Well, down to six horses now.

[Traderdell]

I know your pain, I’ve gone through it too many times. Put our last horse down two years ago, she was 34, blind and her body just gave out.

 

[EddieWalker]

So very sad and painful, but the right thing to do. I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

My condolences. I know very little about horses. But I do know how much people love them, and it seems proportional by how much love/care you give them.

My daughter is learning about them through some friends that have over 20 horses.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[SouthparkMark]

So sorry for your loss. Seeing old friends go is very hard to deal with.

 

[SPYDERLK]

... Sorry. Always hard to lose a horse. Even after theyve had a full life its still so hard to get over the inevitable.

To me, putting them into the grave caps the sadness. Like Wagtail I use forks to suspend them, reach, and place them orderly.​

 

[QRTRHRS]

It is tough and it is a long day... I had to make the same decision yesterday regarding the older of my two horses.

'Jack' lost weight over the Winter and started to go 'downhill' over the Spring. Thursday night, I made the decision and called the Vet first thing on Friday morning. Fortunately my neighbour had an excavator (home from his work to do 'holiday projects') so I gave him a call right after that. My Vet was magnificent and very caring, plus he looked at Jack and simply agreed it was 'time'... probably kidney failure. Jack really didn't feel a thing from the injection and dropped instantly.

I placed him in his grave with the forks of my tractor.

Now I'm dealing with his paddock-mate 'Treat', who's pining for him. Tomorrow I'll agist him out with other horses due to a bad hay year here on the East Coast.

Yep, that's life with horses... I'll miss him, though.

Sorry to hear of your loss as well. My vet checked out the back leg joints, made a few suggestions almost like I might want to try to keep her going awhile. I knew it was time though not only for the way she moved but through her eyes. No more spark if you know what I mean.

She went down quickly and gently. After it was over, my vet said he agreed that it was the best thing to do. He does not like to influence the decision unless it is hopeless.

 

[QRTRHRS]

32 years, that's a long haul. Sorry for your loss, it's pretty hard when you have to let them go.

She was an Arabian. The average lifespan for the breed is about 30. I had one make it to 33. Another to 31. My three youngest, also Arabian's, happen to all be 16. LOL! They will likely have to bury me!

By the way, back in the old "8 bit days", I took my user name from my Impressive bred Quarter Horse stallion. Sadly, we had to put him down four years ago at age 26 after he somehow damaged a nerve in his neck or somewhere. He would move a certain way then loose all control and drop.

Thanks all for caring.

 

[tcreeley]

We've had to put 4 down over the years always hard - members of the family. The last was a 14 year old- her arthritis was bad in one knee, had been but she was game. Then it hit the other- barely got herself up- trembling and the look in her face was so pained. I give them slices of apple to distract them as the vet injects them. They are nibbling and chewing then down. Always hard.
Good luck to you- did the right thing.

 

[QRTRHRS]

... Sorry. Always hard to lose a horse. Even after theyve had a full life its still so hard to get over the inevitable.

To me, putting them into the grave caps the sadness. Like Wagtail I use forks to suspend them, reach, and place them orderly.​

We do have other means to dispose of them but prefer to bury them (with lots of lime to neutralize the waste). I wrap an old piece of canvas around the front legs then chain them then do the same for the back legs. I then chain them to a single chain suspended from the backhoe bucket in order to place them. It is an ordeal but I think proper closure does help. The change in your daily routine around the barn can be pretty rough.

 

[QRTRHRS]

We've had to put 4 down over the years always hard - members of the family. The last was a 14 year old- her arthritis was bad in one knee, had been but she was game. Then it hit the other- barely got herself up- trembling and the look in her face was so pained. I give them slices of apple to distract them as the vet injects them. They are nibbling and chewing then down. Always hard.
Good luck to you- did the right thing.

Fourteen is still so young, sad. We had a seven year old that we had to put down due to an invasive tumor in her nasal system that two surgeries failed to reverse. That was many years ago but we still think about her.