child walked past him and for no reason the dog jumped up and snapped at him, luckily he only got his arm not his face, but he cut his arm right open.

She made the decision there and then and the next day he was put to sleep.
The child had never done anything to the dog, never palyed roughly, never even touched him as the dog would never let him close. But the dog was fine with other people and other children, just this one child he wasn't.:rolleyes:

I think sometimes you have to look at the mental aspect aswell as Birish said. Some horses aren't right in the head, but you have to look at that welfare aswell, some horses would be misrable out in a field as a companion. I know that my horse thrieves on work, if he has too much time off he can get depressed. Some horses just hate it and in that instant I would have the horse PTS. It depends on the owner and on the horse aswell. If they can find someone first hand to gove them advice based on what they have seen of the horse with their own eyes then it would be better.

The problem with on a forum is its easy to say that the horse shouldn't be PTS but without actually meeting/working with the actual horse how can anyone know whether or not it is right or wrong to PTS. Hopefully the person with this horse can find some advice from a vet or something to help. :)
 
I have always said and always will say, that I'd rather have my difficult/dangerous horse PTS than sold on.

Firstly what happens if you sell it, it injures next person and you're not in a position to take it back.

What if they're dodgy, pay up then ship it off to auction, dope it up claim it's a novice ride and it kills someone?

What if it's taken to some dubious people to show it's who's boss?

What if
What if
What if

I don't think it's horrific, I think it's responsible. I'd rather them peacefully be put down than have to go through any of the above. Giving it to a sanctuary is only taking up spaces for more needy horses and it's not going to change anything. What if it injures them badly, what about the other horses. It's human feelings above horse's. Keeping a horse alive because it's what we feel is right, then offloading them and possibly causing them horrific suffering is ten times worse than allowing it to be happy for a few months and leave this earth happy, content and painless.

ETA: you only have to go on fugly or other horsey forums to see how someones given their horse away in good faith to fabulous home with wonderful owners for them to find them at a meat auction or in horrific condition starved/lame/injured/awful feet. If you were a horse would you honestly rather this than a peaceful ending.
 
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Asima said:
I don't think it's horrific, I think it's responsible. I'd rather them peacefully be put down than have to go through any of the above. Giving it to a sanctuary is only taking up spaces for more needy horses and it's not going to change anything. What if it injures them badly, what about the other horses. It's human feelings above horse's. Keeping a horse alive because it's what we feel is right, then offloading and possibly causing horrific suffering is ten times worse than allowing it to be happy for a few months and leave this earth happy, content and painless.
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Nice answer.. :) I totally agree.

And bottom line.. the horse is dead - it doesn't know it's missing anything.
 
Darn hard one, this. We had a really unmanageable cob at my old/new yard who was left totally alone in the field for years. His owner moved him (after ages getting him to load!) last year to another yard where he will again just roam free. As someone said, it depends if you have the land. I'm glad he's gone as he was very protective of other horses and I wouldn't have kept him with 'normal' horses but he had a nice quality of life, grazing and socialising!
 
You are all absolutely right.

My main reason for putting this post up, was because I wanted other people's opinions on the subject. When I first read it, I was absolutely horrified, but now, reading other's opinions and experiences of having an animal that had major problems, I understand.

Life is not always "black and white" - the trouble with being an animal lover is that sometimes you have trouble seeing the grey areas - I myself just saw a potentially healthy animal potentially PTS - I didn't examine it any more deeply than that, but I am really glad now that I did ask for opinions here, because it has made me see that keeping an animal alive just because it is healthy is not always the best thing.

Thanks to everyone for their input and replies... I sincerely hope that noone thinks badly of me for my original post... I now have the knowledge and insight from other people's experiences to know that sometimes, maybe, going down that route is the only way.

Rachel
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Pale Moon said:
I sincerely hope that noone thinks badly of me for my original post... I now have the knowledge and insight from other people's experiences to know that sometimes, maybe, going down that route is the only way.

Rachel
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I'm sure noone thinks badly of you at all! It made for interesting discussion.. :)
 
Nice to see your open to opinions, don't blame you, after seeing and hearing that many horror stories you really do start to see it from a different perspective. It's human nature, but that gets the worse thing in cases like this, it's not about us, it's about them. It's nice to see you've learned this :D
 
Pale Moon said:
You are all absolutely right.

My main reason for putting this post up, was because I wanted other people's opinions on the subject. When I first read it, I was absolutely horrified, but now, reading other's opinions and experiences of having an animal that had major problems, I understand.

Life is not always "black and white" - the trouble with being an animal lover is that sometimes you have trouble seeing the grey areas - I myself just saw a potentially healthy animal potentially PTS - I didn't examine it any more deeply than that, but I am really glad now that I did ask for opinions here, because it has made me see that keeping an animal alive just because it is healthy is not always the best thing.

Thanks to everyone for their input and replies... I sincerely hope that noone thinks badly of me for my original post... I now have the knowledge and insight from other people's experiences to know that sometimes, maybe, going down that route is the only way.

Rachel
x
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I'm sure no-one thinks bad of you at all! I agree with BIrish -once the horse is dead it doesn't know it's missing anything, if you look at things in a very detatched way. Sometimes it's better to PTS rather than risk the horse being passed from pillar to post, and risk the horse seriously injuring someone. It's only our own emotions that make putting an animal down in this circumstance such a terrible and horrific thing - the horse doesn't know what's happening, he's just there one minute then gone the next.
 
Asima said:
Nice to see your open to opinions, don't blame you, after seeing and hearing that many horror stories you really do start to see it from a different perspective. It's human nature, but that gets the worse thing in cases like this, it's not about us, it's about them. It's nice to see you've learned this :D
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I have learned a valuable lesson tonight Asima - and that is not to take anything at face value. Grateful to you all.:)
 
MY horse used to rear and throw complete tantrums when hed had enough.Someone said he was dangerous, evil, not right in the head and should be put down. Yet on the ground he was an angel. I sent him away for some schooling - hes almost perfect now, hes jumping and winning and hes mine, how anyonecan eve nconsider putting a horse down just because the horse is unrideable horrifies me - theres always another way.
 
Poor girl, poor horse.

I read the thread and felt so much for the owner. She's clearly tried absolutely everything she can with this horse. It's not like she's a novice either.

My heart absolutely bleeds for her. She wants the best for her horse, and wants a solution, but imho I don't think there is one. I'm of the school of thought that says put the horse down.

It's impossible to ride, and dangerous to handle (it gave her both barrels when she was leading it and broke her collarbone - collarbones are inches from the face, remember) and it shows no signs of distress when it stops. It bolted through the fence of the school and broke her back, shook itself and nibbled at the grass.

She can't sell it, as she's risking someone else, she can't keep it and the rescues can't take it at the moment either. It sounds like it's going to kill someone soon, or itself. Putting aside the danger to humans, what if it did itself some serious damage while on one of its rampages? Surely it's better it's PTS under calm controlled conditions where she can sit with it during its last moments than it smashes itself up and suffers horribly while they wait for a vet?

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but I honestly believe PTS is her best option.
 
pcrider91 said:
MY horse used to rear and throw complete tantrums when hed had enough.Someone said he was dangerous, evil, not right in the head and should be put down. Yet on the ground he was an angel. I sent him away for some schooling - hes almost perfect now, hes jumping and winning and hes mine, how anyonecan eve nconsider putting a horse down just because the horse is unrideable horrifies me - theres always another way.
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When I put my initial post up this was exactly how I felt, but now I have seen others replies, I have changed my way of thinking....

Sometimes, despite what you do, there are always going to be living beings that just aren't right.... whether they are human, canine, equine... whatever.

Its great that your horse came right after some schooling... but there are also horses that don't and are a danger to the people that try and care for them or ride them. its an awful decision to make and I am sure that no one ever makes it lightly, but sometimes, as bad as it is, it may be the only option, especially if the alternative is being shunted from pillar to post and maybe ultimately ending up in pain because noone is looking after their basic needs.

The post that I put up tonight has taught me a valuable lesson... yes there may be a lot of horses that can be helped, but maybe, when you have exhausted all other avenues, it ultimately may be the only thing left and as BIrish has said, quite rightly, the horse won't know any differently... and maybe it would have saved him months of suffering before someone finally made the decision....
 
I must admit when i read the first post my instant thought was it was horrible and i'd never do it, how could people even consider it/think that its right etc.

BUT i have also changed my opinion, Personally if i had a horse like that and it was safe on the ground i would try my best to keep it as a companion if funds etc allowed but if i couldn't keep it/it was dangerous on the ground etc then i would have it PTS. Its a horrible decision to have to make but if its just not safe then that probably the best option after all other viable options have been tried.
 
my horse river was labled as extremly dangerous he kept rearingand the previous owner fell off everyday , he was actually booked in to go to the slaughterhouse transport was arranged for the next friday. but but the owner heard about me fixing another so called dangerous horse , so she decided to give him another chance , thoughii only had a week , to find any answers , in the end it was simple changed his bit to a happy mouth rode him on a long rien, he was like an angel , so he got his reprive, i loved him so much i kept him and in 4 years he's never reared once .
my point is just because a horse is the way they are with one person doesnt make them a bad horse in a majority of cases its the humans that make them that way
 
If that was my horse I would keep it as long as I was financially able. And then put it to sleep if I was unable to keep it any longer.

In my opinion, horses are more than objects to be ridden. Just because he can't be ridden, does not mean he needs a bullet in his head.
 
Chelsea_Skye said:
In my opinion, horses are more than objects to be ridden. Just because he can't be ridden, does not mean he needs a bullet in his head.
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There's been a good balance of opinions on the thread, but I have to err on the side of those who say that under the circumstances the horse should be PTS. Horses are expensive animals who are generally not kept as pets and who can get bored just left as a field ornament. Then you have the problem of ongoing health issues with an animal that isn't doing regular exercise, such as laminitis. It depends on the animal, but if it puts on excessive weight then it was also be prone to arthritis.

I also had experience of a pony who was an angel to handle from the ground, but displayed unnerving tendencies of trying to kill anyone who got on him. But sometimes he was fine. He broke my wrist, removed most of the skin from my left hand and almost broke both my legs when I had to jump off him at full gallop as he was careering towards a 5 bar gate in full flight.

We tried everything with this pony, even sent him to a specialist backer / trainer. And she advised that he should be PTS as there was something seriously wrong with him. It also turned out he had a brain tumour.

Now this pony could possibly have been left as a field ornament, but how could we guarantee that nobody would ever try to ride him again in future or sell him on as a pony who could be ridden?
 
i think with a horse like this if the lady cannot keep the horse then i think she is right not to pass it on

a word of caution my friend had a horse that would explode into bucking fits (everything checked) after the rider suffered a broken collar bone the horse was sent to a sanctuary and under no circumstances was this horse to be rode (tack was not sent with it) it could be sent out as a companion but not ever to be rode

this sanctuary then loaned this pony out at the cost of 500.00 as a ridden pony and was very abusive when my friend tried to get the pony back (she had to pay 500.00:mad:)
 
gb050573 said:
Then you have the problem of ongoing health issues with an animal that isn't doing regular exercise, such as laminitis. It depends on the animal, but if it puts on excessive weight then it was also be prone to arthritis.
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There are other ways of exercising horses without getting on them.
And I agree with what you are saying, but it really depends on wether she loves the horse for what it is, or as a riding horse.
 
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